For small businesses these days, it’s all about customer reviews. It doesn't matter how slick of a marketing campaign you have or how much you invest in advertising and hosting grand events; it can all come hideously undone with a couple of unhappy customers who decide to tell the world about it.
However, it needn’t be the end of the world. Sometimes, if the negative feedback is genuine, a humble apology and promise to fix the issue can show honesty and willingness to listen, which many potential customers can appreciate.
Alternatively, if the complaint is malicious and false, a witty comeback and a withering response can also win fans. You might even go viral and get a ton of free exposure!
RELATED: Chinese Takeaway Goes Viral For Its Savage Replies To Bad Customer Reviews
How to Respond to Negative Feedback from Customers?
Being witty is your answer. Need further proof? Well, the good folks here at Bored Panda had collected a list of negative customer feedback examples when restaurant owners dealt with these negative reviews just perfectly. Scroll down below to check them out for yourself!
(Facebook cover image: Dave Walker)
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Jeremy is a scam artist and his kids will be the next generation of scam artists. oh joy.
Guessing math isn't your best subject? It was 30 min and to be honest, being a huge fan of seafood, I would want it to take more than 5 minutes for my mussels to arrive. Did you not read where in the reply they stated it was BUSY?!?!? That means a little bit longer wait. I would have no problem with this at all!!
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While it wasn't 60 minutes having to wait 39 minutes for mussels and French fries isn't great
when you are hungry, sitting at an empty table seems longer than it is.
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Jeremy missed out on the early option vasectomy this planet desperately needs.
38 minutes is still far too long for an appetizer, especially at lunch.
Ordered at 14:19 and appetizers arrive at 14:58, 39 minutes later. The lies are terrible, these is a terrible person who wrote the review, but 39 minutes to get appetizers is too long.
For an owner to go through this much work, he or she is taking pride in their place. Good for them.
Wow... Kinda creepy how they know everything about you while you're there... And shame on you Jeremy!
According to the restaurant's response, I guess they use it as evidence for events like these
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So, they scammed them for free food that you said was bad and then left a negative review hoping for what??? More free food???
I think I see - the reviewer thinks their group arrived at 2.00pm so from then it would be an hour to when appetizers arrived. Carrying on from this, it's 1hr 15 mins til the entrees...He erred on the times but while allowance should be made for busy periods, it was still a 40min wait - for appetizers. Like someone pointed out, had the waitress notified them and apologized for the delay? The 15mins for entrees not as bad. Not hard to identify one of the reasons they're unhappy. Tipping is a customer's prerogative & doesn't need to be judged. Fair enough that the customer should have had better control of their kid. That the restaurant never had a complaint about the scallops and mussels in the past is neither here nor there. It does not mean the dish can never be faulted as if things never go wrong. It definitely does like I have found out. A product I bought was the wrong size to what the packaging stated but the minimal chances of this happening doesn't negate the possibility of human error.
I have never worked in an industrial kitchen, agree (without further knowledge) that the customer and child appear to be a******s. Must ask, is it regular for an order to take 8 minutes from being taken to being printed in the kitchen? Everything else? Yes, douchebags. 8 minutes seems excessive. Just wondering.
actually, it's little brother. the government doesn't care about your eating habits.
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I'm curious now though why it took 8 minutes to get the order to the kitchen and why it took 40 minutes to get their appetizer.
He did place his order at 2:19 pm. Entree was not served until 3:13 pm. I’d say that a 55 minute wait for lunch when you have young kids could be cause for complaint
Sorry, I'm with the customer on this one. Michelle took the order at 2:20. Her order "prints in the kitchen" at 2:28. Really? 8 minutes for the order to get to the kitchen? It does sound like she forgot to put in her order. Then it's another 30 before the order is served. So 38 minutes to get an appetizer. Enough to make any customer grumpy and if they are hungry and dealing with antsy kids, it can certainly feel like things were taking longer than they actually were. Still, 40 minutes for mussels and fries is way too long. Michelle should have apologized and let them know about the delay. Also, if Jeremy was trying to scam the restaurant, he would have complained while he was there and had his meal taken off the bill. He didn't. He went home. Finally - yes Michelle technically waited on them for 80 minutes but clearly, ignored them for a good portion of it of that time. Some customers are not inclined to pay extra for such bad service.
