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Originally Posted by DenverBrian
(Post 25101674)
If it was a chain hotel with thousands of reviews, maybe.
You have a dark view of humanity. :D :D :D |
Originally Posted by Ber2dca
(Post 25101991)
It's a realistic view of humanity. Stories of people going to establishments asking for special perks "or else they will post a bad review" have been making the rounds for years now.
I've never ascribed to the "if we let one do it, they'll all demand it" meme. |
it would be a great thing, that everyone would benefit from, if service standards improved, from both guest side and supplier side. service recovery is part of that.
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Originally Posted by kokonutz
(Post 25089712)
We're talking 1300 euros. Would you take the 'bribe?'
BUT - BUT BUT
Originally Posted by KRSW
(Post 25095289)
I would modify the review, maybe revise the star rating, but wouldn't be willing to remove it entirely. I'd probably quickly mention what went wrong but then spend a greater portion of the review praising the owner's actions for going out of his way to make things right. Attitude matters a lot in this business. Sometimes staff are caught in the middle between an owner who doesn't want to spend a dime and guests who paid good money and are expecting the hotel to look like the brochure. I'll make sure to emphasize which/where staff truly did what they could vs. slumlord owner.
I have a saying: It's always good to get things right the first time, but the true test of a company is how they handle the situation when things go wrong.
Originally Posted by obscure2k
(Post 25095318)
My favorite response. @:-)
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Yes. Tripadvisor is a joke anyway, most people on there expect complete perfection and feel a Super 8 should be comparable to a Four Seasons and so they most reviews are not subjective in anyway.
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Originally Posted by industry_killer
(Post 25203021)
Yes. Tripadvisor is a joke anyway, most people on there expect complete perfection and feel a Super 8 should be comparable to a Four Seasons and so they most reviews are not subjective in anyway.
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I'm a big Yelper. In 2010 I received a yelp message from the owner of a roofing company we had used about three years earlier. We had a terrible experience with them and I described it in my review. He wanted me to change it. This was the second time he asked. Jokingly I suggested he refund some of the money we paid. I don't remember what amount I said but it was at least $1000. He agreed, but I was so angry by what had happened during the job, that I declined.
On a much smaller scale, when I have posted negative reviews of restaurants, a select few owners/managers have contacted me to offer something such as a free meal etc. In those cases I have amended my review and raised the "stars". I have done this both when I accepted the offer or declined it (for example if I really did not like the food and they offered a free meal). All that said, in this particular case, I would have accepted the refund. I may have just deleted the review because writing openly that I got a refund might encourage others to write bad reviews. |
Yes, I would remove it because they tried to resolve the situation. An alternative is to say in general terms that there was a problem that was resolved. If you are vindictive, then don't, but realize that you are nasty.
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I have been in CUSTOMER facing work all my life.
I complain loudly and go out of my way to acknowledge great service. In this case , owners appear to be sincere, have shown readiness to refund ALL in exchange of a three star review takedown. If you think about it, when one complains what keeps them coming back is the speed and action taken by the business. Take the offer, explain to readers that you are very satisfied the action taken by the owners . |
I rarely post negative review without first having notified the owner or manager on duty of my experience. I think it's only fair to give them a chance to rectify, or at least know about what might be an easily rectifiable issue. I've often been asked to return as a guest of management to "give them another chance." Everything ends quite favorably for all parties.
However, last Thanksgiving we booked dinner at a country inn renowned in the area for top notch service and their gourmet chef. We were very disappointed with the entire experience: lackluster presentation, bland food, etc. All for a premium holiday price. Upon arriving back home I immediately wrote a negative review on the inn's Facebook page. I received a call from the owner that night. She was in tears. She explained that this was the first holiday she has been away from the inn in many years and apologized profusely for our bad experience. She asked us to return as her guest for another dinner, or in lieu of that, offered a refund of the meal. Since the inn is a good distance from our home and we don't often have the opportunity to get that way, we accepted the refund. She did not ask but I then told her that I would take down the review and apologized to her for not having talked to her before I posted it. It was a win/win. |
All I can think of is that joke where, at a party a man asks a young woman if she would sleep with him for $1M. "For one million, yeah, I would sleep with you".
