"Hello, I'm the owner and I'd like to offer you......"
Discussion
miniman said:
Take him up on it, if its much better write a review saying so. Lots of hotels / pubs doing this at the moment. You could just as easily be saying "left feedback but owner couldn't even be arsed to respond".
I think this.Surely if you go back your visit might be better and then you can add that into your review?
Being in a similar trade myself, I can empathise with what he's trying to do. If I had a bad review about my pub, I'd respond saying we were sorry about whatever it is and if you'd like to get in contact we would like to try to make up for the bad time. We'd hope that this may cause a new review to be written but certainly wouldn't expect it nor make it a condition of anything we offered.
That said, if your review speaks mostly of physical things then I'm not sure what the owner is trying to achieve. Bad service etc. can be dealt with location can't.
That said, if your review speaks mostly of physical things then I'm not sure what the owner is trying to achieve. Bad service etc. can be dealt with location can't.
I can understand TA isn't the hoteliers' favourite website, but rest assured, anything I've put there isn't the views of Mr Smallcock. As it happens, my cock is huge but that's another thread. I'd agree there are some needlessly spiteful, harsh and damaging reviews, but anyone with an ounce of nouse can smell them a mile off and ignore them. The genuine, balanced reviews, good or bad are easy to spot and take notice of, whilst ignoring Mr Smallcock's diatribe.
So, I had a more thorough look at the hotel's other reviews, especially the "terrible" ones (we gave them an average....because it was).
Frankly, it's comical. "The Management" go to very great lengths using poor, misspelt and grammatically incorrect English to simply discredit anyone who offers any kind of criticism at all, saying their view of the hotel is ridiculous, there is no record of their stay and stating how everyone else raves about the place. In one reply "The Management" even dismisses criticism of the beds because "they are the same beds used by the Queen and the Royal Household", and then goes even further by cutting&pasting the sales blurb from the bed manufacturer's website.
In my view, any business that replies in public to a customer's input as being ridiculous and tries to add faux-kudos by extremely weak association to HMQ deserves to fail.
Granted his offer of a complimentary stay appears to be the very gracious act of a concerned owner, but the fact he stated about six times that in order for the offer to stand I had to remove the review started to give it the feint whiff of a rat.
We're not going back, and the review's staying. It isn't even that bad reading it again. But things like there not being an actual bath in the bathroom of a suite in a (allegedly) five-star gaff won't be altered one bit by revisiting. Nor will the fact it overlooks a Jewson's yard. Ok, so he can't evict the neighbours, but nor can he offer it up as unparalleled luxury.
It was also advertised (without breakfast) as £50-a-night more than The Savoy (with breakfast) but I chose to leave that bit out.
So, I had a more thorough look at the hotel's other reviews, especially the "terrible" ones (we gave them an average....because it was).
Frankly, it's comical. "The Management" go to very great lengths using poor, misspelt and grammatically incorrect English to simply discredit anyone who offers any kind of criticism at all, saying their view of the hotel is ridiculous, there is no record of their stay and stating how everyone else raves about the place. In one reply "The Management" even dismisses criticism of the beds because "they are the same beds used by the Queen and the Royal Household", and then goes even further by cutting&pasting the sales blurb from the bed manufacturer's website.
In my view, any business that replies in public to a customer's input as being ridiculous and tries to add faux-kudos by extremely weak association to HMQ deserves to fail.
Granted his offer of a complimentary stay appears to be the very gracious act of a concerned owner, but the fact he stated about six times that in order for the offer to stand I had to remove the review started to give it the feint whiff of a rat.
We're not going back, and the review's staying. It isn't even that bad reading it again. But things like there not being an actual bath in the bathroom of a suite in a (allegedly) five-star gaff won't be altered one bit by revisiting. Nor will the fact it overlooks a Jewson's yard. Ok, so he can't evict the neighbours, but nor can he offer it up as unparalleled luxury.
It was also advertised (without breakfast) as £50-a-night more than The Savoy (with breakfast) but I chose to leave that bit out.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 12th June 22:41
Cyder said:
Top sleuthing! 
