{"id":37056,"date":"2017-08-08T05:26:05","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T05:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=37056"},"modified":"2017-08-08T08:39:03","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T08:39:03","slug":"like-to-review-restaurants-online-read-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/like-to-review-restaurants-online-read-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Like To Review Restaurants Online? Read This."},"content":{"rendered":"

Picture this. You have a job. For example\u2019s sake, let\u2019s say that you are a teacher. You went to university to study for this profession. You then had to work for many years as a teacher\u2019s assistant to further your experience, before finally being able to be in control of your classes or even run a school as principal. You\u2019re good at your job and you enjoy it, and you are paid by parents for the good service that you provide for their children. Now picture this, you, as a teacher, go to the dentist for a clean. The procedure is a little uncomfortable and, while you\u2019ve had many teeth cleanings in your life, this one is different and the dentist makes use of unusual techniques and machines. You don\u2019t say anything about the procedure, because, well, you\u2019re not a dentist. You don\u2019t necessarily understand the difference in machines and techniques. At the end, you walk out with clean teeth, and are, overall, rather satisfied with your teeth, but your gums are a little sensitive from the new machine that was used. All in all, you came in looking for clean teeth and you left with clean teeth.<\/p>\n

Now, picture this. There is an online forum, where you are able to review and critique your dentist\u2019s performance. This site is not official and is not endorsed by anyone in the medical profession, it\u2019s simply a way for people to share their experiences of their medical practitioners. You log on, you write that your teeth cleaning was \u2018fine\u2019, but you also mention the slightly odd and unusual practices that your dentist used to clean your teeth. It ends up taking around 30 \u2013 40 minutes of your time. You are then further engaged when other users leave comments on your post, enquiring about the practices and machines. Before long, a patient, whom you don\u2019t know, declares that they too had the foreign cleaning methods used on their teeth and that it was a terrible experience.<\/p>\n

\u2018Painful and didn\u2019t do the job!\u2019<\/em> they write, before launching into a long-winded explanation of how they believe teeth should be cleaned. This whole process has now taken over an hour of your time and continues to take up more time as you delve further into people\u2019s comments. \u201cThe receptionist was so rude when I went \u2013 avoid at all costs!\u201d<\/em> says one patient. \u201cOh no, that is NOT the way to clean teeth!\u201d<\/em> says another.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All of these differing opinions set off by your seemingly harmless post. Seems rather weird, doesn\u2019t it? Let\u2019s just remember that you weren\u2019t actually dissatisfied with your cleaning. You simply remarked it as \u2018odd\u2019. This is a hypothetical situation, wherein you know nothing about dentistry, but you offer up your unsolicited opinion to a forum of others who also have no dentistry experience either. Users spend hours commenting, pretty much whatever they like, without concern or genuine \u2018policing\u2019 and all for no remuneration, or apparent gains. Would you, reader, involve yourself in something like that? No? We didn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

Now, replace the word \u2018dentist\u2019 with \u2018restaurant\u2019. And replace the word \u2018patient\u2019 with \u2018diner\u2019. But, wait, that doesn\u2019t seem so odd? This online forum is simply somewhere for diners give their opinions, what\u2019s so bad about that?<\/p>\n

\"Review<\/a><\/p>\n

Everyone’s a critic.<\/h4>\n

Well, here\u2019s the thing. In an age where we have Masterchef, Top Chef, Chopped, Chef\u2019s Table, Mind of a Chef (you see where I\u2019m going with this…), we are, more than ever before, exposed to what goes on behind the scenes in the culinary industry. And this is great news! Chefs are finally being heralded for the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that go into their careers. But, what it\u2019s also created is a diner who believes they know more than they actually do. Throw in the speed of social media, plus an online user who feels safe behind their computer screen, and before you know it, you have a forum where people who know very little about an industry are naming and shaming establishments for every little thing that they see fit.<\/p>\n

