Reviews and Restaurants

Reviews and restaurants: The world of catering has always revolved around word of mouth and the quality of the service offered. Nowadays online reviews represent a further selection factor in choosing a restaurant.

Reviews and restaurants: Constructive self-criticism

Reacting to criticism

Reviews and restaurants

Successful restaurants are those that manage to guarantee medium-high quality standards, with capable owners. While improvised people always have a difficult life. Furthermore, some factors have intervened in recent years:

• Economic crisis; people suddenly found themselves poorer and this led to a drastic reduction in consumption.

• Licensing liberalization; had the immediate consequence of filling cities with similar activities at close range.

• The advent of the internet which has changed the way of experiencing catering.

Customers now decide which restaurant to go to by reading online reviews. Venues with the best reviews enjoy an excellent advantage.

However, it is good to understand that no restaurant gets 100% positive reviews. People don't see things the same way.

Reviews and restaurants: Constructive self-criticism

Reviews and restaurants

Bad evenings can happen to everyone but few restaurateurs respond to reviews, making a big mistake. Restaurateurs don't like the restaurant review system, but customers like it and it works. Therefore, we need to learn to accept always being judged. Despite everything, reviews represent an indispensable tool.

In fact, they influence customers' decisions and are a powerful means of solving problems in their establishment!

If out of 100 reviews you get 80 negative ones, then you clearly have a problem.

Serious and constructive self-criticism is not as easy as understanding where you make a mistake and how to remedy it. It is therefore a good idea to study the reviews your place has received.

When multiple reviews found the same critical aspects, it is best to try to resolve them.

For example, if the service is slow, it is better to hire a person in the dining room and
review the organization of the place.

Reacting to criticism

What would you do with a considerable number of negative reviews on hand?

rant against the site? insult customers one by one out of bad faith?
counter every accusation?
Or take note of the fact that not all people are in bad faith. If all the negative reviews highlight the same defects, then the problem exists.

Instead of getting offended, you need to see the positive side of the system. No other category can enjoy a free system for knowing their defects, finding errors and remedying them.

Other companies usually pay consultants and experts handsomely to identify problems. Restaurateurs have this information for free and just a click away.

Take the TripAdvisor page (and all other review sites) of your restaurant and start studying.

Isolate negative reviews and highlight criticisms. If a criticism is repeated in the same way over and over again, then that represents a real problem.

At that point, start thinking carefully and try to figure out how to find a solution.

Reviewers are not always right, especially when it comes to prices.

If you were able to eliminate those problems, in theory you would no longer receive negative reviews. In this way, your restaurant will benefit in terms of new customers acquired.

If you want more advice on the good management of your restaurant click here.