Online reviews are a powerful tool in the hands of consumers, but yet another incident in Spain shows how much of a double-edged sword they can become. A negative comment on Google triggered a full-blown confrontation between a group of dissatisfied customers and the owners of the targeted restaurant. The intervention of influential social accounts, such as Soy Camarero's, amplified the debate, raising important questions.
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The news
Online reviews left by diners once again set the Spanish Web ablaze. Just a few days ago, a vitriolic comment left on Google by a group of diners created great turmoil. The text, reported by La Vangurdia, reads, "Don't go there. Worst service and worst burgers ever.... The fries were cold, the bacon hard as a rock, and they charge 1.40 euros for a slice of tomato. You eat better and it costs less at McDonald's than here," pointing out, moreover, that the place was half empty and the service poor.
Immediate was the response of the owners who did not send them back, "politely" inviting the dissatisfied diners to never return to their establishment. "If one thing is clear, it is that burgers are not for you. First of all if you compare us to the price of McDonald's you don't understand about burgers or quality, but okay. That the restaurant was empty is just your opinion like the rest of the statements, so again, we thank you for taking the trouble to write to us and we strongly urge you not to return. Your comment says more about you than it does about our restaurant."
The web immediately sided with the restaurant. First and foremost, Soy Camarero, the Spanish account (with profiles on all social networks and a huge following) spokesman and defender of hospitality workers, on X called the customer reviews "brutal" and unjustified. This is just the latest of countless incidents that puts online reviews at the center of controversy by pointing out how, often, they turn out to be unfair, fabricated, or exaggerated, creating serious damage for venue owners and consequently their employees. If left by people who are incompetent, or simply eager to wreak havoc, in fact, online comments can be truly dangerous, proving misleading, for customers, and detrimental to restaurateurs.