Basically, vigilante justice that runs rampant, unchecked.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Restaurant-reviews\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget that we\u2019re still talking about people who voluntarily spend a large portion of their time leaving unsolicited restaurant reviews. And this is time spent that these reviewers are not paid for. What is the real problem with this? To be honest, it\u2019s that more often than not, the restaurants in the firing line are small businesses, and when you\u2019re addressing an online group (some amass numbers into the hundreds of thousands), a certain percentage of them can be put off by an unfair or inaccurate review without even having visited the establishment themselves. Members of these groups trust the words of people they\u2019ve never met.<\/p>\n

Critical Opinion<\/h4>\n

Restaurant reviews are not a new concept, they\u2019ve been around for nearly as long as restaurants themselves. And restaurant owners and chefs have never been afraid to voice their dissatisfaction with restaurant critics\u2019 reviews. But, where a professional restaurant critic differs from an online forum is that someone (be it a magazine or newspaper) asked for that critic\u2019s opinion. And, for the most part, these critics are well-versed in the language of food. They\u2019ve often worked in the industry for years, have culinary training or have just honed their food skills throughout their careers. They are not the layman, someone who woke up one day, ate a hamburger and then proceeded to slate it online or in print.<\/p>\n

Fact is, these people who write reviews are professionals, they know what they\u2019re talking about. They would be like a dentist, or maybe a medical journalist, going to another dentist in our original scenario.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s probably also worth mentioning that the restaurants we\u2019re talking about here are slightly higher-end, we\u2019re not discussing chains or large commercial restaurants that you might find in a mall or an airport. If you\u2019re the type of person who reviews these establishments, then you seriously need to find something better to do with your time.<\/p>\n

\"Review<\/a><\/p>\n

See, here\u2019s the thing, we\u2019re not saying that bad reviews shouldn\u2019t be allowed from people other than food critics…<\/h4>\n

What we\u2019re saying is that there seems to be a notion these days that because you eat food, and have access to some form of online forum, that you\u2019re welcome to say whatever you want about a restaurant experience. Before we go any further, let\u2019s make one thing abundantly clear: you are entitled to have an opinion, you are entitled to express that opinion any way you choose; what you are not entitled to,\u00a0is being an asshole.<\/p>\n

Why should you bother being nice? Didn\u2019t the restaurant lay the first blow by offering up a bad meal that you then had to pay for? Well, the thing about food is that it\u2019s pretty subjective. What you may think is delicious, may be revolting to someone else. And, a lot of the time, chefs are serving up something that they think is pretty great. They\u2019re often serving their hearts on a plate.<\/p>\n

Would you say something so rude if it were your friend who served you the dish? And would you say it to their face? A lot of \u2018online reviewers\u2019 are only too happy to complain endlessly about a meal they’ve had but when asked if they brought it up with management in the moment, a large percentage seem to go pretty quiet, pretty quickly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, how can we all avoid being assholes? Well, as a team of food writers, whose profession includes restaurant reviewing, there are a few simple ways to express yourself without coming off as a dick.<\/p>\n

Number one: Do you understand the restaurant\u2019s concept?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Is there something particular about the way this restaurant does certain things? Would this mean they serve food in a way that slightly different to what you\u2019re used to? Do you get the concept? If you don\u2019t get it, then chances are you\u2019re not going to enjoy your evening.<\/p>\n

Number two: Did the kitchen make fundamental mistakes or simply do something that doesn\u2019t appeal to you?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Example: Did they serve steak with an unusual sauce; a combination that you haven\u2019t tried before and it doesn\u2019t quite tickle your fancy? Did they serve a steak that was not cooked to your request (rare, medium-rare, etc)? Or, was the food rotten or did you see rats in the kitchen? Do you see the difference? The choice of an unusual sauce pairing isn\u2019t really something you should complain about, partly because someone, be it the chef or owner, approved the dish. They like it and they stand behind it. The steak not being cooked properly is a fundamental mistake, something that you can most definitely complain about. Same with rotten food and vermin in the kitchen, these are things that you are certainly within your rights to complain about. You\u2019re entitled to your opinion, but is it fair to slate the restaurant based on a personal flavour dislike?<\/p>\n

Number three: Did you follow the appropriate and fair channels of complaint?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Did you tell the waiter there was a problem with your food? Did you speak to the manager? Did you give the restaurant a chance to defend themselves, as well as attempt to improve your experience? If you didn\u2019t speak up in the moment, then your criticism is a little unfair.<\/p>\n

