In the age of virtual word-of-mouth recommendations, knowing how to separate the wheat from the chaff can be among the most valuable skills. Evaluating online reviews correctly may require some experience and common sense. Still, it’s achievable if you devote a little interest to mastering the art of spotting manipulated, deceptive, and fake reviews.
While trustworthy reviews remain among the most helpful sources of information when seeking places to emerge in different activities, the culinary journey might be a more delicate topic than places to shop, have a coffee, enjoy a concert, and the list could go on. The importance of avoiding misinformation and misleading reviews stems from the necessity to engage with reliable eateries that provide:
- High-quality food and services
- Excellent customer service
- An enjoyable atmosphere
- Great hygiene.
The Federal Trade Commission draws attention to the risk of stumbling upon the multitude of fake online reviews and other inaccurate information, stating there will be repercussions for the entities that deceive consumers by participating in misleading campaigns. Similar official statements point to the rising number of online bogus, with data from the World Economic Forum suggesting that around 4% of online reviews are fake, with the whole practice costing a whopping $152 billion a year.
With the ever-evolving nature of social media, it’s now more important than ever to learn to evaluate reviews correctly and not fall into deluders’ traps. So, with all the risks associated with online reviews, how much can we still rely on them when looking for a quality place to serve a meal that makes us want to return to it repeatedly?
The best research on restaurants and eateries comes down to several ventures
When it comes to reviewing platforms, there’s an overwhelming collection of readily accessible websites, each with its reputation, features, and clientele type. If you’d usually use Fragrantica to form an opinion about perfume and gain access to a wider breadth of reviews, then for making decisions about a restaurant or eatery, you’d resort to the most popular websites known for delivering this type of information, namely Tripadvisor, Yelp, Google My Business, Foursquare, and OpenTable.
Besides looking up businesses on platforms dedicated to reviews, you have another option to check how qualitative and worthy a restaurant is, namely viewing realistic and photogenic pictures of its offerings on the establishment’s official website. For instance, if you’re looking for a fine kosher dining destination that will please your tastebuds with a wide variety of contemporary and traditional kosher meals, searching for kosher food near me and opting for a restaurant that provides pictures of their offerings is an excellent way to gain an idea of what to expect. This way, you can rest assured knowing you’re visiting the best location in the Kosher 5 towns and can further recommend the place to friends also interested in this cuisine.
Review sites are working to put an end to deceptive commentaries
As it’s generally agreed upon, most internauts today count on reviews (whether pictures or written comments) to establish whether an eatery is worth visiting. Many businesses rely on this omnipresent evaluation type to provide prospective clients with insight into their services, ranging from meals to the restaurant’s layout. In light of this, fake commentaries from people who have no idea what’s going on behind the eatery’s doors are nothing out of the norm. Some of the most popular and widely-used review platforms, like Yelp and Tripadvisor, are no strangers to this deceitful practice. According to the providers, fake commentaries account for a small percentage of every misleading commentary online, suggesting that they use the needed technological tools to remove as many bogus reviews as possible to continue delivering on their promise of only providing genuine information.
However, there’s still a growing need for technological updates on the platforms dealing with restaurant reviews in order to eliminate and even stop malevolent commentators from expressing unfounded opinions and protecting users from making wrong decisions.
Ignoring of black and white commentaries can help avoid a lot of fake commentaries
It’s farfetched to say that eatery experiences are a “love or hate” thing. Clients usually don’t go completely wild about a product, nor do they utterly hate it. Instead, the more significant part of genuine reviewers exercises nuance in their postings, complimenting a service but bringing some criticism to another aspect. For instance, there’s something shady about a review that praises everything about an eatery, enumerating the elements that were out of this world from what they have experienced. This might be a tell-tale sign of a third party’s involvement in making flattering remarks to attract more clients. Similarly, a hypercritical commentary that seems unsupported, especially when surrounded by mostly decent reviews, should also cast doubts about the genuineness of the writer.
Exaggerated reviews often hide a key under the doormat, but using common sense will get you a long way in helping you learn how to recognize them.
How do you spot “fake restaurant reviews”?
Indeed, restaurant reviews will continue to be reliable sources of information in the long term, with platforms’ and managers’ ongoing efforts to separate fake commentaries from authentic ones. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should only rely on their strategy to create a safer online community. Besides sticking to the most trustworthy websites in the hospitality industry, you should also know how to form accurate opinions on your own. In light of this, acknowledging the signs that tell something is going on with a suspicious review will keep you safe from forming wrong opinions.
Restaurants receive negative reviews from clients; this is nothing out of the norm. However, how the management handles those complaints can reveal a lot about the respective business and the accuracy of the comment.
Additionally, the restaurant’s presence on social media can tell a lot about the establishment. This is a good sign if the business is responsive and engages customers in conversations. On the other hand, supposing the management has not posted or been active in a long time, this aspect should raise concerns.
As you can see, online restaurant reviews will continue to be reliable, but it all depends on the sources chosen and the way you approach this strategy.
Photo source: https://unsplash.com/photos/ZrhtQyGFG6s
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