Later he asks her is she would sleep with him for $20. She huffed and said "What kind of a person do you think I am?" He replied "We both know what kind of person you are. We are just negotiating the price". I would never take anything to provide a good review or take down a bad one, no matter what the offer. As a Top Contributor to T/A, I have written about 150 reviews - all my personal belief. My integrity is worth more than anything. Based on the original posting, it sounds more like a bribe than an offer of compensation for a bad experience. Were I to believe that it was an offer SOLELY for a bad experience, then I would amend the review to mention that the owner was willing to make good on my experience, his not having had the opportunity to do so earlier. I would mention the amount of compensation and would probably rate the place a star higher but the original content would not change. On T/A, the owner can post a reply and should have - mentioning the offer of a partial refund to compensate, not to bribe. That would make me, as a reader, reconsider the value of a bad review. Instead, by offering a bribe for removal, I would consider the owner to be dishonest. |
TO THE ABOVE POST:
I am also a Top Contributor to T/A. I have over 1,300 reviews. I would take the money (100% refund), pull the review, and not leave a good or bad review. I WOULD PULL IT. The owner of the property stated this was his/her first vacation/holiday for many years and the mistakes were made by a 3rd party fill-in. I give 100% honest reviews on TA and this sounds to me the owner is doing the right thing. What more than a 100% refund could the OP expect? TAKE THE $$$ AND PULL THE REVIEW! |
I'd still like to see the review if you don't mind posting it, kokonutz. ;)
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Yes, I'd give the owner the benefit of the doubt. How did the previous reviews run?
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Originally Posted by Jeannietx
(Post 25089873)
I have done this.
Prior to our trip to Alaska in 2014, I had booked a specific helicopter pilot a year in advance, and paid him a year in advance. When the day came he met us and said the heli was down, waiting for a part, but he could get us on a float plane. We really had no interest in going on a float plane, but there was nothing else we wanted to do, so we let him take us to the plane, dropped us off, so it had apparently been pre-arranged. We get back from the float plane, it was OK, just meh, and there were some sales guys asking everyone who came by about booking different tours. I made the comment that we had booked the heli but X pilot said it was down. He told us the that X had had been flying all morning. Clearly he had double booked. I was pi$$ed. I went on Trip Advisor and told it exactly like it was. Very shortly I got call from X pilot begging me to take down the negative review. That my review would drop him way down since I was a senior reviewer. He would give me a full refund, but please take it down, that was how he supported his family blah, blah, blah. I told him exactly how I felt about what he had done. That I had been looking forward to his tour for a year. That I loved the doors off heli we did in Honolulu, was extremely disappointed with him operating his business like that, and canceling a year long pre-paid booking. In the end I did go on Trip Advisor and deleted my review. I didn't change it, I just deleted it, so I know they can be deleted. If it was me, I would have edited the TripAdviser review if I could to indicate that the owner tried to bribe you to change your review. DON |
kokonutz - I understand your feeling a little uncomfortable with a refund .
Why not try this - or some variation of it : The owners offer you to stay there again for the same number of days , on their account , because last time bla bla ... If you will be suitably impressed , you will edit the old review , leaving what was , but explaining everything etc. etc. , in a way that someone could not just read the old bad part . This should satisfy all sides - just owners need to know they can trust you - would seem to be pretty basic though . |
No
I'm just ornery that way. I'd wonder why they are so concerned about a three star review when all others are good and I'd wonder how many others they paid to take down. Also, I would have written that review in good faith to help other researchers, like me, make a decision. Bad karma to take it down. Next time out I get stuck in a hell hole that the owners paid off bad reviewers of.
Now, if they wanted to give me a free second visit to maybe change my mind I might be up for it. IF my mind had been changed. |
The OP
Originally Posted by kettle1
(Post 25204238)
TO THE ABOVE POST:
I am also a Top Contributor to T/A. I have over 1,300 reviews. I would take the money (100% refund), pull the review, and not leave a good or bad review. I WOULD PULL IT. The owner of the property stated this was his/her first vacation/holiday for many years and the mistakes were made by a 3rd party fill-in. I give 100% honest reviews on TA and this sounds to me the owner is doing the right thing. What more than a 100% refund could the OP expect? TAKE THE $$$ AND PULL THE REVIEW! |
Originally Posted by kokonutz
(Post 25098456)
We've had several emails back and forth with the owner. I'm now of the opinion that this was indeed a one-off incident and have therefore accepted the refund offer and am removing the review from TripAdvisor.
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Originally Posted by Sant
(Post 25232284)
Did you delete the review first or wait until you got the refund?
FWIW, they originally offered another stay of the same length at no charge. But we're not going to be in the area anytime soon. That's when they offered the refund. |
Sounds like a deal to me.
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They should have offered a refund with no mention of altering the review. They have recourse in writing their own response to your review.
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I'd have taken the money. Better than the standard, "we're so sorry we didn't meet your standards and next time we will strive to do better, blah blah spiel."
