Anyone who has read this blog for more than a few days knows how I feel about online reviews of restaurants. While I can accept that they do have some use, too many diners use the threat of online reviews to try to blackmail the restaurant into giving them more than they deserve. And don’t even get me started about someone who leaves a one-star review for something that has absolutely nothing to do with the food or service. (“I have never eaten here, but every time I drive by, the parking lot is too crowded. One star!” or “I was sitting on the patio and a fly landed in my lemonade. One star!”) But there is another thing about online reviews that really chaps my ass and that’s when a customer mentions a server by name.
Look, if you are unhappy with the way your dining experience went down, by all means, fire up the fucking Internet, create a Yelp account and go to town. Try to make sure that your version of the story is accurate though because whiny ass customers are going to exaggerate in order to prove their point. (We know you didn’t really wait an hour for your food because your check has the time printed on it, assholes.) So many restaurant owners and managers look at Yelp and Facebook reviews as the most important thing ever put on the world wide web. Bitches, please. It’s not like Moses trekked down from Mount Sinai carrying a Yelp a review carved into stone. These reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt, because they can be deadly for servers who are are specifically mentioned. Time and time again, I have heard from servers who have either been suspended or fired because of a negative online review. The worst part is that some managers don’t even bother to hear the server’s side of the story. Instead, they take the review as the gospel truth and immediately get rid of the person mentioned. But what about when the server is unfairly named? It isn’t that difficult to believe that a trite, vindictive customer would be willing to throw a server under the bus just because that server refused to serve their drunk ass another cocktail or because the server wouldn’t let them order off the kids menu. The waiter is just trying to do his job but then a review shows up that says he had a nasty attitude and was rude and now the server is out of work because his boss chooses to believe an asshole customer over their own trusted employee.
Stop using names in reviews. It doesn’t help anyone and all it does is make trouble for the person mentioned. Even if your server did treat you poorly, wouldn’t it be better to grow a pair of balls and speak to management directly rather than letting cowardice rule your life and hide behind a computer screen? Any person who mentions an employee by name in an online review is a straight up asshole. There’s no two ways about it. Karen, you can still get your free fucking Applebee’s gift card without saying that Scott had an attitude when you told him you were gluten-free. Brad, you can still get that semi-chubby by seeing your name on a Yelp review without saying that your waitress Anna didn’t smile enough. Calm the fuck down and make your reviews matter. Calling out people by their name only makes you look like a vapid asshole looking to push buttons and get someone in trouble.
I’m sure that after I post this blog, I will hear from several more people who lost their jobs because of someone calling them out on Yelp. It’s not fair. As if Yelp doesn’t already suck enough dicks, it also has the power to unemploy hardworking servers who happen to work at restaurants with a zero tolerance for bad Yelp reviews. The next time you want to write a bad review about your dining experience, please take a moment to think about the consequences of what you write. How would you feel if someone posted a review about how bad you were at your job as a whore and then your pimp read the review and you had to go find another corner to work? You wouldn’t like that, would you? Be careful what you write. Someone’s job may be on the line.
Jess
I wished I had recorded all the voicemail messages Yelp left on my former restaurants phone line. Yelp would call a least twice a week claiming that they would handle our negative reviews, all we needed to do was answer some questions & advertise with them.
Mochael
Honestly, hate me, hate what I do. Get pissed off because I had a bad day (happens to us all and I might not be your fix) but people think it’s just a review or a comment. It’s something that can get u fired or ruin work relations. Before you decided to write something about that server, or other people in surveys, remember they have children to take care of, friends and family that love them and know all the faults and achievements of that person..I have had great comments with my name on it, but when i get that shitty service i still tip 20% because you dont know how strong that person is, they might be dealing with something that you wouldnt even step out side with… I hate when people say if they had something that bad they shouldn’t be at work… you dont know why they are at work ready to work…
Brandy
Well said. People only see what’s right in front of them. It helps to consider your server as a human with feelings and not a robot without a care in the world.
Annoymous
God I love you Bitchy! I just finished serving a 3 day suspension thanks to a customers yelp review.?
Brandy
That’s harsh!
Belle
Over the years I’ve learned that customers will describe anyone who tells them something they don’t want to hear as “rude.” They’re just simple idiots that can’t express themselves and don’t know the difference in someone actually being rude and not letting them get their way! Fuck the public! I’m so sick of liars that will say anything to get their way or get something free. I’m not even a server but I deal with this shit on a daily basis. I’m not putting up with it. I’ll call them on their shit.
TB
Last time I checked, saying untrue things about someone publicly is called slander and liable. If you’re fired under those circumstances, I highly recommend talking with a lawyer.
Rusty Rockets
Whats a “YELP” ? Is it a new Ethnic Slur on Resturante Employees?
Riley
But do you really want to work for someone who fires/suspends you for a bad review from a customer w/o hearing your side of the story? Maybe the asshole reviewers are inadvertently doing the servers a favor by weeding out the shitty bosses this way.
Em
Sometimes people struggle to get jobs. So yes, if it feeds their family, they want to work for that boss.