Online review forums like TripAdvisor and Zomato have been slammed by eatery owners in other regions, but some Rotorua business owners say they can be great for business.
Leonardo's owner Leonardo Baldi said despite the odd rogue review, online reviewers had been mostly positive, and had done much to promote his business.
"Sometimes I have the odd ones. At the end of the day, you can't please every person. Some of the ones were deserved - we made a mistake. I take them on the chin." Others had unreasonable reasons for giving the restaurant a low score, including that the restaurant was too loud, or because there was no pizza on the menu. He said the business went as far as it could to remedy a situation, but couldn't if someone decided to vent their frustrations online.
Online reviews were increasing in importance, he said. "It's becoming even bigger. Five to six years ago it wasn't that important, but nowadays it is huge."
Lonestar Cafe Rotorua owner Andy Allan said his experience with online reviews was mostly positive, but there were drawbacks.