Tainted Reviews?

Like half of America, I like to post reviews of places I've eaten/been/services I've used, etc on Yelp!. I think it's a great reference point when you're looking for information on a local service provider of any kind & I admit to getting frustrated when someone or something hasn't been reviewed. With that in mind, I try to do my part, as part of the collective mind & review places- good, bad & ugly- to help future consumers decide where to spend their hard earned cash.

Recently I posted a review of a local restaurant, located near the Mystic Seaport that wasn't a great review, but certainly wasn't a bad review. In fact, I gave it a resounded, "meh." That might have even been the title of my review now that I think about it. This is a restaurant that I have known people to gush about, wait up to an hour to eat at, & I simply said, "meh." It was edible, not fabulous, the service was lousy, & the food was overpriced for what it was. I hadn't eaten there in years & if it's years before I go back, I won't be disappointed. On the other hand, if a friend wants to go, I won't say, "oh I hate that place, let's not" either. It's just, "meh." So I posted my review- by no means the worst review that establishment has under its belt on Yelp! I might add, but certainly not its best either.

Imagine my surprise when within a week I had a message on Yelp, from the owner of the restaurant telling me that my experience must have been on an "off" day, offering me a gift certificate so I could give them another chance so they could try to change my mind. Huh? I quickly scanned the other reviews & thought, if they offer this to everyone who's given them a low review it's costing them a good deal of money. Even if they only offer this to people who claim to be local who've posted low reviews... yikes! Then I looked at their higher reviews & wondered how many of them had been bribed into going back & had subsequently changed their reviews (a free meal goes a long way to making food taste better, right?). I didn't read through them to see if any had mentioned gift certificates, but aside from the bad experience, this left a bad taste in my mouth so I never responded.

Now, 2 weeks later I've gotten a second message asking me again to email the owner to collect my gift certificate to go back & give them another chance, with more excuses as to why my meal wasn't what it should have been. I'm considering posting it to my Yelp review because it just seems so sketchy. I don't need or want to be bribed to review a restaurant. If I like it, I'll let you know. If I don't, I'll let you know. The time to comp a patron's meal is when they are in your restaurant, having a negative experience, not later, when they've written about it on the Internet. Frankly, my meal wasn't tragic enough for it to have been comped.

Yes, the service was bad- having to repeatedly ask for more water & coffee is a hassle, but something we could live with. It doesn't warrant a gift certificate or a free meal, so I won't accept one now. Next time I eat there, I'll judge it once again, on the meal itself & the service I receive- not on a bribe from the owner who is trying to make amends for lack of training, lack of staff, or the fact that she overcharges on her menu (or whatever it is she thinks her gift certificate will allow me to overlook). The restaurant is what it is & clearly there are people who adore it. I don't happen to be one of those people & I am entitled to that opinion whether the owner wants to face it or not.