This is my take on everything too. Nobody's a winner here.
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this level of burn has the radiation of a mid-size star, nasa has reported that they managed to collect and store all the heat, on which the kitchen still runs for free to this day
A 40 minute wait for appetizers according to the manager. Might not be the 60 claimed by Jeremy but that's still a bit of ridiculous wait for two items that come straight from the fryer. Jeremy exaggerated slightly but if I had to sit somewhere for 40 minutes waiting for aps that were ordered less than a minute after receiving the menu I could see it feeling like a full hour if I didn't have a time stamped video to refer to. His 12 year old was being a distraction... maybe because they didn't anticipate having to wait forever for basic food. "Lets order fries as soon as we sit down to keep the kids happy" is a fairly common thing to do, of course making the kid wait 40 minutes is going to make him antsy.
I feel like maybe the waiting time might not be an exaggeration either.....if the customer is including the time they waited for a table to begin with.
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To be fair, it took 30 minutes from order to receiving the appetizers. That's a log wait for appetizers.
It took just about 40 minutes from when they ordered. That's a long time - not out of the question for a place that's slammed, but still a long time if you've got hungry kids.
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The owner's response says more about him than it does about the reviewer. If you're not ready to accept bad reviews, even ones that lie and exaggerate, you need to find another line of business.
I don't believe that an entire family has their orders taken within 40 seconds of being handed menus not do I think the 40 minute wait which the restaurant Admits, is fast enough. Oh and eh, using cctv for this purpose is not legal
Some people love to eat like pigs but behave poorly like them as well. No offence to real pigs or pig farmers though. It's an expression.
I do not know the restaurant but. WELL DONE to the staff. Who do they think they are - those so called customers!!
Restaurants these days probably have created a full-time position to counteract fake negative Yelp reviews
Customer is a jerk, but still 38 minutes to get apetizers and an hour for the dish seems quite long for me :/
That.. for gourmet restaurants, is pretty normal, exept for the appetizer, that should only be 15 or less, though it had scallops
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Those you're talking about are seconds not minutes.
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Do Restaurants Care About Reviews?
“You don’t define your brand. Your customers do,” is a common saying among customer service experts. And it’s true. Customer reviews have become so important to people that 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business, as per Invesp. And 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. That’s a lot! So restaurants don’t just care about the reviews; they need them.
How Much Does a Bad Review Cost a Restaurant?
You need visible reviews for potential customers to check out, but they must be good ones. If you get a bad review, it can be soul-destroying; you pour your heart and soul into your business only to tarnish it by a customer who might simply be in a bad mood, didn’t like the restaurant’s food, or had unrealistic expectations.
Businesses are at risk of losing consumers who would have bought from them if there hadn’t been a negative review, as per Zen Business. Negative reviews can turn as much as 86% of customers away. You simply can't ignore difficult customers, no matter how unfair it might seem.
Also, they left, their table was given away, but the service was good.
Why Do Customers Leave Bad Restaurant Reviews?
According to Social Media Today, 13.5% of customers say they post fake reviews or negative reviews out of vengeance, so chances are, they aren’t out to get you personally. 89.7% of people who complain want to get a response from you, which suggests that they are giving you the opportunity to make things right.
73.2% of people who complain hope to save others from having the same experience as they did. So, if you are helpful and make an effort to reply in a courteous way, you can use bad reviews for restaurants to show that you are willing to adapt to customer needs and demands.
Because they think being legal and making sense makes sense, unlike you, Blurred Name.
Can a Restaurant Sue You for a Bad Review?
During an interview with CNBC, Attorney Evan Mascagni said, “Most Americans don’t realize they can be sued for writing an online review. With the rise of user-generated [review] content sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google, we’ve really seen a shift where folks are being sued for their speech online.”
As you saw in these bad restaurant review examples, it was apparent that the reviews were false. Our advice would be to avoid writing such fake reviews, or you might face a heavy fine from the restaurant.
If you come into a restaurant when they're closing you shouldn't expect suburb service. You're actually a d!ck for deciding to come in when they're trying to end their day because you feel entitled to food. Mcdonalds is open 24 hours.
This could really backfire for the other Chinese restaurant. People remember this kind of funny publicity better than a good review.
This is the proper way to respond to a bad review. Very carefully call out their lies without resulting to insulting them like the Irish restaurant did.
