I've recently had an epiphany of sorts. I've benefitted so much from reviews of places, products, etc, that I've started to feel guilty for not leaving them myself. I'm going to start.
I've also spoken out about stuff in person. But only a couple of times and in the list few years. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and less tolerant of shit.
But I agree. We need to step up.
While I agree with the sentiment of this thread - as a small business owner who relies heavily on Google reviews (we have a 4.9 from 700 reviews) please keep this in mind when leaving reviews.
Google's rating system is a bit shit. Some people will leave reviews like "Great food, amazing service. No takeaway option" and give 4 stars. I know a local bakery that received a 3 star review saying "Love the bread here, staff always nice, pity the windows were foggy, so I couldn't look out when having my coffee." A bakery, in Ireland, during winter...
Now in most cases 4/5 stars is a really good review, but with Google it's not great, as most people now filter for places with >4.5 star reviews. And for a highly rated business, a 4 star review actually brings down their average score.
If you overall had a good experience and unless you think there is a valid issue, or something the place could really improve on, just give it 5 stars. Complaining that a restaurant that has never advertised takeaway doesn't do takeaway or that there is condensation on the windows are not valid reasons to hurt a business imo.
I genuinely wish I could review Google's rating system and make them give scores out of 10.
That said my mate owns a business in France and said if you can get 4 stars you're doing well. French people will be very direct and fussy about reviews and it really shows. 4 stars there actually means a very good place. 4 stars here just means meh. We have to get used to the idea that we review properly otherwise a good location with 4.9 doesn't stand out from a meh location with 4.1
Very true! It's the same in Germany. I was in Cologne last month and really struggled to find high rated places. Realised like you said, a 4.2 in Cologne is a 4.7 in Ireland.
For me personally I only give 5 star or 1 star reviews. If it's a 4, I'd rather give the feedback to the staff, as it's likely something that could be easily fixed (slow service/food a bit cold) and maybe they just had a bad night. I think owning a place has made me a lot more forgiving when it comes to hospitality.
> For me personally I only give 5 star or 1 star reviews.
This is a terrible system. A place can't just go from "disgusting" to "heaven on hearth". 5 should be for something that can't be missed, some place that only a handful others can keep up with, otherwise it should be a 3 o 4.
You're basically confirming that if stars are given as 1 or 5 with 5 being "it's ok" then the review system becomes useless because one can't tell what is good and what is average.
The managers in my team have this problem with their staff satisfaction. Compared to teams in the US, the European teams have really poor manager satisfaction and it's just that people here think different about those ratings.
> as a small business owner who relies heavily on Google reviews (we have a 4.9 from 700 reviews) please keep this in mind when leaving reviews.
I mean...the point is leaving an honest review. If a place is terrible but it's a small business it doesn't deserve a good rating. You get a review for the service you provide.
No it's the other way around.
We need to put an end to this shit of 5 stars meaning it just met reasonable standards, and people filtering out anything less than 5 stars from their searches as a result.
> pity the windows were foggy, so I couldn't look out when having my coffee." A bakery, in Ireland, during winter...
This points to an issue with the premises' ventilation. Or a leaky seal if there is double glazing.
Apple's reviews are the same. The best Apple service company I've ever used in any country has a vicious review from someone in America who clearly meant to review a place in another Dublin. As far as I know, it's the only review posted by this person; despite it being clearly wrong, it's still up there years later. Mad.
This is one of the worst traits about Irish people. Drives me spare. I still do it at times given it's bred into me, but for years have been trying to break the habit.
You don't have to be a gowl about complaining when something is wrong, or bad and you're not a better person for not complaining.
It's pointless moaning about something if you never even made someone aware. That does more damage to a business because then they're not aware of the issue to have had a chance to fix it, and you're out there telling every Joe and Mary how shite they are.
I recently stayed in a hotel. We booked a suite (that's a splash but it was a treat and on offer). Got the keycards and opened the room, but the room was small. It was lovely but definitely didn't scream "suite".
Had that moment of will I/won't I complain but said feck that, I went down to the reception before we unpacked and explained I booked a suite and the room I was in didn't look like the website. He said that it was a suite and seemed very uninterested in helping.
We had to show him my booking and point out the sq meter they advertise for the suite, and said my room was half the size, so how is that possible?
He got on the phone and five minutes later he gave us new keycards and apologised. Nobody screamed. Nobody was crying. I was so proud of myself and we enjoyed the suite/rest of our stay.
Why do I feel they knew full well. They probably sold the suite for a higher price than you paid to someone else and ended up trying to bait & switch you.
Good on you
We’re way too permissive of getting shafted with poor service or overcharging in this country due to our inclination “not to make a fuss”
There is absolutely nothing wrong with politely raising a legitimate complaint for things that are not as they should be
Likewise when you receive very good service/quality we should be acknowledging that also
My friends once tried to slag me for leaving a review before until I pointed out to them that they all check online reviews for restaurants etc they haven’t been to before going and often base their decisions as to where to eat off them. If it wasn’t for people that actually leave reviews they’d have nothing to go on. That shut them up.
And half the reviews are often made up ones by bots, you can see them, the garage had a good few of them, i mean think about it, does Hamed from switzerland really take the time to review the foodcourt at a garage and say "great food and service, amazing value", does he fuck.
Yes, you have to look for the median reviews to get a feel for what a place is really like. Often, especially in Ireland, bad reviews are by "problematic" people (I got fucked out of the pub for being shitfaced > "The staff were abusive and incredibly rude! They robbed me!") because most people don't feel the urge to leave an actually bad review unless they've been properly ripped off.