Number four: Were you in a good mood when you dined at the restaurant?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Seriously, answer this question for yourself. You\u2019d be surprised at how many patrons take their moods out on restaurants. Similarly, was there something else that annoyed you, like the service, for example? While bad service is absolutely inexcusable, sometimes it can impact your overall judgement and cause you to unfairly critique the food.<\/p>\n

Number five: How would you feel if someone treated you that way in your place of work?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Would you go up to your dentist and tell them that they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing? How would you feel if a random person came up to you and told you that you don\u2019t know how to do the job that you\u2019ve committed your life to?<\/p>\n

Number six: Do you really, like really really<\/em>, know what you\u2019re talking about?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Are you the type of diner who only eats steak cooked rare? Well, there are many cuts of meat that need to be cooked to medium rare or even medium, because of factors such as marbling and sinew. If you order something like a rib eye rare, it can sometimes be chewy and tough to get through. That chewiness isn\u2019t the chef’s fault though, as you chose that \u2018doneness\u2019. Or, if the chef insists that you eat the steak at a certain temperature, because they know what a difference it makes to it, and you just dismiss it because it\u2019s not the way you want it cooked? Giving them a negative review based on that is a little unfair. Can you confidently say that you understand the dish you\u2019re being served more than the chef who sent it out?<\/p>\n

Number seven: Do you understand the consequences that your review might have for a restaurant?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Do you realise that this is someone\u2019s business and that your review may tarnish their reputation permanently? Did your food or dining experience warrant you publically dragging someone\u2019s name through the mud? You are fully entitled to your opinion, but are you addressing it fairly?<\/p>\n

Number eight: Was the food actually inedible, or just not what you expected?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Did you order a burger hoping that it was going to be a good, honest burger or were you expecting it to blow you away with smoke, tricks and magic? Sometimes, food doesn\u2019t need to sing and dance for it to be deemed good. High-quality ingredients often don\u2019t need a lot of fiddling with. If you ordered a classic cheeseburger and are annoyed that it was just that, albeit perfectly cooked, then maybe you\u2019re eating at the wrong establishments. Because you expected something different is it fair to bash someone\u2019s business? See point number one, ask yourself, do you really get this restaurant\u2019s concept?<\/p>\n

Number nine: What is your end goal with this review?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Honestly, what do you really hope to achieve with the review? Do you want to stop every single person from ever eating there? Do you want to be reimbursed for your meal? Do you want a free meal? What is that you truly hope for by writing this review? If your review is based on missing fundamentals and you want the restaurant to know that they aren\u2019t cooking certain things properly, then you should absolutely let them know this. But then again, you need to see all the points above and make sure that you know exactly what you\u2019re talking about and you need to make an effort to talk to the\u00a0establishment in the moment.<\/p>\n

Number ten: Would you put in the same amount of effort if the meal was good?<\/b><\/h4>\n

More often than not, bad news spreads faster than good. So, if you feel warranted to write a negative review, do you then make sure that you put in the same effort to write a good one? People are so quick to write reviews about negative experiences but seldom write any good ones. Don\u2019t be a troll. Be fair, and make sure that for every bad review you write, you write a good one for every positive experience.<\/p>\n

So, the next time you have a less than impressive meal, ask yourself these questions. If you answer no to any of them then it may be necessary to put a hold on the naming and shaming. Just think how you would feel if someone wrote something like that about you. As we\u2019ve said before, you\u2019re full entitled to review your experience, but it is definitely worth taking the time to consider all the above factors. The world is aggressive enough, so let\u2019s try\u00a0to treat everyone with a little respect.<\/p>\n

Hungry for more? Subscribe to our newsletter here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picture this. You have a job. For example\u2019s sake, let\u2019s say that you are a teacher. You went to university to study for this profession. You then had to work for many years as a teacher\u2019s assistant to further your experience, before finally being able to be in control of your classes or even run a school as principal. You\u2019re good at your job and you enjoy it, and you are paid by parents for the good service that you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3439,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"brand_slug":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3439"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37056"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97799,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37056\/revisions\/97799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}