Perfect last sentence! !!!! 'Meat by itself is utterly fantastic.' Alsono exclamation mark. It is fact.
I wish they didn't block the people's names. I just want to see if it's someone I know so I know to stay clear of this person.
Who else feels the urge to find Peter B. from Forest Hill US and ask him if the burn already healed?
Dealing with False Complaints
The witty comebacks from the restaurant owners were really something! If you ever think about posting a false review, think twice. Or rather, don’t think about it at all! Which witty comeback did you like the most? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments. Also, share this with someone you know who has posted fake reviews. Let them know how badly it can come back to them!
I like posts like this, but they usually overdo it and after about 30 I'm done. Anyway, some of these are clearly a rude, entitled guest where others are salty immature owners.
I don’t like these reviews tbh, all we see are entitled, rude and arrogant owners.
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And now, we wonder, how many of these owners were lying to the reviewers?
I don't like businesses that say "We must be doing something right..we've been here for 30 years." My last job was 2 doors down from a restaurant that's been in business for 30+ years. The only reason he's been able to keep the doors open so long is that he does not pay his wait staff minimum wage (falsifies records to show he does,) he keeps food way past spoilage dates, and if ever the Health department or Labor department gets a complaint about him, he gets a heads up from his wife (who works for the health department) and his nephew (who works for the labor department) before "surprise" inspections are conducted. Just because your business has been around for 30 years doesn't mean you aren't still a crappy human being.
A restaurant near me was given a dozen 1 star reviews three months before it opened. Always wondered when Dr. Who started posting on Yelp...
the other side of the story: I ordered a dry salad with lemons on the side. The salad came with oil dripping all over it. I said that I ordered a dry salad. The waiter took it back and washed the oil off. Now it is oily and is dripping with water. I asked for a well done steak. It came out bleeding and mooing rare. I asked the waiter to take it back for a little more heat. I also asked for worster sauce on the table. It took forever with the waiter nowhere to be found. I peeked into the kitchen door thru the door window. The waiter came back from smoke break (kitchen smelled of marijuana) and told the cook I was being an a*****e. The cook threw the steak on the floor & stepped on it. I was still watching in unbelief as the waiter poured a little worster sauce in a small bowl. He spit in it. I just walked out. The waiter came running out to the car & said I had to come back in. I lost my civilization at that point & used some coarse language telling him off. WHATAJERK
I have never written an online review of an establishment. I absolutely would never write a bad review of an independant family run business. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your experience or provision of service in such places, either voice it at the time or send an email to the owners/management afterwards. For a small business that has only had a handful of reviews a couple of nasty ones can be seriously damaging. Huge chains are fair game if they don't come up to scratch. Edit - why the downvote? Small restaurants can have occasional bad days for many reasons. Doesnt justify compromising their future by encouraging others to avoid the place, simply because you personally were not happy. Otherwise it will be McD and KFC everywhere
Do you consider it "a bad day" when restaurants try and kill you? Or when they discriminate? I've had both happen to me and yes, I left a bad review online. Because I don't want people to end up dead or to get discriminated against. If I emailed the owner? If I emailed the head office? Yes, still no reply from either of them.
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I don't put much stock in the "star" rating a restaurant has in reviews. If you Google a place and read the reviews, you will see tons of one-star reviews saying stuff like, "Food was great", "Best place ever!"...I think people accidentally push the wrong button. Then you will also see two and three-year reviews that say stuff like, "The food was disgusting, but I dont like Cajun food"...If you don't like Cajun food, why did you go to a Cajun restaurant?!?!
Why would anybody even ask for a discount? If they don't have a coupon of some sort... You don't get one
I don't get why people do things like these. It only destroys the reputation of both the person and the restaurant.
A top rated chinese restaurant in Clear Lake ordered two custom-made welded giant wok pans to fit their large oven tops. My welder buddy made & delivered them. They refused to pay at the time since it was the morning, & they needed their cash for the lunch rush. My welder buddy invoiced them repeatedly. Still no pay, no reasons offered. So he went into their kitchen during the Sunday lunch rush, took his pans off the oven top, took them full of food out into the serving area, told everybody what happened, and then threw the food on the floor. He dared the owners to call the cops or sue. They did not. THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO THE STORY. SOME RESTAURANTS ARE OWNED/STAFFED BY CORRUPT INCOMPETENT JERKS!!!