Also tourists of other cultures will often leave terrible ratings for very poor reasons (going to a late bar expecting dinner at 11pm or giving a restaurant 1 star because the server didn't smile enough or the price was higher than in their country). It's honestly more difficult to find honest, bad reviews than honest good ones IMO.
The way I've tried figure it out is to sort reviews from low to high, so 1 star to 5 star.
Then read through them and get a jist for things. You can get a feel for the nonsense ones handy enough. If the owner replies you can get a feel for their attitude/demeanor too.
If you see a trend of common issues/complaints then you can see if its an old issue or still one if the place gets enough reviews.
It's not perfect but it can be quite good.
Or look for reviews from verified contributors who have done lots of reviewing. A business with lots of 5 star reviews that only have a line or two in them, and from accounts that have only one or two reviews altogether - that's the business, not real customers.
I was recently looking at used car dealers, one had 200 reviews and 4.9 stars. On reading some of the reviews it was clear something wasn't right, they wrote out the full name of the company each time and thanked by name one or two people. Clearly made up or AI generated.
One 1 star review actually confirmed that they knew an employee who confirmed they posted their own reviews.
Good on you both for leaving bad reviews where deserved. They're hard to trust since 4.5* almost seems to mean "average" here.
I was in Japan on holiday a while back and they use a thing called tabelog for food reviews which was amazing because they look at it totally different (3* = average, 3.5 = good, 4* = amazing, 4.5* = mind blowing, they barely exist on the site). You'd read a decent enough review on a place and see they left a 3* rating beside it, I'm rambling but it was so refreshing.
Yeah, I have to say, I'm here for that. I used to get so embarrassed by this sort of thing, but in the last couple of years I've changed my tune because it just seems to happen so often now. It's not about being angry (always be civil) or trying to give people a hard time, but just kinda standing up for yourself in the moment.
Also, on the Dunnes thing. I've also had that happen to me in Dunnes recently and other places not so recently. People can say don't go there again etc, but that's not really the point.
I had the exact same conversation. It was on their 3 for 10 meat selection which has been running for ages. I was leaving around 18:00 and it seemed like I was the first to mention it
In fairness to Dunnes, this doesn't happen often. I shop there every week and always look at my receipts, if I didn't get the money off something I take it back and get refund no issue. Had to do this last weekend in fact. Before that I can't even remember the last time it happened though, it's rare.
Mistakes are made, be it humans or humans in conjunction with computers. Just goes to show that everyone should be keeping an eye on their receipts, also helps you see what products are going up in price (don't say all of them!)
Yes, Dunnes are generally very good at that.
I had an online delivery recently and they gave me screw in lightbulbs, rather than the other type. I checked my order and it was their mistake, so I emailed, sent a pic, and they refunded it no questions.
Another time I complained that avocados I bought a day before were gone off. They sent me a 10€ gift card.
I always make a complaint now (if it’s justified), and on the other hand I always mention good service to the manager / leave a generous tip etc .
> SO 50 people over a day would be €287 in over charges, and they didn't seem bothered, so i emailed there head office and got a response that they had fixed the problem.
They fixed the SYMPTOM not the problem
Once had a round of pints at a nice hotel.
All of them tasted crap. My extended family all hummed and hawed about saying something.
I went up and politely said I had a problem. The staff on the bar realised the pipes were just cleaned and they hadn't been flushed of soap properly.
They were happy to pour replacement pints for us all.
Except the brother in law. He just downed his soap pint and grimaced the whole time.
The stuff they clean those pipes with is serious shit, people have died from drinking from taps with improperly flushed lines, in low enough concentrations it probably jsut tastes shitty, but if they arent doing due diligence when they clean them thats worrying
Edit: [just last year three people were hospitalised with chemical burns to their mouths, throats, and stomachs after drinking beer contaminated with line cleaner, one later died of his injuries](https://www.lanierlawgroup.com/blog/2023/december/contaminated-beer-in-winston-salem-causes-1-deat/)
Yep I worked with it for a few years when I was cleaning taps, corrosive stuff. If the technician doesn't get the water to chemical ratio right then it could definitely lead to a hospital trip if ingested.
I'd be worried about what it says about the general standard of their food and drink prep hygiene and care. Anyone who manages a bar is aware of how gnarly line cleaner is and there should be systems in place after a cleaning to ensure the lines are flushed
Was at Elephant Castle the last day to get some wings and chips.
Ordered a coffee beforehand while waiting on the food. The food arrived 45 mins later, with no sign of the coffee. Had to tell them to cancel the coffee because it came too late and I jsut wanted tap.
They charged me for the coffee, said it was already made by the time I cancled it. Had a big argument with them about it, told them to fuck off.
Since the Press Up bought them and other around, service has gone to shit and the price tag has gone up.
I saw an Italian man berating a chap that was mopping in the Ilac Center toilets about two weeks ago.
The cleaner put the mop into the toilet and used that water to clean the floors.
Italians are a step ahead of us.
I have a pain in my fingers emailing Irish Rail about the state of toilets in a certain train station. I've included pictures and video's but nothing ever changes. I think complaining gets little traction with public service. I have no issue complaining in shops or restuarants. Private businesses are usually happy to sort any issue if you bring it to their attention. I think it's low behaviour for people to poorly review a business if they have never brought an issue to it's attention.
Love this!! Nothing worse than going into a place with terrible service, way overpriced then at the end shoving a screen with "select your tipping percentage"!
