Online reviews are a great way to make a decision before visiting a new restaurant, assuming you can trust the reviewer!
After visiting The White Moose Cafe in Dublin Ireland, a customer known only as Zoe K. decided to leave a pretty bad review on Trip Advisor. In her review below she insults the food’s appearance, cost, and the manager’s work ethic.
The only problem is, Zoe isn’t telling the whole story.
The Cafe decided to write back to Zoe and posted their response on Facebook along with some photographic evidence,
Dear Zoe,
Many thanks for your review. We actively encourage reviews, as it gives us an opportunity to rectify any issues that may arise during the customer experience.
Just a few points to note:
1. The Club Sandwich is one of our best sellers. It is a three-tier sandwich with a full chicken breast, bacon, tomato, Dubliner cheddar, lettuce and pesto mayo. Sorcha, our waitress, said that you wanted your Club Sandwich served to you on Ciabatta bread and not the usual three-tier-style sandwich. Is this why the appearance of the sandwich is not as expected? We have no problem reconstructing our entire menu to suit your needs, but we don’t expect you to whinge if we make a sandwich look the way you wanted it to look. It might also be an idea to include in your review that the sandwich was not made according to our required standard.
2. The vast majority of our reviews are very positive. From time to time, customers can have an issue with something. If their issue is brought to our attention when it happens, we will do something about it. We will resolve their issue there and then. If you had told us you weren’t happy with your sandwich, we would have replaced it with something else or not have charged you for it. When Sorcha asked you how your food was, you said “it was lovely”. In my mind it’s a little unfair to lie blatantly like that to our faces and then go home to write a contradictory 1-star review from the (supposed) anonymity of your device.
3. When people write TripAdvisor reviews, they usually think there is no recourse. They usually assume that the restaurant won’t know who they are. They are unassailable. Fortunately for us, we were able to identify you. Your user ID is Zoe K, and when I put this into Facebook, up came your full name. When I was faced with the task of identifying you, I thought it might be some feat. However, seeing as you added me as a friend on my personal Facebook, one didn’t need to be Sherlock Homes to find you. A quick creep on your photos revealed that you were one of the three members of the Dublin’s Q102 #BlueCrew who was in the café on Tuesday.
4. We have a great relationship with Q102, we love having the Blue Crew in the café. We have fun with you on our Snapchat. You have us on radio. It’s a reciprocal kind of love. We even give you a 15% discount on your food. I see you also failed to mention you got this discount on your D.I.Y. sandwich.
5. Finally, I see that there is a certain pattern to your reviews. I have noticed headings such as “Revolting”, “5-star Horror”, and “What a Kip” in your review history. I also note that you think a certain café in Clontarf “deserves to be closed down”. I wonder are there two sides to these stories too? I wonder are you also failing to disclose important facts relating to these establishments?
You might not be a business owner providing employment to countless individuals from several countries, but I’d remind you that when you write unsubstantiated negative reviews on restaurants, you are seeking to damage the reputation of establishments that provide employment, and thereby you are putting the jobs and livelihoods of its employees at risk.
Perhaps if you were honest with the restaurant in the first place you wouldn’t need to write all these reviews. You might also have more money in your pocket. I know if I wasn’t happy with something, I wouldn’t pay for it. So, not only would you appear to be less two-faced, but you’d be much richer too!
Many thanks,
Paul Stenson
www.whitemoosecafe.ieNOTE: Zoe K told me she would have no problem deleting the review (but to date this has not happened). It’s funny how people can be so casual when it comes to damaging the reputation of a restaurant. They write the damaging review at the drop of a hat, and just as quickly they’ll remove it when they are caught out.
Always remember there are two sides to every story! Will this make you think twice before trusting a one-sided review?
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