Really? So it's not like I gave just enough to disclose where it is without actually saying here it is?At least I gave them the benefit of not linking it directly. Thank you Hugo.
Pistonheads: Indiscretion matters.
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 13th June 09:11
Many of the reviews on TA are a load of b
ks IMO.
As an example....
I have just returned from two weeks in Majorca where I stayed I a decent hotel in a resort that I love. Stayed in the same hotel that' i have used for four out of the last five years - if it was crap I wouldn't go back once let alone another three times.
Anyway - hotel is a 3 star, half board set 100 metres from the beach, food is very good, rooms are good, they are clean spacious, over look the pool & have a decent sized flat screen tv if you want to spend all day in the hotel.
So I get home last weekend & write a decent review on TA. It gets posted two days later when I notice a review from a muppet who did nothing apart from slag off the hotel.
He reckoned it was so bad that he, along with his wife & son, stayed just 17 hours before he flew home in disgust....
During that 17 hour 'stay' he managed to have breakfast, lunch & dinner at the hotel (he slagged it all saying it was ste. Which it isn't) he saw the hotel entertainment & he wrote a full review of the resort....
All whilst trying to sort out return flights home!
Now if it was me & I had problems with the room/hotel I wouldn't have done anything I resolved the problem - however he did the opposite where he conducted a full review of the resort, the hotel & all its facilities.
That would have been the last thing on my mind.
Only problem I have (apart from the utter crap in his review) is this - he stayed at the hotel for the full 10 nights of his intended stay& he was on the same coach as me back to the airport on Saturday morning!!!
So why write a crap review (& tell blatant lies) when you spent most of the days lazing by the pool?
It's beyond me tbh.
ks IMO.As an example....
I have just returned from two weeks in Majorca where I stayed I a decent hotel in a resort that I love. Stayed in the same hotel that' i have used for four out of the last five years - if it was crap I wouldn't go back once let alone another three times.
Anyway - hotel is a 3 star, half board set 100 metres from the beach, food is very good, rooms are good, they are clean spacious, over look the pool & have a decent sized flat screen tv if you want to spend all day in the hotel.
So I get home last weekend & write a decent review on TA. It gets posted two days later when I notice a review from a muppet who did nothing apart from slag off the hotel.
He reckoned it was so bad that he, along with his wife & son, stayed just 17 hours before he flew home in disgust....
During that 17 hour 'stay' he managed to have breakfast, lunch & dinner at the hotel (he slagged it all saying it was s
te. Which it isn't) he saw the hotel entertainment & he wrote a full review of the resort....All whilst trying to sort out return flights home!
Now if it was me & I had problems with the room/hotel I wouldn't have done anything I resolved the problem - however he did the opposite where he conducted a full review of the resort, the hotel & all its facilities.
That would have been the last thing on my mind.
Only problem I have (apart from the utter crap in his review) is this - he stayed at the hotel for the full 10 nights of his intended stay& he was on the same coach as me back to the airport on Saturday morning!!!
So why write a crap review (& tell blatant lies) when you spent most of the days lazing by the pool?
It's beyond me tbh.
S10GTA said:
Pretty much this. Trip Advisor lets people with minor gripes air them in public rather than dealing with the issue directly.
This is exactly the point of the reviews!'Dealing with the issue directly' doesn't exclude leaving a review, in fact should be mentioned in the review as well.
Crossflow Kid said:
TA Stuff
I agree entirely. IMHO it's commercial suicide to respond in anything other than an apologetic and conciliatory way - unless it is an entirely unjustified review. In which case a "We are so sorry your experience didn't live up to our standards of service. Whilst we would prefer to have been notified at the time in order for us to remedy the situation there-and-then, we'd ask you to please contact us directly so we can discuss your experience and how we can avoid such experiences in the future."Crossflow Kid said:
An update!
Whilst I was out last night, "The Management" phoned again.
They just need my card details again so they can process a discount.
And yes, it was them as it came from the same number.