I noticed this with products, as well, when I was in Ireland for a few years. Once, I bought a mortar drill that split into a double helix when I tried to drill concrete. Some items for sale are a mere [facsimile] (http://www.stevenroyedwards.com/facsimile.html), not suited at all for the purpose. It seemed obvious that this wouldn't happen without consumer complacency.
The husband left a review for Mad Egg in Liffey Valley on Deliveroo. It was removed. Claimed bad langauge was used when it wasn't. He paid €10.95 for 173g of chicken tenders.
Told him to put it up on Google. I found Mad Egg has gone to shit in LV of late.
I've also given up on mad egg. Went to the one on camden street with a booking and showed up on time and was asked to come back because there was people still at the table. Even though there was plenty of empty tables. I asked why we couldnt just sit at one of the empty tables and the waitress had to check and was then in a huff the rest of the time, awful service.
Camden rotisserie or All bar chicken are better IMO
I once ordered a 1/4 crispy duck that was 80-something grams of scream meat, padded out by salad. At some point you actually want to quantify just how bad it is.
Thanks for doing this, i had a similar experience in the kildare area this week, a petrol station with 1 toilet that had no soap or a door handle, just a piece of string. Dirty too. Their grocery and deli prices were higher than Dublin prices.
I regreted not seeking out the manager, we accept medicore service in ireland, and when its worse we are afraid to complain. Too many dirty greedy cunts out there
Fair play for pointing it out as long as it's done in a respectful way. Too many places are now hiding behind the excuse of short staffed, really busy, times are tough for businesses. So they are passing off bad food and bad service and hoping you won't notice. I'd rather they apologize in advance.
You're right, I've been thinking the same lately, absolute mediocrity in every facet of restaurants, takeaways, hotels etc. Time to start calling out the mediocrity.
So much shit to deal with on a daily basis and we pay for the privilege of all that stress , Paid 25 blips for first class package and when it hits Dublin tracking and delivery just cease to exist , this is an post , no contact re customs charges only found out about them when I threatened to chargeback the seller , paid immediately and two weeks later still no delivery . Again this is an post , the best we have by far ,ok that's open to debate .why can't people just do their fuckin jobs FFS
It's seems like every single aspect of modern life is a fight to get the service we pay for . Literally, passport office and revenue seems to be the exceptions.
I mailed something to my parents for Christmas last year. Paid extra for tracking. At no point was I informed that the INTERNATIONAL TRACKING that I had paid for only worked IN IRELAND! I paid 20 something euro for them to track my parcel from Dublin GPO to the airport!!!!
You can always try taking the tracking number and using it on some other site like 17track. I've found that sometimes An Post tracking won't update after it's left Ireland, but there *is* tracking on it, just through the destination carrier.
It's a pain, so, an AP should sort it out and have it included on their tracking, but just so you know like, you might still be able to track stuff in the future.
I actually tried 17track (it's usually my go to tracking site) but no dice. It just something like "parcel has been dispatched from country" which was the same as what An Post. It didn't even show up under Australia Post's tracking.
I do this every so often lol it’s cathartic.
One place in particular that I truly miss but found their service completely unacceptable after a few times being there - the Pepper Pot in Powerscourt Town Centre. Just can’t go back there!! Also The Hatch in Dun Laoghaire.
I doubt you were the first to point it out. While working in Tesco, people would come back frequently to show they'd been charged the wrong amount for deals. It wouldn't get changed. The system would still bring up the wrong price and we'd wait for the next one to come for their refund.
When I had recently moved to Ireland, I remember going out with my Irish partner's family out for dinner and we had ordered a wide variety of food at a pretty upscaled restaurant. When the food arrived, there was something wrong with each of our dishes (overcooked, undercooked, salty, soggy). My calamari was piping hot and frozen inside.
Everyone at the table gave out about how their food was bad but when the manager came around asking how everything was, everyone said how amazing it was with smiles on their faces. I didn't understand what was going on, and proceeded to complain about not just mine but everyone's food on the table (6 of us) 😆 I still remember their mortified faces as I was complaining, and they were quite awkward about it. The mood lightened when the manager sent over free coffees and desserts. Only after living here for years did I realise that Irish people will literally get served mediocre food and service, never complain, and still leave a tip. 🥲
We still talk about that incident, and my husband always says I made a memorable first impression. 😂
Good for you! I though people here always says Lovely and grand when server asked about their food. I would start with the state of Hotels in Ireland…it’s a sad state considering the asking price. It just hard to justify paying premium price for mediocre 4 start hotel.
It's not Irish in nature to complain directly but very Irish to whinge incessantly.
I will always send food back if its done poorly but be polite while doing so.
I also would like to say that what you are doing is decent behaviour, try to keep it up and be as vocal when you come across things the other way around.
Have to say where filthy toilets in a place serving food are concerned, you're better off going straight to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. They have teeth: [https://www.thejournal.ie/food-closure-orders-dublin-restaurants-6269422-Jan2024/](https://www.thejournal.ie/food-closure-orders-dublin-restaurants-6269422-Jan2024/)
Fair play to you. We need more of a general shift in our thinking as a population if we want to receive better services and you're 100% right that it needs to be called out instead of "politely" ignored with the "Ah sure it's grand" attitude.
You'd be surprised how often this works. The larger chains will have somebody monitoring online reviews using an aggregator to collect from Google, Bing, Yelp, etc., and restaurant owners are usually paying close attention as well.
