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Old 09-19-2019, 04:43 PM   #1
Fishsizzle
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Google/yelp reviews: how do you take them?

When we travel, I tend to look at reviews to find out what locals say about places to eat, stay etc.

But I always look at he 1 stars as well. And then I’ll read the 1 star people’s other reviews to see if they are legit, or are they just big fun police who suck the joy out of everything they touch.

How to you look at reviews? With a grain of salt so to speak?
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:23 AM   #2
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Very often one will find the one star reviews are there because of either bad service, or some kind of falling out; "They didn't have the soup of the day. Or we had to wait an hour for a table." Seldom because of bad food.
When on the road we are interested in one thing: Good quality food. We do look at the reviews, restaurants, RV parks, etc., but usually won't rule out a restaurant unless the average is three stars or less.
We also prefer small, local diners for breakfast or lunch. Seems they are the only places left where the cook knows how to make "two eggs over easy" without half the white still clear.
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:43 AM   #3
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YELP is a mobile app that we rely on most. We generally look at the overall rating rather than the individual reviews. Our logic being that if it wasn't the best meal they ever had, some people will trash it, and the owner's friends will give it rave reviews. If it is 4 stars, it is usually a safe bet. Also, we ask for recommendations from locals.

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Old 09-20-2019, 04:43 AM   #4
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I've found the best advice comes from asking a local. Stopping for fuel, getting groceries or just stopping and asking a pedestrian "where's a good place to eat around here?" has worked for us. The problem with the social media is it can make a loud mouth out of a mouse as it's easy to hide behind a keyboard.
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Old 09-20-2019, 05:14 AM   #5
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Throw out the 5's and the 1's. Focus on the others as they seem to be most honest.
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Old 09-20-2019, 08:05 AM   #6
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I figure if the parking lot is crowded, something must be good.
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Old 09-20-2019, 08:08 AM   #7
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I figure if the parking lot is crowded, something must be good.
Parents made that mistake once. They did not know it was a peeler bar.
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Old 09-20-2019, 09:58 AM   #8
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tripadvisor.com is pretty good. I have written dozens of restaurant reviews and they tend to be more realistic than yelp or google because as pointed out already, many do bad reviews based on a run in with the waiter or such.
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Old 09-20-2019, 10:54 AM   #9
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tripadvisor.com is pretty good. I have written dozens of restaurant reviews and they tend to be more realistic than yelp or google because as pointed out already, many do bad reviews based on a run in with the waiter or such.
I agree! Service isn’t as important as the actual food
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Old 09-20-2019, 10:58 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by flybouy View Post
I've found the best advice comes from asking a local. Stopping for fuel, getting groceries or just stopping and asking a pedestrian "where's a good place to eat around here?" has worked for us. The problem with the social media is it can make a loud mouth out of a mouse as it's easy to hide behind a keyboard.
This is one of my main gripes. People honestly think they are something and that their tiny little voice matters.

It drives me crazy! I have a client that opened a noodle Resturant and he’s “white”. There are people giving him 1 star reviews because it’s not right that a “white” guy makes money on a “Japanese “ style of food. Really?

Then the broth is to bland, or to salty. To me personal taste doesn’t make a place 1 star.

I agree about trip advisor. It seems like a more well rounded crowd that post. Maybe they are older and wiser than the yelp crowd?
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Old 09-20-2019, 12:34 PM   #11
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This is one of my main gripes. People honestly think they are something and that their tiny little voice matters.

It drives me crazy! I have a client that opened a noodle Resturant and he’s “white”. There are people giving him 1 star reviews because it’s not right that a “white” guy makes money on a “Japanese “ style of food. Really?

Then the broth is to bland, or to salty. To me personal taste doesn’t make a place 1 star.

I agree about trip advisor. It seems like a more well rounded crowd that post. Maybe they are older and wiser than the yelp crowd?

I use and do reviews on TripAdvisor. I tried Yelp but it seemed what you stated in your last paragraph might be correct.
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Old 09-20-2019, 01:52 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Fishsizzle View Post
This is one of my main gripes. People honestly think they are something and that their tiny little voice matters.

It drives me crazy! I have a client that opened a noodle Resturant and he’s “white”. There are people giving him 1 star reviews because it’s not right that a “white” guy makes money on a “Japanese “ style of food. Really?

Then the broth is to bland, or to salty. To me personal taste doesn’t make a place 1 star.