He never should have let them have the pans without payment.
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Some of these seem to have been simple mistakes (the person posted the review on the wrong restaurant by accident).
“We don’t go home and tattle tale on the restaurant. Who’s got time to write an 18 page essay on the asparagus they had last night?" -Sebastian Maniscalco
Now we can see how people occupy themselves. If you are bored find a hobby, visit this website, but dont do this, kiddos. When you eat out leave a BIG tip, unless you are broke like me, or the service was truly terrible.
I remember a short little Disney film about a baby deer, in which a rabbit says 'if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all'. Seems to me a few people need to go and watch it.
Nice advice, but not useful in this case. When I read a review, I want an honest opinion, be it positive or negative. Ideally, honest without being rude or condescending.
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its good to see your post i really like it . Best Pizza Deals in Amityville
This is why I don't listen to critics of any kind. I'll judge for myself, thank you.
Great article! I wish you'd shown the names of the restaurants, since I love to eat at places with those kinds of attitudes. Running a restaurant is crazy difficult, even without the fake complaints.
I had an order to go and when I opened it at home, half of the meat on the ribs wasntthere. There was plenty of their sauce on the bones though. I posted a photo on their site and they asked me what my issue was, an automatic response.
It's hilarious that a lot of these have the names blurred but then in the response it's "Hi (Name)" lmao
I never understand people who wait two hours to get a table and then 3 hours to get their food... Even if that place is the only one on the neighborhood I would just get up and leave if I had to wait that long. My time is valuable - why waste it that way? BTW, life hack, - if a place has a bar and you do not have kids in your company, you can always sit at the bar while waiting for your table and order your food there, too. So once your food is ready your table is ready, too, and you already had a couple of drinks.
the other side of the story: I went to the top seafood restaurant in town...I ordered my food. I went after church at 2 pm expecting to miss the crowd. It took almost 45 minutes to get my food since the staff was all on lunch break now that the crowd had died down. The restaurant was a wreck from the lunch rush. I found a clear spot to eat. The waitress started bussing the table and vacuuming the floor to get the mess off the floor. The shop-vac vacuum exhausted directly in my face. It smelled of day-old vomit that they had swept up but had not emptied out of the shop vac. I asked the waitress to please clean up elsewhere since I was eating there. She told me I had to move. WHADDAJERK!
Too much to read? Your brain is just too small haha.
Load More Replies... I like posts like this, but they usually overdo it and after about 30 I'm done. Anyway, some of these are clearly a rude, entitled guest where others are salty immature owners.
I don’t like these reviews tbh, all we see are entitled, rude and arrogant owners.
Load More Replies... And now, we wonder, how many of these owners were lying to the reviewers?
I don't like businesses that say "We must be doing something right..we've been here for 30 years." My last job was 2 doors down from a restaurant that's been in business for 30+ years. The only reason he's been able to keep the doors open so long is that he does not pay his wait staff minimum wage (falsifies records to show he does,) he keeps food way past spoilage dates, and if ever the Health department or Labor department gets a complaint about him, he gets a heads up from his wife (who works for the health department) and his nephew (who works for the labor department) before "surprise" inspections are conducted. Just because your business has been around for 30 years doesn't mean you aren't still a crappy human being.
A restaurant near me was given a dozen 1 star reviews three months before it opened. Always wondered when Dr. Who started posting on Yelp...
the other side of the story: I ordered a dry salad with lemons on the side. The salad came with oil dripping all over it. I said that I ordered a dry salad. The waiter took it back and washed the oil off. Now it is oily and is dripping with water. I asked for a well done steak. It came out bleeding and mooing rare. I asked the waiter to take it back for a little more heat. I also asked for worster sauce on the table. It took forever with the waiter nowhere to be found. I peeked into the kitchen door thru the door window. The waiter came back from smoke break (kitchen smelled of marijuana) and told the cook I was being an a*****e. The cook threw the steak on the floor & stepped on it. I was still watching in unbelief as the waiter poured a little worster sauce in a small bowl. He spit in it. I just walked out. The waiter came running out to the car & said I had to come back in. I lost my civilization at that point & used some coarse language telling him off. WHATAJERK
I have never written an online review of an establishment. I absolutely would never write a bad review of an independant family run business. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your experience or provision of service in such places, either voice it at the time or send an email to the owners/management afterwards. For a small business that has only had a handful of reviews a couple of nasty ones can be seriously damaging. Huge chains are fair game if they don't come up to scratch. Edit - why the downvote? Small restaurants can have occasional bad days for many reasons. Doesnt justify compromising their future by encouraging others to avoid the place, simply because you personally were not happy. Otherwise it will be McD and KFC everywhere
Do you consider it "a bad day" when restaurants try and kill you? Or when they discriminate? I've had both happen to me and yes, I left a bad review online. Because I don't want people to end up dead or to get discriminated against. If I emailed the owner? If I emailed the head office? Yes, still no reply from either of them.
