 A bad restaurant review may seem devastating, but it will never be the single factor that makes or breaks a restaurant. The article below will provide tips on how you can survive and recover from an unfavorable restaurant review.
Feeling stiffed?
Restaurant reviewers are critical, biased and opinionated – it’s their job. Dining critics go to restaurants searching for imperfections. Even if a critic loves your restaurant, they will point out your establishment’s slightest blunders with brutal honesty.
The public generally knows to take restaurant reviews with a grain of salt. When Orlando Sentinel food critic Scott Joseph reviewed Opus 39 Restaurant & Food Gallery, loyal patrons were quick to disagree with his statement that the St. Augustine restaurant’s boutique wine gallery was a marketing gimmick.
Several weeks later, Joseph clarified in his column that the reason guests had to visit Opus 39’s wine gallery was because of an obscure law that prohibits the sale of alcohol to seated diners when in close proximity to a church.
Joseph wrote, “I had mentioned how odd it was to have to get up from the table in the dining room to trek to the wine room even if you just wanted a glass of wine. Now, we know the rest of the story.”
Bonnie Boots, Food & Wine Editor for Tampa’s The Weekly Planet admits restaurant reviews have little to do with the success or failure of a restaurant, according to www.restaurantreport.com.
“A ‘bad’ review isn’t anymore likely to close down a restaurant than a good review is to ‘make’ one,” she wrote. “If this were true, I and every other restaurant critic would have tremendous power to ‘seed’ our cities with exactly the type of restaurants we personally prefer.”
“Last year I found just such a gem, serving fresh, expertly-prepared, local seafood at bargain prices,” she wrote. “I boosted it in every way I could, featuring it in my column, mentioning it on radio and TV and recommending it to everyone I knew. Did this place become an overnight success? No. It closed shortly after its first anniversary – victim of a very bad location.”
Hungry for revenge? 86 the idea
Resist lashing back at the food critic or the publication following a poor review. They control editorial content, and if you offend them, you may end up generating more negative press for your restaurant.
If the review contains factual errors, you should write a letter to the editor requesting a correction and explain the situation in your own words.
Restaurateurs should also be cautious to avoid demonizing food critics. If you spot a food critic in your restaurant there’s no need to give them a hard time. Instead, use it to your advantage and let them know that you are available to fact check information before the article is printed.
Ask the dining critic to let you know several days in advance when the review will appear in print to give you enough time to prepare for a rush that could result from a positive review.
Work for your tip
Restaurants are often inclined to blame their publicists or expect them to reverse negative publicity when it happens.
Good public relations strategies can convince a dining critic to visit your restaurant, but once they are there, it’s up to you to impress them. The moment a food writer arrives at your restaurant, the publicist’s job comes to an end and your work immediately begins.
Since dining critics often come unannounced, there’s not much a restaurant can do to prepare for their arrival. The best a restaurant can do is to continually provide quality food and service.
Food for thought
No restaurant operation is flawless, so consider whether any of the restaurant reviewer’s criticisms hold weight.
Use the third party perspective to fix problems that are easy to miss by insiders. Take note of the things that are in your power to improve and begin implementing them immediately.
A side of superb
Focus on the positive media attention your restaurant has received in the past. Frame newspaper and magazine articles and display them in your restaurant and post them on your Web site.
Gather testimonials from local celebrities and VIPs that frequent your restaurant and place in advertisements or point of purchase materials. Show off photographs or letters from satisfied customers.
Create opportunities for positive media coverage for your establishment by partnering with a local charity or becoming involved in a high-profile community event.
Silver service
Keep an open line of communication with customers. They can help pinpoint ways your restaurant can improve. Place comment cards on tables or launch a blog on your restaurant’s Web site where customers can rant or rave about their experience at your establishment.
Employ secret shoppers to anonymously dine at your restaurant. Provide them with specific guidelines regarding how they should test your staff. Because you can’t anticipate when the secret shopper will show up at your restaurant, it will force your entire staff to stay on its toes at all times.
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