I agree about trip advisor. It seems like a more well rounded crowd that post. Maybe they are older and wiser than the yelp crowd?
I review on trip adviser and if you knew me you would stop calling folks that review on trip adviser "older and wiser". Definitely older but wiser? I don't resemble that! When I review, I take the food seriously, need the condiments I like with that food and do consider service and time it takes for the food to come out if it ain't fast food relative to the food's quality. I also look at the bathrooms and peek into the kitchen if I can and if they are disgusting, quality of the food isn't the only thing that gets mentioned.
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Old 09-20-2019, 10:05 PM   #13
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I love how we all go through life thinking we are surrounded by total morons who can't merge, park, shop, vote or do anything else but when we're hungry we throw ourselves at the total and complete mercy of the same crowd to help us decide where to eat

Don't get me wrong.... I do it too. It's just a funny study in human nature.
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Old 09-21-2019, 02:01 AM   #14
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I love how we all go through life thinking we are surrounded by total morons who can't merge, park, shop, vote or do anything else but when we're hungry we throw ourselves at the total and complete mercy of the same crowd to help us decide where to eat

Don't get me wrong.... I do it too. It's just a funny study in human nature.
That’s kinda my point.

How do you “sort” through the people who are just complainers with nothing better to do than berate businesses?
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Old 09-21-2019, 04:16 AM   #15
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This is somewhat interesting read for those out there that believe making a review, good or bad, doesn't matter.
https://www.inc.com/andrew-thomas/th...r-company.html
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Old 09-21-2019, 04:35 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by Fishsizzle View Post
When we travel, I tend to look at reviews to find out what locals say about places to eat, stay etc.

But I always look at he 1 stars as well. And then I’ll read the 1 star people’s other reviews to see if they are legit, or are they just big fun police who suck the joy out of everything they touch.

How to you look at reviews? With a grain of salt so to speak?
Reviews can also be manipulated by the vendor, here's our story:
Last year we had a problem with our fridge. While we were in Dallas, I contacted a mobile RV tech to come and fix it. I had diagnosed the problem already as a burned out electric element, but he wanted to check my diagnosis so we met at a truck stop to do the check. A day or so later he came to where we were camped to replace the element. For what he did (which wasn't much) he charged me over $600. We were so glad to have the fridge fixed, we paid the amount without getting an invoice from him (yeah, I know, stupid).
Before he left, he practically begged me to go online and give him a positive review, which I willingly did.
Fast forward and we have been trying to get reimbursed for this work, under warranty. However, all I get from the guy is a string of different excuses why he hasn't chased it up with Dometic or why he hasn't sent us an invoice. We started trying to get a result from him on July 10 and it is now 21 Sept and still I'm getting excuses from this guy.

So, long story short, I did give him a positive review, but I'd never do business with him again.
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Old 09-21-2019, 04:44 AM   #17
flybouy
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Reviews can also be manipulated by the vendor, here's our story:
Last year we had a problem with our fridge. While we were in Dallas, I contacted a mobile RV tech to come and fix it. I had diagnosed the problem already as a burned out electric element, but he wanted to check my diagnosis so we met at a truck stop to do the check. A day or so later he came to where we were camped to replace the element. For what he did (which wasn't much) he charged me over $600. We were so glad to have the fridge fixed, we paid the amount without getting an invoice from him (yeah, I know, stupid).
Before he left, he practically begged me to go online and give him a positive review, which I willingly did.
Fast forward and we have been trying to get reimbursed for this work, under warranty. However, all I get from the guy is a string of different excuses why he hasn't chased it up with Dometic or why he hasn't sent us an invoice. We started trying to get a result from him on July 10 and it is now 21 Sept and still I'm getting excuses from this guy.

So, long story short, I did give him a positive review, but I'd never do business with him again.
If he was that concerned with a positive review then I'd use the possibility of leaving him a negative review, perhaps with a side of BBB complaint, to incentivise his cooperation.
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Old 09-21-2019, 04:48 AM   #18
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If he was that concerned with a positive review then I'd use the possibility of leaving him a negative review, perhaps with a side of BBB complaint, to incentivise his cooperation.
Yep, watch this space...
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Old 09-21-2019, 04:49 AM   #19
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This is somewhat interesting read for those out there that believe making a review, good or bad, doesn't matter.
https://www.inc.com/andrew-thomas/th...r-company.html
Interesting read Jim. Shows how 1 person that thought the toilet paper was a bit rough (1 star) can bring down 4 reviews praising the excellent steak (4 stars).
I guess we should think before submitting our reviews.
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Old 09-21-2019, 05:21 AM   #20
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Interesting read Jim. Shows how 1 person that thought the toilet paper was a bit rough (1 star) can bring down 4 reviews praising the excellent steak (4 stars).
I guess we should think before submitting our reviews.
When I first read this I thought steak was streak. Now that would be funny.
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