Let’s be honest – we all check TripAdvisor

Even those who make such a huge point about on social media about disliking TripAdvisor check TripAdvisor when going abroad

The vast majority of TripAdvisor is great. We know there are horror stories of journalists making up “Fake Restaurants” and getting them to the “Best Restaurant In Shoreditch” on TripAdvisor … or the odd restaurant who farms out TripAdvisor reviews to a dodgy company on the net.

The vast majority of restaurants are just hard working businesses pleased to see positive reviews

We work with a number of restaurants and foodie businesses and 1600+ authentic reviews of our clients really really help

TripAdvisor Reviews do bring in extra custom and they provide extra content for social media posts

But like anything there’s the idiot factor

There’s the obvious were rude, obnoxious and drunk customers who then took to TripAdvisor – we’re not talking about them today.

So let’s look at the “other” TripAdvisor Monsters

MR I’VE BEEN GOING FOR YEARS BUT …
Probably the most common TripAdvisor Monster

The reviews always start “I’ve been going to XXXX for years” or “I’ve visited at least 15-20 times”

Ok – wait for it

“But I would never go again after my most recent visit”

Now that’s fair enough – restaurants have their off days or a change of management or chef may mean standards have dropped way below acceptable

The problem is when you click on the reviewers page there is never ever a positive review of all the great experiences they’ve allegedly had

MRS AUTHENTICITY
They’ve probably never left Wigan, but they know authenticity if they see it

Exclamations such as “What they serve here is not French food” … or “I’ve been to Italy countless times and this is not Italian”

And yet throughout the rest of the reviews everyone says “Every time I go it reminds me of the best meals in Paris” or “Up to the high standards of the best restaurants in Italy”

If the restaurant is ran by people originally from the country, cooked by chefs from that country and the waiting staff are from that country … and every reviewer who has been to that country comments how much it reminds them of the meals in that country … well it sounds pretty authentic

It’s not really for someone who has never left their hometown to say it’s inauthentic

MR FORGOT TO BOOK
“I couldn’t believe that on a Saturday night we walked up and they couldn’t find us a table”

A lack of booking a restaurant on the busy night of the week and not getting in … or not booking on a Saturday night, the restaurant doing their absolute best for you and the restaurant not being able to find you the best seat in the restaurant is not a reason to jump on TripAdvisor and leave a restaurant a 1 star review

The clue is in the word restaurant. It’s not a walk up bar

The best restaurants in town are generally booked up on a weekend night and it’s even advisable to book on a weekday night for the best restaurants

MRS THE MENU IS LIMITED
Believe it not we’ve seen reviews of restaurants with 40-50 dishes that claim the “menu is limited”

Maybe limited by “All Around The World All You Can Eat Buffet” standards

But not limited in that you could eat there every night for 6 weeks and not have the same dish

If by limited you mean not having the dish you really like on the menu – simply mention it to the restaurant as a suggestion. Don’t mark down what would have been a 5 Star Review to a 2 star because of a notion of a limited menu

SO … BE AN ANGEL, NOT A MONSTER
If you’ve had a fantastic experience – review it

If you feel something small could be improved on – mention it quietly to the manager or drop a helpful email

Review your favourites here

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/UserReview

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Alex

Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 350+ LinkedIn testimonials and is ranked number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.