Online reviews can wreck businesses

COLUMN: Think before you dish out the rough reviews on Twitter

It was one of the American presidents who had the most famous retort to critics saying unless one had fought in the arena one was not qualified to judge. 
With social media I wonder what he would say now with people shutting down their twitter accounts after being savaged by anonymous keyboard warriors and trolls.
With food being so subjective it helps to have been in the arena for sure but there are perfectly good critics out there who have never set foot in a professional kitchen and achieve the respect of the industry because they do their research, write well, enjoy the job, pay for themselves and try to be fair in their opinions, backing them up with some logic. 

Those of us from the industry of course have an added advantage of having walked the walk but sometimes it can be a disadvantage knowing too much how the magician does the tricks. 
Now we have a third form of critic with the public able to have say their say on social media platforms and freedom of speech means we have to let people write however they feel about a subject no matter how much they actually know about it and the ensuing damage or hurt it may do to a person or business.
With food it’s a bigger problem as everyone eats unlike say, sport, acting or music where a serious interest and an ability to write will get you your critic’s badge. 
In cooking it really is impossible to please everyone all the time. One can be in a foul mood, not even hungry, be in bad company or just grumpy by nature and you sure as hell wont like the grub. 

Then the place might make a small error or something out of their control like a powercut happens and you are sent into a negative zone. The key is to be objective, be able to stand back and assess things with a bit more calmness and calculation. This is when real clarity and common sense prevails. 
Most places strive to be good, you will get a bad meal from time to time in a good place but you will never ever get a good meal in a bad place. There are only two types of food, good and bad. Take your pick and think before you type. That’s goes for anything on social media.
 

What’s your view? Email me at food@meathchronicle.ie

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