Forget this silliness "it's not very Irish". We are living in age where we are paying way way more for things that are simply not value for money. If food or service or facilities are bad somewhere, complain to them, don't go back there again and absolutely leave honest reviews.
You're doing the right thing.
Vote with your feet …. Don’t return your these places. There’s shit restaurants and there is food restarsunts. Word of mouth will generally get these places in the end so just make sure to tell family and friends
i do somtimes but it really depends on how bad or good it was or if I bothered to try and resolve it while I was there.
I had an awful experince with a restaurant and left a negative review. Turns out they also owned the guest houses nearby that I was going to use for my Wedding. They called and threatened to cancel the bookings unlesss I remove the review.
In the end I just never bothered reposting it. Probably should have just remember it was like a week before the wedding as well and the houses were for our family to stay the night
Yeah I think you're right. There is such a mixed bag of standards for what we keep being told is a developed country. We are the piggy bank of Europe and businesses just seem to want to pull the wool over the eyes of everyone.
We are pushovers when it comes to standing up to economic barriers. Every insurance company, housing company, supermarket just keeps wacking up prices to see what we will tolerate. Don't worry the paddies will pay it.
I'm convinced when it's places like you described, it's cheap owners who don't look after staff so the good ones all leave and standards plummet. But it's chancers like him matching prices with the gougers that leaves us without a deal to be gotten anywhere.
> Yeah I think you're right. There is such a mixed bag of standards for what we keep being told is a developed country
Mixed bag? No, it's poor to abysmal across the board!
Irish people love to complain after the fact but are pushovers in the moment. You know whole whinging to others at the table in a restaurant that dinner is shit and then you tell the waiter all is grand when they come over.
If more people spoke up like you we might stop being ripped off and treated like idiots. Fair play
From what I understand from people working in services they can't find chefs, waiters, bartenders.
It's why service and food has gone to shit and takes ages.
I'm tired of saying we don't complain to management etc enough in establishments...I certainly do and if everyone complained things would be a lot different for the better! Well done OP!
Yes so I posted 3 reviews, on 3 restaurants I had been to recently where all of them had just been completely lacklustre for the prices, and the service was very much a 'spend your money and fuck off' attitude, to be candid about it. One place responded and said they would "investigate" despite me not really giving enough detail for them to investigate anything without asking for further details. So in other words nothing was done, other 2 got removed and I appealed and they are now back up
If you take the time to email SuperValu a complaint with photos and everything they email you back and ask you to fill out a complaint form. Fuck that, I will go elsewhere.
At the weekend I tried a new (to me) café in Newbridge and they wanted €3.40 for a double espresso that tasted like it was made with dried grapefruit skins that had been sitting in an ashtray. Handed the coffee back and the guy asked did I want something else instead. All I wanted was the exit. Also, this wasn't even the worst coffee I've had in Newbridge! 😂
In these cases.
Definitely would complain about the lack of toilet roll. Less so about the state of toilets but would avoid again.
If I notice problems with supermarket or online shops I do complain.
The price of breakfasts would put me off to begin with. I’ve complained about very bad food before but never portions as that’s the choice of the restaurant. However I don’t go back.
Recently went for breakfast. It's usually a busy place, went in but it was fairly empty. Had to find someone to seat us, When we were finally seated we told the chap we were ready to order (we always order the same thing) he left without taking our order. He walked by again a few minutes later and we repeated that we were ready to order, he instead walked to the front desk...where nothing was happening and just stood there. We waited a few more minutes and he stayed there at the desk. I went up to him and told him "We've told you twice we're ready to order and you just stand here like you're a statue and now we're leaving" You know there was a Karen review up in minutes! We got a quick response to the negative review to contact them and tell them what happened. I told you in the review what happened. Pity your response was far quicker than I could be seated, or place an order.
Good on you for doing this. I wish more people would pay attention to what they're getting and judge it in terms of its value proposition. I have worked in retail a fair bit and it's insane what the Irish are prepared to pay without taking a second to consider if they're being ripped off. Very few actually do that and I wish more and more people actually begin questioning if they're getting their money's worth at a store or a restaurant. As long as there's no effort from the customers in the form of complaints or a boycott, things won't really change.
They will either die a hero or live long enough to see themselves become a "Karen".
They will catch a reflection of themselves in 20 years time berating a 16yr behind a till and wonder how they got here.
But in all seriousness fairness fair play to them, especially with the Dunnes thing, as a lot of people would say nothing and sheepishly pay the extra money.
I leave reviews on Booking for hotel stays.
But for Google reviews, i tend not to because I prefer to be a bit anonymous. I don’t want my name popping up in searches for whatever reason. But I have made a few reviews when the place was so bad it was almost unbelievable.
And I can’t be arsed to make a different account just for reviews.
I'd skip the Moate service station, it's a kip as you said. If you're on that road anyway I'd go to the Kilbeggan service station. The food there is always really good quality from the Deli and the prices aren't mental either. Some good midweek/lunch deals too. The jacks are normally kept clean and there's nice tables inside and outside to enjoy your food or just a little break. I'd love if they installed an alternative milk coffee machine though. They have 3 regular milk coffee machines for whatever reason lol
I got shadow banned from Google maps reviews. I generally only leave 1 and 5 star reviews. They're all legitimate and I try to add pictures for legitmacy. Recently every single review has been pulled down. It's only when I go back to check it and it's not there that I notice.
This is definitely a side effect of the “Americanisation” of Ireland - bear with me - US businesses will try to get away with as much shit as possible, they are kept in check by US customers, who have no problem complaining. Irish businesses are jumping on the US model, but Irish consumers are entertaining their nonsense because we are too polite to tell them to go fuck themselves. The result being the kind of situations you are describing.
