Restaurant hits back at negative reviews
ONE of Cornwall’s most successful dining businesses has hit out at reviews website TripAdvisor for not doing more to protect restaurants from unfair and unfounded criticism by ‘serial one-star reviewers’.
It has also asked visitors to be more understanding ,after a barrage of insults and rude behaviour by customers.
Inkie’s Smokehouse BBQ, which is based next to the beautiful Golitha Falls nature reserve near Liskeard, has a growing reputation for its smoked meats, burgers and wraps, and has become a mustvisit destination for hungry visitors and locals alike. However, owners Karen and Debbie LucasPenhall are becoming increasingly frustrated by ‘entitled’ customers who are posting damaging reviews on TripAdvisor and being rude in person.
Karen said: “99% of customers are fine, but then you get the people who constantly give a one-star review and don’t realise the harm it does to you. Because of the rise in costs and problems with transport deliveries, trying to trying to get hold of things is a nightmare, like getting simple stuff like jalapeños or tortilla chips and oil.
“We can’t get a tin of gherkins for love or money at the minute. Everything’s gone up in price, so you’re having to adapt the menu all the time to what you can and can’t get. You have people coming up: ‘Oh, you’ve changed the menu, I wanted this’. Sorry, we can’t get it ,but we’ve got other things instead.”
She added: “You’ll run out of smoked meat and then you’ll get a one-star review on TripAdvisor. ‘Oh, you’ve run out of food.’ No, I didn’t run out of food, I’ve just run out of smoked meat because we’ve been so busy. They should see that as a good thing, as it’s quality stuff and popular, but they don’t see it like that.
“We’ve worked so hard to produce good stuff and be a good place to go, and then you get crappy reviews. We had three in a row, which is really unusual. It was the first week of half-term and we were absolutely rammed, but you get a one-star saying ‘I don’t know what the fuss is about’. If that’s the case, go to McDonald’s.
“You look at the people who give you one-star and they’ve got a habit of it. Unless it’s a cheap and nasty place where they’re paying a couple of quid, they’re all giving one stars. TripAdvisor don’t do anything about it. These people don’t realise the harm it does to you.
Karen added: “We’ve had onestar reviews from people saying we turned up and they were shut. That’s because they came on a Monday or Tuesday when we’re not open. It’s the entitlement of people – they expect everything and want things to open when they want it. It’s very damaging.
“The problem is we don’t want to start replying. We have a rule that we don’t reply, whether it’s a one-star or a five-star review, because you end up getting into a slagging match and that’s not what it’s about. We wrote to TripAdvisor but you get nothing back. I don’t know whether it’s a computergenerated response or what, but it’s naughty.
“There’s no policing of the site and we get a lot of jealousy because we’re busy all the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s winter or summer, we’re busy. We’ve worked hard for that. Both of us are at the business all the time. If they are serial one-star givers, TripAdvisor shouldn’t allow them to do it. You think, how can I turn that one-star review around, but you never can.”
The American-style restaurant has a log cabin, shop, indoor diner and covered outside eating area – complete with its own mini nature reserve which attracts myriad bird species – and a large free car park, thanks to a lease from Cornwall Council.
It is one of Cornwall’s most popular dining venues on TripAdvisor, with a full five-star average from 369 reviews. However, the one-star reviews do stand out among the sea of praise, featuring comments like “not sure what all the fuss is about” and “poor ... out of food before closing”.
The couple say many of those posting one-star reviews make a habit of doing it on other establishments’ pages, too. They would like to see TripAdvisor do more to counteract what they say are needlessly negative reviews, which can be hugely damaging to the reputation of businesses.
Debbie said: “Independent businesses need to get together for support and create something where we can air concerns like this. Businesses need to be united against TripAdvisor and other sites where the content is incorrect and unfair.
“People love Cornwall for the independents but yet, when you run out of things and you’re trying to be unique, you’re criticised for that. People think that you can absorb all these extra costs, but it’s hard.”
‘You think, how can I turn that one-star review around, but you never can’ KAREN LUCAS-PENHALL