These days, with websites like Tripadvisor, anyone can review an establishment and have their opinions read. When Tripadvisor started, there were occasions when friends of a restaurant owner would write a favourable comment, so may not have been a genuine, impartial opinion. Now, there are allegations that this still occurs for a payment, but the website owners have taken measures to try and avoid it happening, and you may even read a bad review nestled amongst good ones. I believe that there is a responsibility to be truthful when leaving a review, but each is only a personal opinion and, as this article shows, a bad review could hurt an establishment.
Recently, I was listening to a diner's account of his meal in a local restaurant that he'd been to many times before. He was there with a group of eight others and said that they'd enjoyed their first course and he was looking forward to his grilled steak. Large bowls of vegetables and chips were placed in the centre of the table to share. When he began to take some chips, he was horrified to find a crunchy, fried cockroach among them. Without making a big fuss, he called the waitress who took the bowl away and returned shortly afterwards with another - or was it the same one, he didn't know. And that was it! There was no apology and the owner or chef never approached the table. What would your reaction be? Amazingly, all nine in the group continued with their meals, talked about the incident amongst themselves, then paid the bill in full and left.
Cockroaches carry diseases and are disgusting creatures that are unacceptable anywhere. We have to recognise that pests like that, as well as mice and rats, seek out eating establishments where living conditions are perfect for them. However, they should never be allowed to live and breed freely and traps or fumigation are necessary ways of combatting any problem when it arises. If there’s one cockroach seen, the chances are that there are many more in the vicinity. Taking action is imperative and, if there is a problem, staff need to be extra vigilant. If a pest does make it to the table, then surely the owner or management should handle the situation with the importance it deserves.
The diner in this story, upon reflection, is now considering writing about it on Tripadvisor. Is that the correct medium for righting a wrong, or a spiteful way of spreading the news? Should the diner consider the effect a bad review could have, or would he be justified? Did the waitress tell the owner immediately after the incident? Surely, if she had, the owner would have taken remedial action. That didn't happen, so the diner could have approached the owner, highlighting the severity of the situation. As it is, nine customers left the local restaurant and, I'm sure, have told the story many times. No doubt the restaurant will lose business for a while, until people forget. In fact, this was a restaurant which I reviewed many years ago and, on the day, wrote highly of the experience. It was a pleasant meal, cooked and served by the current owners in a convivial atmosphere. I hate to think that standards have dropped and hope that this was a wake-up call for them. Unfortunately, I won't be revisiting to find out.