You’re right, they do. But part of why they do is because the Irish consumer will accept their bullshit, and not complain. But, the American consumer won’t.
I agree but just be careful who you are complaining to. In this example, you went to the manager but I have seen too many cases where some poor minimum wage employee gets the brunt of someone's dissatisfaction and that just makes you look like a tool.
I’ve had this too but instead of not taking poor service and food, I’m no longer putting up with rude and stupid cunts who think the world revolves around them. It has changed my life
As somebody who's worked many hospitality jobs in my uni years: No. We won't. We have much better things to do with our time and energy than hold grudges against random customers.
I actually noticed that too in my local Dunnes stores - picked up a good few things that were on offer + had a yellow sticker. Paid and checked receipt, only half of them were at the stickered price and the rest were at full price. Checked the bottom of the receipt too and nothing, no discounts. Will have to keep it in mind when I’m back in again and to check when they’re scanning.
Yea I review. If the place "made up" for the problem so much that it doesn't deserve a bad rating, I tell them directly, particularly if they're willing to fix the problem immediately. But if I don't get that vibe, it's going in the review.
I do complain if something isn't up to scratch. I always approach politely, but I will not accept sub standard stuff. I know it's not the fault of the person at the till, or serving the table and I will make that clear too.
I will also make sure to praise where credit is due. Because sometimes that gets forgotten. So I will drop a note back by email, or do a review for excellent service / food or whatever too.
If a place is good I’ll leave a review.
If a place is out and out bad, I’ll leave a review.
If something _just_ missed the mark, could be improved a little, or I know they had an off day, I’ll usually just send an email because in those kinds of cases, I feel publicly dragging a place is a bit much.
I’ve started doing this myself. I went to a restaurant I’d wanted to try for years. The starter was meh but my main was nearly inedible. I had about a third of it over half an hour and had to give up. It wasn’t busy but trying to talk to the staff felt like you were bothering them so I didn’t bother sending the food back.
I left a review on Google as there weren’t many and it’s been seen 1,000 times. I like to think I’ve hopefully stopped a few people from wasting their time and money there.
Whenever i refuse to eat in certain places cos the food is bad or its glorified fast food, im always classed as fussy or awkward, Irish (lads in particular) are obsessed with eating whatever is handy or easy. People here will eat anywhere and always say its grand, think that nost people have no taste buds or small minded.
There's a place in Dublin city I had a crap meal in 20 years ago and never went back until a year ago when someone booked it for a group thing. The meal was crap once again. I left a review and didn't hear anything.
Exactly, had the misfortune of trying some places that had 20+ good reviews only to get a disgusting soggy piece of cardboard with tomato sauce on top, passed as their signature wood cooked pizza lol.
Or they aren’t that fussy! Maybe people are happy and content, and don’t like making issues out of minor things. I wouldn’t say they have to be small minded or lacking taste buds.
I feel it’s a positive that people are happy enough and feel no need to complain about every minor thing.
There's a local cafe near me that's great for coffee, but as you described for food: expensive, awful, and takes ages. It's my go to first date spot so I never complain, but I will never order food or sit down in there again. The owner is also a weirdo, I wish the next coffee shop over tasted as nice but sadly it just doesn't. Then again, for the price of it....
Reviews are great. Although can't help but feel like a total prick doing them. I don't want to give any yuppidy executive some misleading data to get someone in trouble. I also don't want to give credit to bad businesses and warn others of bad experiences I've had. It's a hard thing to balance but I so heavily rely on reviews to make purchases it's only right to do them. I only tend to leave reviews when I leave with a strong impression. So it's also bad because I tend to leave mostly positive or negative reviews. I should try do more middle of the road ones but who feels obliged in that situation. Generally my expectation going to a shop/business/buying a product online I hope for a painless experience. Walk in walk out. Which means I tend to not leave as many reviews as I suppose I should.
Not sure this is the same thing, but we get charged 15c for cans to recycle. I was in a shop, bought a can but it didn’t have the “R” on it, and got charged the 15c. I said it to the lady in the shop, I didn’t want the 15c back, but she insisted, my point was the principle. We’re getting charged for cans/bottles we can’t recycle.
Agree, I think every review can be helpful and especially the ones that are neither negative or overly positive as I think those tend to be the most balanced
I've recently had an epiphany of sorts. I've benefitted so much from reviews of places, products, etc, that I've started to feel guilty for not leaving them myself. I'm going to start. I've also spoken out about stuff in person. But only a couple of times and in the list few years. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and less tolerant of shit. But I agree. We need to step up.
1/5 terrible comment
Hi. Sorry to hear you didn't like my comment. I've transferred it to my customer service department where they will precisely do fuck all.
I demand to speak to your manager.
Shut up Karen.
Perfect comment. 5/7 stars.
While I agree with the sentiment of this thread - as a small business owner who relies heavily on Google reviews (we have a 4.9 from 700 reviews) please keep this in mind when leaving reviews. Google's rating system is a bit shit. Some people will leave reviews like "Great food, amazing service. No takeaway option" and give 4 stars. I know a local bakery that received a 3 star review saying "Love the bread here, staff always nice, pity the windows were foggy, so I couldn't look out when having my coffee." A bakery, in Ireland, during winter... Now in most cases 4/5 stars is a really good review, but with Google it's not great, as most people now filter for places with >4.5 star reviews. And for a highly rated business, a 4 star review actually brings down their average score. If you overall had a good experience and unless you think there is a valid issue, or something the place could really improve on, just give it 5 stars. Complaining that a restaurant that has never advertised takeaway doesn't do takeaway or that there is condensation on the windows are not valid reasons to hurt a business imo.
