“Oh, I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting! Now you’ll probably give me a 1-star review…” said the owner of a lovely wine bar in Vienna with a serious and sad look on her face.
I had to reassure her that I’m not THAT type of tourist. The type who doesn’t understand that, especially post covid, many businesses are running with staff shortages and financial challenges.
And pre-covid even, business who are unfairly penalised by that one grumpy, privileged or spoilt customer who knit picks (sometimes valid, but often exaggerated) and spews negative feedback on a review platform, instead of politely/constructively and kindly sharing their insights with a business.
NO ONE LIKES A 1-STAR REVIEWER
Often the customer rating and review websites are unfair to hardworking entrepreneurs. I’ve had a friend who, in my company, gave a business a harmful 1-star review when there was some context missing in the lack of service in that moment. People are quick to be critical of a business if an employed staff member who is tired or overworked gives a 10-minute bad reflection of the entire business.
On a recent trip to Thailand I visited a five star resort where it took almost an hour to get an ice-bucket ordered to our room; where one of us was served our dinner and started eating to prevent it getting cold and after they’d finished their meal and a question to the staff, I only got my food. It’s 101 in service etiquette, but mishaps can still happen. On another occasion I was charged double for my second ice order because I asked for a larger portion (but wasn’t forewarned that the 20% more ice would be charged at double the price); and the breakfasts for a five star resort were very poor compared to other resorts visited on the same holiday. Did I run to a review platform with a bad review? No. I constructively asked to speak to the general manager and explained my feedback in the hope that things could improve for others. From her side she also explained that they’ve had massive staff shortages since the pandemic as the tourism industry opened quicker than expected, but some of the staff simply never returned. And the staff who had to hit the ground running to keep the business operational weren’t properly trained. At the end of the conversation I was really happy that I gave feedback and listened to their side of the story rather than giving them the dreaded 1-star.
TOP TIP: If you must give bad reviews instead of speaking to a business, give 3-stars instead of 1 and give some constructive feedback to show readers that you objectively considered various aspects and aren’t simply being vindictive.
BUSINESSES TRY TO INFLUENCE THEIR OWN REVIEWS
It’s a fact. Businesses care about good reviews to attract business. On the one hand we can all understand that customers are quicker to complain than to give compliments; so it’s understandable that businesses push for good reviews. With so many people still taking review scores into account as a guide, you can’t blame businesses for trying to influence their public perception. There are those business who 1. Actively and tirelessly ask for reviews (even when their service hasn’t been that great?) 2. Incentivise customers to give a review (how can you happily receive a five euro discount if you’re saying something bad?) 3. Only contact happy customers to ask for a review (I worked for a company where we knew that if we contacted customers who highly rated service contacts, we would be more likely to just get good reviews)…
WHY RECEIVING A THACKS AWARD IS BETTER THAN A GOOD REVIEW
- It’s objective – no one can pay for or buy or incentivise a Thacks Award
- It’s rare – each Thacks Award panelist may only award 5 businesses a year; so they’re fussy about who they should give their awards to
- It’s thorough – a panelist has to visit a contending Thacks Award winner at least twice and has to be able to score a winner with 9 or 10 out of 10 in five categories
- It’s professional – the panelists are credible international travellers who are passionate about food, drink and travel; and have discerning palates and high standards
- It’s genuinely positive – we want to give thanks to some great products… where things behind-the-scenes are obviously being run very well to exude service excellence
Why a Thacks Award is Better than 100 Five Star Reviews written by John Thackray – one of the international Thacks Awards panelists, living in Spain. When not traveling and wine-tasting, John is an iGaming specialist reporting into director level in the sports betting industry with a degree in Information Technology.
SEE THE FULL LIST OF ‘THACKS AWARDS’ 2021 WINNERS HERE.
MEET THE INTERNATIONAL PANELISTS HERE.
READ ALL THE BLOG POSTS HERE.
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