Load More Replies... I don't put much stock in the "star" rating a restaurant has in reviews. If you Google a place and read the reviews, you will see tons of one-star reviews saying stuff like, "Food was great", "Best place ever!"...I think people accidentally push the wrong button. Then you will also see two and three-year reviews that say stuff like, "The food was disgusting, but I dont like Cajun food"...If you don't like Cajun food, why did you go to a Cajun restaurant?!?!
Why would anybody even ask for a discount? If they don't have a coupon of some sort... You don't get one
I don't get why people do things like these. It only destroys the reputation of both the person and the restaurant.
A top rated chinese restaurant in Clear Lake ordered two custom-made welded giant wok pans to fit their large oven tops. My welder buddy made & delivered them. They refused to pay at the time since it was the morning, & they needed their cash for the lunch rush. My welder buddy invoiced them repeatedly. Still no pay, no reasons offered. So he went into their kitchen during the Sunday lunch rush, took his pans off the oven top, took them full of food out into the serving area, told everybody what happened, and then threw the food on the floor. He dared the owners to call the cops or sue. They did not. THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO THE STORY. SOME RESTAURANTS ARE OWNED/STAFFED BY CORRUPT INCOMPETENT JERKS!!!
He never should have let them have the pans without payment.
Load More Replies... Some of these seem to have been simple mistakes (the person posted the review on the wrong restaurant by accident).
“We don’t go home and tattle tale on the restaurant. Who’s got time to write an 18 page essay on the asparagus they had last night?" -Sebastian Maniscalco
Now we can see how people occupy themselves. If you are bored find a hobby, visit this website, but dont do this, kiddos. When you eat out leave a BIG tip, unless you are broke like me, or the service was truly terrible.
I remember a short little Disney film about a baby deer, in which a rabbit says 'if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all'. Seems to me a few people need to go and watch it.
Nice advice, but not useful in this case. When I read a review, I want an honest opinion, be it positive or negative. Ideally, honest without being rude or condescending.
Load More Replies... its good to see your post i really like it . Best Pizza Deals in Amityville
This is why I don't listen to critics of any kind. I'll judge for myself, thank you.
Great article! I wish you'd shown the names of the restaurants, since I love to eat at places with those kinds of attitudes. Running a restaurant is crazy difficult, even without the fake complaints.
I had an order to go and when I opened it at home, half of the meat on the ribs wasntthere. There was plenty of their sauce on the bones though. I posted a photo on their site and they asked me what my issue was, an automatic response.
It's hilarious that a lot of these have the names blurred but then in the response it's "Hi (Name)" lmao
I never understand people who wait two hours to get a table and then 3 hours to get their food... Even if that place is the only one on the neighborhood I would just get up and leave if I had to wait that long. My time is valuable - why waste it that way? BTW, life hack, - if a place has a bar and you do not have kids in your company, you can always sit at the bar while waiting for your table and order your food there, too. So once your food is ready your table is ready, too, and you already had a couple of drinks.
the other side of the story: I went to the top seafood restaurant in town...I ordered my food. I went after church at 2 pm expecting to miss the crowd. It took almost 45 minutes to get my food since the staff was all on lunch break now that the crowd had died down. The restaurant was a wreck from the lunch rush. I found a clear spot to eat. The waitress started bussing the table and vacuuming the floor to get the mess off the floor. The shop-vac vacuum exhausted directly in my face. It smelled of day-old vomit that they had swept up but had not emptied out of the shop vac. I asked the waitress to please clean up elsewhere since I was eating there. She told me I had to move. WHADDAJERK!
Too much to read? Your brain is just too small haha.
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