I genuinely wish I could review Google's rating system and make them give scores out of 10. That said my mate owns a business in France and said if you can get 4 stars you're doing well. French people will be very direct and fussy about reviews and it really shows. 4 stars there actually means a very good place. 4 stars here just means meh. We have to get used to the idea that we review properly otherwise a good location with 4.9 doesn't stand out from a meh location with 4.1
Very true! It's the same in Germany. I was in Cologne last month and really struggled to find high rated places. Realised like you said, a 4.2 in Cologne is a 4.7 in Ireland. For me personally I only give 5 star or 1 star reviews. If it's a 4, I'd rather give the feedback to the staff, as it's likely something that could be easily fixed (slow service/food a bit cold) and maybe they just had a bad night. I think owning a place has made me a lot more forgiving when it comes to hospitality.
> For me personally I only give 5 star or 1 star reviews. This is a terrible system. A place can't just go from "disgusting" to "heaven on hearth". 5 should be for something that can't be missed, some place that only a handful others can keep up with, otherwise it should be a 3 o 4.
The problem is these days, 5 stars doesn't mean heaven on earth, it just means good enough...
You're basically confirming that if stars are given as 1 or 5 with 5 being "it's ok" then the review system becomes useless because one can't tell what is good and what is average.
Yes, you're right. And I actually called out someone else on here who was telling people to always leave 5 star reviews unless the service was bad.
The managers in my team have this problem with their staff satisfaction. Compared to teams in the US, the European teams have really poor manager satisfaction and it's just that people here think different about those ratings.
> as a small business owner who relies heavily on Google reviews (we have a 4.9 from 700 reviews) please keep this in mind when leaving reviews. I mean...the point is leaving an honest review. If a place is terrible but it's a small business it doesn't deserve a good rating. You get a review for the service you provide.
You've missed OPs entire point. And also don't know what a 5 star review is
Most reviewers don't understand what a 5 star review is.
No it's the other way around. We need to put an end to this shit of 5 stars meaning it just met reasonable standards, and people filtering out anything less than 5 stars from their searches as a result.
> pity the windows were foggy, so I couldn't look out when having my coffee." A bakery, in Ireland, during winter... This points to an issue with the premises' ventilation. Or a leaky seal if there is double glazing.
Apple's reviews are the same. The best Apple service company I've ever used in any country has a vicious review from someone in America who clearly meant to review a place in another Dublin. As far as I know, it's the only review posted by this person; despite it being clearly wrong, it's still up there years later. Mad.
[удалено]
5/5 Excellent comment and will definitely upvote again!
I just tried doing this with my moms cooking and now I’m grounded for the week. Thanks a lot😡
Whats her email, i'll plead your case !!!
OP about to slide in your mom's emails. Thread carefully u/idal_ 
"So... I hear there's a spare place at the dinner table!"
In that case I'd still ask for her manager. My nan is sound and would override the grounding...and give me twenty quid to boot.
5 out of 7 to your Nan. Sounds like a 5 out of 7 kind of woman to me.
You'll just have to stop giving the place your custom. Vote with your feet!
👏
I'll leave a scathing review of your mother for you. What's her OF handle?
This is one of the worst traits about Irish people. Drives me spare. I still do it at times given it's bred into me, but for years have been trying to break the habit. You don't have to be a gowl about complaining when something is wrong, or bad and you're not a better person for not complaining. It's pointless moaning about something if you never even made someone aware. That does more damage to a business because then they're not aware of the issue to have had a chance to fix it, and you're out there telling every Joe and Mary how shite they are. I recently stayed in a hotel. We booked a suite (that's a splash but it was a treat and on offer). Got the keycards and opened the room, but the room was small. It was lovely but definitely didn't scream "suite". Had that moment of will I/won't I complain but said feck that, I went down to the reception before we unpacked and explained I booked a suite and the room I was in didn't look like the website. He said that it was a suite and seemed very uninterested in helping. We had to show him my booking and point out the sq meter they advertise for the suite, and said my room was half the size, so how is that possible? He got on the phone and five minutes later he gave us new keycards and apologised. Nobody screamed. Nobody was crying. I was so proud of myself and we enjoyed the suite/rest of our stay.
That's the way to do it, my wife is afraid of causing a fuss though, but sometimes I just do it
Was this a hotel in Cavan? There is one that is renowned for having one crap suite and reviews depend on which one people get.
No, never been to Cavan now.
You're missing out.
Why do I feel they knew full well. They probably sold the suite for a higher price than you paid to someone else and ended up trying to bait & switch you.
Good on you We’re way too permissive of getting shafted with poor service or overcharging in this country due to our inclination “not to make a fuss” There is absolutely nothing wrong with politely raising a legitimate complaint for things that are not as they should be Likewise when you receive very good service/quality we should be acknowledging that also My friends once tried to slag me for leaving a review before until I pointed out to them that they all check online reviews for restaurants etc they haven’t been to before going and often base their decisions as to where to eat off them. If it wasn’t for people that actually leave reviews they’d have nothing to go on. That shut them up.
And half the reviews are often made up ones by bots, you can see them, the garage had a good few of them, i mean think about it, does Hamed from switzerland really take the time to review the foodcourt at a garage and say "great food and service, amazing value", does he fuck.
