A couple of years back, me and my partner would search for a restaurant online before we went. Looking at reviews to see if it was worth the trip. Seeing bad reviews would put us off going to certain venues. Until I met someone who said I HAD TO TRY this place in town. We’d seen bad reviews but decided to take their word for it. To cut a long story short, we went to the restaurant and really enjoyed it. It was at that point, that I began to question all the reviews and wonder if people were just giving personal opinions or being fussy. So I decided to write some reviews of my own.
I like to think that I remain completely neutral when I visit a venue and I don’t let any negative comments I’ve seen or heard affect my judgement. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll try anywhere and give it my honest opinion. I like to write reviews as though I’m reading them. What really matters? What is irrelevant and might bore a reader? How was the food, the view, the service, the atmosphere. I want people to be able to read my review and feel like they’ve got a good idea of the whole experience at the venue. I often used to red reviews which would read something like “Amazing review, would definitely recommend, 10/10!!” - Why would you reccomend it? What was so amazing about it?
Or
”Rubbish restaurant, do not eat here” - Why not? Why was it so bad? Why was this restaurant so much worse than the one you went to last week? And if the service or food was really bad? What parts of it negatively stood out to you?
I like to focus on details of my experience and tell people why this venue is really good or bad, and make them feel like they were there with us.
Many local restaurants near us get over looked and I really love how they focus their efforts on service and fresh food because they don’t have the luxury of mass advertisement like the corporate chains! You can speak directly with management and sometimes owners and get a feel for what their passion it.
I love nothing more than knowing that I’ve helped someone, especially when it comes to having fun. And food and hotels always means fun!! Being as honest as possible is always going to benefit everyone. Positive reviews let people know that this venue is worth going to and also let’s the venue know that they’re doing well and are on track! A negative review can inform people of what to expect or look out for when visiting a location and what might not be favourable for them. But also allows the owners and managers to understand where they’re perhaps not doing so well and why that is- Which areas they could improve upon in order to progress and grow.
After working for multiple years in some of London’s most prestigious stores, I learned a lot about service and work place attitude so a key theme I will mention in my reviews are the service of the people I deal with. I think that there is no substitute for good manners and professionalism, I hope you enjoy reading my reviews and if there’s any specifics you’d like me to mention or add in future. Please feel free to let me know!