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Originally Posted by kettle1
(Post 25204238)
TO THE ABOVE POST:
I am also a Top Contributor to T/A. I have over 1,300 reviews. I would take the money (100% refund), pull the review, and not leave a good or bad review. I WOULD PULL IT. The owner of the property stated this was his/her first vacation/holiday for many years and the mistakes were made by a 3rd party fill-in. I give 100% honest reviews on TA and this sounds to me the owner is doing the right thing. What more than a 100% refund could the OP expect? TAKE THE $$$ AND PULL THE REVIEW! What I would do is leave the original review as is, but append a statement updating the reader on developments since it was posted. |
I would take the deal.
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I realize I'm pretty late to the party on this topic; OP has already resolved the situation. BTW, thank you kokonutz for updating us on what you chose.
One thing I'm curious about... did you ask the owner if they would provide the refund (or a partial refund) in exchange for an edited review? That would be my first inclination in a situation like this. I'd amend my review to mention the problems and credit the proprietor for taking responsibility. I'd also acknowledge that I received monetary compensation. Something like: Staying at this beautiful property was part of my 'dream vacation' that I looked forward to. Alas, during the stay my family and I experienced several problems that the novice property manager could not address. The owner followed up with me after my stay, apologized for the bad management (vowing not to use that service again), and offered a refund for my troubles. I am giving 5 stars because appreciate how the owner took responsibility. I look forward to returning for a much more enjoyable stay in the future. |
I'm really surprised at the number of people willing to accept a bribe in exchange for their integrity.
As someone said previously, if companies can pay to remove bad reviews then the entire concept of a review site becomes a waste of time and effort. |
Suppose the OP had been able to speak with the owner, at the time of his departure, to express his dissatisfaction. Suppose the owner apologized and offered to refund X amount of money as compensation for the poor experience. I'm sure the OP would gladly have taken the offer. Is it considered a bribe if the business offers some sort of compensation/service recovery in exchange for your good will? Or is it only a bribe if the business expects something in return?
The thing is, I believe in communicating with the manager/owner directly, giving them a chance to make things right even when I am not seeking compensation of any sort, merely pointing out some deficiencies that need some attention. They can't fix it if they don't know that it's broken. I don't typically write a bad review unless I've communicated with them and didn't like the response- or didn't get one. |
Originally Posted by Kensterfly
(Post 25239999)
Suppose the OP been able to speak with the owner, at the time of his departure, to express his dissatisfaction. Suppose the owner apologized and offered to refund X amount of money as compensation for the poor experience. I'm sure the OP would gladly have taken the offer. Is it considered a bribe if the business offers some sort of compensation/service recovery in exchange for your good will? Or is it only a bribe if the business expects something in return?
The thing is, I believe in communicating with the manager/owner directly, giving them a chance to make things right even when I am not seeking compensation of any sort, merely pointing out some deficiencies that need some attention. They can't fix it if they don't know that it's broken. I don't typically write a bad review unless I've communicated with them and didn't like the response- or didn't get one. For example, last night we went to our favorite local hot pot for dinner. We go there regularly and service is usually good. Last night it was TERRIBLE. On the way out I pulled the host aside and let him know how disappointed we were and he apologized profusely, said he would talk to the staff and that it would never happen again. That was good enough for me and I won't be writing a bad review based on that (hopefully) one-off experience. |
Originally Posted by kokonutz
(Post 25240313)
For example, last night we went to our favorite local hot pot for dinner. We go there regularly and service is usually good. Last night it was TERRIBLE. On the way out I pulled the host aside and let him know how disappointed we were and he apologized profusely, said he would talk to the staff and that it would never happen again. That was good enough for me and I won't be writing a bad review based on that (hopefully) one-off experience.
On the other hand, I am also very pro-active in notifying a manager when I receive excellent service. People tend to complain easily but rarely praise. |
Originally Posted by pittpanther
(Post 25239881)
I'm really surprised at the number of people willing to accept a bribe in exchange for their integrity.
As someone said previously, if companies can pay to remove bad reviews then the entire concept of a review site becomes a waste of time and effort. Besides, it's Tripadvisor, not a scientific paper published in a journal. |
Originally Posted by DonCarpenter
(Post 25241409)
Is it really a bribe?
Originally Posted by DonCarpenter
(Post 25241409)
The customer wasn't satisfied and the company gave him a refund.
Originally Posted by DonCarpenter
(Post 25241409)
Besides, it's Tripadvisor, not a scientific paper published in a journal.
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