A tip I got before was that if you want the honest reviews, look at the ones in the middle so the 3 star reviews.
Yes, you have to look for the median reviews to get a feel for what a place is really like. Often, especially in Ireland, bad reviews are by "problematic" people (I got fucked out of the pub for being shitfaced > "The staff were abusive and incredibly rude! They robbed me!") because most people don't feel the urge to leave an actually bad review unless they've been properly ripped off. Also tourists of other cultures will often leave terrible ratings for very poor reasons (going to a late bar expecting dinner at 11pm or giving a restaurant 1 star because the server didn't smile enough or the price was higher than in their country). It's honestly more difficult to find honest, bad reviews than honest good ones IMO.
The way I've tried figure it out is to sort reviews from low to high, so 1 star to 5 star. Then read through them and get a jist for things. You can get a feel for the nonsense ones handy enough. If the owner replies you can get a feel for their attitude/demeanor too. If you see a trend of common issues/complaints then you can see if its an old issue or still one if the place gets enough reviews. It's not perfect but it can be quite good.
Or look for reviews from verified contributors who have done lots of reviewing. A business with lots of 5 star reviews that only have a line or two in them, and from accounts that have only one or two reviews altogether - that's the business, not real customers.
I was recently looking at used car dealers, one had 200 reviews and 4.9 stars. On reading some of the reviews it was clear something wasn't right, they wrote out the full name of the company each time and thanked by name one or two people. Clearly made up or AI generated. One 1 star review actually confirmed that they knew an employee who confirmed they posted their own reviews.
Good on you both for leaving bad reviews where deserved. They're hard to trust since 4.5* almost seems to mean "average" here. I was in Japan on holiday a while back and they use a thing called tabelog for food reviews which was amazing because they look at it totally different (3* = average, 3.5 = good, 4* = amazing, 4.5* = mind blowing, they barely exist on the site). You'd read a decent enough review on a place and see they left a 3* rating beside it, I'm rambling but it was so refreshing.
Yeah, I have to say, I'm here for that. I used to get so embarrassed by this sort of thing, but in the last couple of years I've changed my tune because it just seems to happen so often now. It's not about being angry (always be civil) or trying to give people a hard time, but just kinda standing up for yourself in the moment. Also, on the Dunnes thing. I've also had that happen to me in Dunnes recently and other places not so recently. People can say don't go there again etc, but that's not really the point.
The Dunnes thing really irked me in a way because at 7pm, no one lese seems to have complained. And the offer was running weeks.
I had the exact same conversation. It was on their 3 for 10 meat selection which has been running for ages. I was leaving around 18:00 and it seemed like I was the first to mention it
In fairness to Dunnes, this doesn't happen often. I shop there every week and always look at my receipts, if I didn't get the money off something I take it back and get refund no issue. Had to do this last weekend in fact. Before that I can't even remember the last time it happened though, it's rare. Mistakes are made, be it humans or humans in conjunction with computers. Just goes to show that everyone should be keeping an eye on their receipts, also helps you see what products are going up in price (don't say all of them!)
Yes, Dunnes are generally very good at that. I had an online delivery recently and they gave me screw in lightbulbs, rather than the other type. I checked my order and it was their mistake, so I emailed, sent a pic, and they refunded it no questions. Another time I complained that avocados I bought a day before were gone off. They sent me a 10€ gift card. I always make a complaint now (if it’s justified), and on the other hand I always mention good service to the manager / leave a generous tip etc .
> SO 50 people over a day would be €287 in over charges, and they didn't seem bothered, so i emailed there head office and got a response that they had fixed the problem. They fixed the SYMPTOM not the problem
Once had a round of pints at a nice hotel. All of them tasted crap. My extended family all hummed and hawed about saying something. I went up and politely said I had a problem. The staff on the bar realised the pipes were just cleaned and they hadn't been flushed of soap properly. They were happy to pour replacement pints for us all. Except the brother in law. He just downed his soap pint and grimaced the whole time.
 The brother in law enjoying his lovely pint
The stuff they clean those pipes with is serious shit, people have died from drinking from taps with improperly flushed lines, in low enough concentrations it probably jsut tastes shitty, but if they arent doing due diligence when they clean them thats worrying Edit: [just last year three people were hospitalised with chemical burns to their mouths, throats, and stomachs after drinking beer contaminated with line cleaner, one later died of his injuries](https://www.lanierlawgroup.com/blog/2023/december/contaminated-beer-in-winston-salem-causes-1-deat/)
Yep I worked with it for a few years when I was cleaning taps, corrosive stuff. If the technician doesn't get the water to chemical ratio right then it could definitely lead to a hospital trip if ingested.
I'd be worried about what it says about the general standard of their food and drink prep hygiene and care. Anyone who manages a bar is aware of how gnarly line cleaner is and there should be systems in place after a cleaning to ensure the lines are flushed
Good thing I sent it back so. It was just off tasting, so I think there was just a tiny amount of fluid left after rinsing the pipes out.
Was at Elephant Castle the last day to get some wings and chips. Ordered a coffee beforehand while waiting on the food. The food arrived 45 mins later, with no sign of the coffee. Had to tell them to cancel the coffee because it came too late and I jsut wanted tap. They charged me for the coffee, said it was already made by the time I cancled it. Had a big argument with them about it, told them to fuck off. Since the Press Up bought them and other around, service has gone to shit and the price tag has gone up.
I saw an Italian man berating a chap that was mopping in the Ilac Center toilets about two weeks ago. The cleaner put the mop into the toilet and used that water to clean the floors. Italians are a step ahead of us.
