Restaurant owner hits back at TripAdvisor over damaging review ‘Website should check postings and require copy of bill’
ABIRMINGHAM restaurant owner has hit out at a scathing one star TripAdvisor review, posted after she had given the customer “freebies and discounts”.
Emma Yufera-Ruiz said she was “upset” the customer’s post did not refer to how their complaints were resolved after a meal at El Borracho de Oro, in Edgbaston.
The restaurateur said TripAdvisor should force reviewers to include a picture of their bill to ensure accuracy.
Ms Yufera-Ruiz hit out in an Instagram post after the customer claimed their party was served “overpriced” and “cold” food which was “really not worth the money”.
They complained about a “limited menu” and “patronising service” and added: “Definitely won’t ever visit again.”
But Ms Yufera-Ruiz told the Birmingham Post she did all she could to resolve the problem, but her restaurant’s TripAdvisor rating had slipped as a result.
“It is disgraceful that anyone can post a review on TripAdvisor without any checks on whether they actually went to the restaurant and if so, what they actually paid for,” she said.
“Before this review I was ranked the 41st best restaurant in Birminghan out of 2,000 – now my ranking has gone down to 55. There is no reference to all the things we did to rectify problems, such as giving them free breads while they decided if they wanted to stay, as well as chunk off the bill at the end.
“They were under no pressure to stay and order.
“But not only did they stay for the meal, they ordered desserts a and were the last to leave the building. Not once did they say there was anything wrong with the food. In fact, one of the party actually personally thanked for me the delicious meal.”
Ms Yufera-Ruiz said the diner who posted the review made the booking for six and was told the restaurant, in Harborne Road, near Five Ways, was not doing tapas but instead hosting a ‘Taco Tuesday’ pop-up night. But she said the party still turned up appearing to expect tapas.
She said: “I did understand they were expecting tapas so I was very quick to see that I should do everything in my power to rectify the situation.
“And I did. There was no limited menu – they were able to order from both the taco and tapas menus. There were no complaints about the food.”
She wrote previously on Instagram: “We are human and we f*** up sometimes, but I always own up if I make a mistake and always go out of my way to fix it.
“I believe strongly that how we handle complaints is essential and reflective of our business as a whole. However, I also feel that how a customer complains is reflective of them as a person and should be handled politely, respectfully and honestly.
“In this instance I was spoken to very rudely and really quite offensively. My gestures to turn it around were accepted (freebies and discounts) but not mentioned in their damning public review.”
She added: “I implore TripAdvisor to make every customer post a copy of their bill along with their review to give it some validity. It is her word against mine and those that know me will know it’s rubbish but nevertheless it bothers me and makes me feel so defensive of El B.
“Any online review must be honest and truthful. And if the business has tried to make it right then at least recognise that. This is people’s lives, it’s my life and it’s not OK.
Ms Yufera-Ruiz opened El Borracho de Oro in 2015. The restaurant specialises in authentic Spanish tapas and currently has a 4.5 rating on Trip Advisor.
Dozens responded to her Instagram post. Oceanluvver said: “I hope you wrote a reply that mentioned how you have discounted / given freebies? I would also add how you’ve checked her reviews and notice how she seems to be very unlucky when she goes out as the service always seems to be bad.”
Fellow restaurant owner Marta Retenaga, who runs Amantia on Bennett’s Hill, commented: “It’s super unfair for the rating to be massively affected by something like this.”
It is disgraceful that anyone can post a review on TripAdvisor without any checks Emma Yufera-Ruiz