This is all starting to sound ever so slightly dodgy/ amateur/ annoying/all three.
Ouch. Too much. I'd be telling him to leave me alone now.Whilst I was out last night, "The Management" phoned again.
They just need my card details again so they can process a discount.
And yes, it was them as it came from the same number.
This is all starting to sound ever so slightly dodgy/ amateur/ annoying/all three.
Landlord said:
Crossflow Kid said:
An update!
Whilst I was out last night, "The Management" phoned again.
They just need my card details again so they can process a discount.
And yes, it was them as it came from the same number.
This is all starting to sound ever so slightly dodgy/ amateur/ annoying/all three.
Ouch. Too much. I'd be telling him to leave me alone now.Whilst I was out last night, "The Management" phoned again.
They just need my card details again so they can process a discount.
And yes, it was them as it came from the same number.
This is all starting to sound ever so slightly dodgy/ amateur/ annoying/all three.
thanks for the PM
you're concerned for the Hotel's anonymity, why did you post the trip advisor review in the first place, and spell out the location and all the details of the complaint in this thread? "you must feel very pleased with yourself"
protecting your own anonymity, more like
you're concerned for the Hotel's anonymity, why did you post the trip advisor review in the first place, and spell out the location and all the details of the complaint in this thread? "you must feel very pleased with yourself"
protecting your own anonymity, more like
Hugo a Gogo said:
thanks for the PM
you're concerned for the Hotel's anonymity, why did you post the trip advisor review in the first place, and spell out the location and all the details of the complaint in this thread? "you must feel very pleased with yourself"
protecting your own anonymity, more like
My review, my choice to post it here or not. If people wanted to read it they can click on over to TA and search for it.you're concerned for the Hotel's anonymity, why did you post the trip advisor review in the first place, and spell out the location and all the details of the complaint in this thread? "you must feel very pleased with yourself"
protecting your own anonymity, more like
Like I said, anyone could work it out if they wanted to but I stopped short of "spelling out the location" as you suggest I did, partly to avoid any Naming and Shaming issues, partly to give the hotel at least a fighting chance. But oh no, Hugo a Ego has other ideas.
Didn't need you to wade in. So perhaps you'd now wade out again?
Since the owner has further embarrassed himself by getting in touch yet again with a weak bribe I suspect any advice is a little wasted now, so I guess we'll call it a day.....
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 13th June 15:03
extraT said:
miniman said:
Why do you say that? It's arguably responsible for a huge improvement in the hotel and restaurant trade.
Also responsible for destroying the lives of thousands of others who are genuinely doing a good/great job- but that cannot stop Mr. Smallkock from trying to play the big man and slate a livelyhood Yes, I am "in the trade", yes I hate that f
king site with a passion. No, we do not have bad reviews but we have friends who have been affected by it. I'm not saying your friends' place is worthy of Ramsey-fication, but that if a lot of different people all think similar things, there's probably something to it.
Crossflow Kid said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
thanks for the PM
you're concerned for the Hotel's anonymity, why did you post the trip advisor review in the first place, and spell out the location and all the details of the complaint in this thread? "you must feel very pleased with yourself"
protecting your own anonymity, more like
My review, my choice to post it here or not. If people wanted to read it they can click on over to TA and search for it.you're concerned for the Hotel's anonymity, why did you post the trip advisor review in the first place, and spell out the location and all the details of the complaint in this thread? "you must feel very pleased with yourself"
protecting your own anonymity, more like
Like I said, anyone could work it out if they wanted to but I stopped short of "spelling out the location" as you suggest I did, partly to avoid any Naming and Shaming issues, partly to give the hotel at least a fighting chance. But oh no, Hugo a Ego has other ideas.
Didn't need you to wade in. So perhaps you'd now wade out again?
Since the owner has further embarrassed himself by getting in touch yet again with a weak bribe I suspect any advice is a little wasted now, so I guess we'll call it a day.....
Edited by Crossflow Kid on Thursday 13th June 15:03
one click, vs a couple of clicks and typing 'jewsons london'
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