Why Most Restaurants Hate TripAdvisor

I was in Marbella at last weekend and had a great Sunday lunch on the beach. There was live entertainment, the food and company was amazing. Everything was perfect.

While paying the bill I talked to the owner, thanked him and said I would be writing a great review on TripAdvisor. He gave a half-hearted smile and sort of thanked me.

My emotional radar spotted a challenge.

It turns out that he doesn’t like TripAdvisor. It wasn’t that his restaurant didn’t get good reviews, they had plenty, it was the ‘unfairness’ of the system.

He explained that in their locale, a kebab shop was No. 1 – for restaurants!

He was frustrated because the kebab guys ask everyone to rate them and in doing so they’ve shot to the top of the charts.

‘So why don’t you ask all of your customers to rate you?’ I enquired.

And then I saw it. He was frightened. Scared to ask.

Una cerveza pequeña later and a quick bit of Heppell-ing he had a plan. He was going to ask every customer to rate him – good or bad.

The humility in asking for good OR bad opinions gave him the confidence to ask.

If you’re giving great service, ask for a review, rating or testimonial. Bet your competitors are.

Be Brilliant!

 

Michael

comments

  1. May 26th 2017 by Sara Drake

    I have also run my own business for the past ten years. I hate trip advisor, even though the majority of reviews are good! I just hate the fact that people spend time writing ‘bad reviews’ and I also think some customers may have been having a bad day, or are just generally negative, but these reviews can have a seriously negative effect on a business where it is not warranted. Working in a ‘bar/restaurant, a lot of our customers have already had a skinful (we work in a holiday resort). I think sites should only accept good reviews.

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