Reviews
All restaurant owners have a love hate relationship with reviews and review sites. Well maybe it is more like hate hate... but I digress... Reviews are a necessary evil in the restaurant business as there is no way to avoid them. Restaurant owners are trying to cultivate the best reviews they can, while trying to minimize the amount of bad ones received. Of course the best way to avoid bad reviews is to have a great product and great service. There is the reality however that with any amount of decent sales volume, someone will slip through the cracks. A bad piece of food or maybe your staff was misinterpreted in a bad way.
Restaurant owners will notice a category of reviewer which will undoubtedly cause a rise in blood pressure. It usually goes something like this: "I eat here all the time" but has one bad experience and then one stars you. So, they ate at your restaurant many times in the past and enjoyed it. Then they had one problem and decided to tell the world about it. Most of these reviewers haven't even posted a positive review on Google, Yelp, Tripadvisor or facebook.
Restaurant Reviewers
Why not bring it to the restaurant's attention in a non-public way, 99% of restaurant owners will bend over backwards to make it right. Give the restaurant a chance to make it up to you as you are a loyal customer. Check their website for a contact form or email address. You can try to call the restaurant, and ask for the manager. Remember that the staff will be very busy during lunch and dinner rushes, so don't expect to talk for long then. Try giving a call at off times or leave a message. You can try facebook, but that inbox might not be monitored. If the restaurant doesn't respond in a reasonable time (Give them a couple days) or try to take care of the problem then maybe it is time to leave an appropriate review on Yelp, Google, Tripadvisor or facebook. You should also be willing to change or remove your review if the restaurant steps up and takes care of the problem.
Restaurant Owners
A little tip for restaurant owners, make sure you have easy ways for customers to give you feedback. If you don't the reviewers will feel like they had no choice as you weren't listening. A simple feedback form on your website should suffice. Make sure your staff takes accurate messages and actually passes them on to you. Also be sure to monitor facebook and other social media outlets for notifications. I know there are a lot of channels, so make sure you have the appropriate notifications turned on. Just make it easy for a customer to give feedback... oh, and actually respond. Heading these problems off before they go wide is the name of the game for managing your online reputation.
If you don't have a website or a contact form on your website, consider a Restaurant Coaching membership! We can guide you through setting up these tools and processes. Give your customers the ability to provide feedback, it will be win-win!
