venue reviews

Trip Adviser among others started many years ago to allow people to research venues based on the experience of others. Details of the food, the drinks and the place. Seems sensible. But most of these platforms now just use their huge data bases to sell holidays and hotels. And the reviewers have changed now too. Many posts are genuine people passing on their honest opinion. But many are not. Some are the new "Food Critic". Administrator at the local authority housing department during the week. Unpaid Jay Rayner at the weekend determined to show people how clever they are. "The beans lacked that contrast of sweetness and acidity I look for in a baked bean". And the new normal is the revenge post. We've had a few. We serve around 1,000 meals a week and we want them all to be perfect. But sometimes for whatever reason they are not and we need to address this because we want our customers to leave happy. Tell us there is an issue before you leave and we will do everything we can to put it right. Walking out smiling and then posting a 1* review as your revenge served cold doesn't really help anyone. But you don't need to have made a mistake to get a one star review. Oh no! How about just being full! We've had a few. "I walked/drove down to get some food and you were full. Its a disgrace!"

1*. One local said it was a "shambles" that she walked down with her dog and we didn't have a table for her. "Pathetic" she wailed. We spend a couple of hundred pounds a month on a 24/7 booking system to stop that happening. So if you review a place please be honest. If its terrible there is no harm in saying so, but before you do please give all venues a chance to sort it out. Most places are full of hard working people with no weekends off just trying to give you a good time.