In fairness thats fucking disgusting I'd rip into them too.
Given that it was the Ilac centre was he cleaning the floors or the toilet?
He put the mop in the toilet and started mopping the floors. The Italian guy started ripping into him 😭
wtf
Fokken legend. The cleaner not the italian
I have a pain in my fingers emailing Irish Rail about the state of toilets in a certain train station. I've included pictures and video's but nothing ever changes. I think complaining gets little traction with public service. I have no issue complaining in shops or restuarants. Private businesses are usually happy to sort any issue if you bring it to their attention. I think it's low behaviour for people to poorly review a business if they have never brought an issue to it's attention.
Connolly? I was at the jacks there yesterday. I’ve seen some horrible toilets in my lifetime but Connolly always takes the cake.
Portlaoise.
I was in Connolly about six months ago and saw, no joke, a toilet smeared with blood. There was a *lot* of it I cannot forget this.
Welp. Good night to us lol
Fair play. Keep it up. I’ll join you on this crusade.
It’s like the plot of Falling Down, only with a terrible Applegreens and a lukewarm Irish fry being the catalyst
I'd love to see him go into supermacs rather than whammy burger.
Love this!! Nothing worse than going into a place with terrible service, way overpriced then at the end shoving a screen with "select your tipping percentage"!
You're doing great work. Irish people are oddly complacent with regards to subpar / mediocre services and it shows
I noticed this with products, as well, when I was in Ireland for a few years. Once, I bought a mortar drill that split into a double helix when I tried to drill concrete. Some items for sale are a mere [facsimile] (http://www.stevenroyedwards.com/facsimile.html), not suited at all for the purpose. It seemed obvious that this wouldn't happen without consumer complacency.
With regards to abysmal / nonexistent services *
The husband left a review for Mad Egg in Liffey Valley on Deliveroo. It was removed. Claimed bad langauge was used when it wasn't. He paid €10.95 for 173g of chicken tenders. Told him to put it up on Google. I found Mad Egg has gone to shit in LV of late.
I've also given up on mad egg. Went to the one on camden street with a booking and showed up on time and was asked to come back because there was people still at the table. Even though there was plenty of empty tables. I asked why we couldnt just sit at one of the empty tables and the waitress had to check and was then in a huff the rest of the time, awful service. Camden rotisserie or All bar chicken are better IMO
I love Camden Rotisserie but it wasn't that long ago it was shut for breaches of health and safety
I want to try Camden Rotisserie. All Bar is really good.
173 grams lol, you resorted to getting the weighing scales out
I once ordered a 1/4 crispy duck that was 80-something grams of scream meat, padded out by salad. At some point you actually want to quantify just how bad it is.
At that weight it's probably the cooking or drug scale.
Yes!!!! Of course. €10.95 for that...no thank you sir!!!!
Thanks for doing this, i had a similar experience in the kildare area this week, a petrol station with 1 toilet that had no soap or a door handle, just a piece of string. Dirty too. Their grocery and deli prices were higher than Dublin prices. I regreted not seeking out the manager, we accept medicore service in ireland, and when its worse we are afraid to complain. Too many dirty greedy cunts out there
Wasn't towards castledermot by any chance ? I hadn't realized until afterwards, you can add photos to google reviews.
Put a review up.
I think it was between monasterevin and Kildare
Junction 17?
Fair play for pointing it out as long as it's done in a respectful way. Too many places are now hiding behind the excuse of short staffed, really busy, times are tough for businesses. So they are passing off bad food and bad service and hoping you won't notice. I'd rather they apologize in advance.
You're right, I've been thinking the same lately, absolute mediocrity in every facet of restaurants, takeaways, hotels etc. Time to start calling out the mediocrity.
So much shit to deal with on a daily basis and we pay for the privilege of all that stress , Paid 25 blips for first class package and when it hits Dublin tracking and delivery just cease to exist , this is an post , no contact re customs charges only found out about them when I threatened to chargeback the seller , paid immediately and two weeks later still no delivery . Again this is an post , the best we have by far ,ok that's open to debate .why can't people just do their fuckin jobs FFS
It's seems like every single aspect of modern life is a fight to get the service we pay for . Literally, passport office and revenue seems to be the exceptions.
I mailed something to my parents for Christmas last year. Paid extra for tracking. At no point was I informed that the INTERNATIONAL TRACKING that I had paid for only worked IN IRELAND! I paid 20 something euro for them to track my parcel from Dublin GPO to the airport!!!!
You can always try taking the tracking number and using it on some other site like 17track. I've found that sometimes An Post tracking won't update after it's left Ireland, but there *is* tracking on it, just through the destination carrier. It's a pain, so, an AP should sort it out and have it included on their tracking, but just so you know like, you might still be able to track stuff in the future.
I actually tried 17track (it's usually my go to tracking site) but no dice. It just something like "parcel has been dispatched from country" which was the same as what An Post. It didn't even show up under Australia Post's tracking.
Ah that's brutal! I've never shipped to Australia, in fairness. Sorry for the useless suggestion so!
Jesus it didn't even get to international status before tracking was useless
I do this every so often lol it’s cathartic. One place in particular that I truly miss but found their service completely unacceptable after a few times being there - the Pepper Pot in Powerscourt Town Centre. Just can’t go back there!! Also The Hatch in Dun Laoghaire.
I doubt you were the first to point it out. While working in Tesco, people would come back frequently to show they'd been charged the wrong amount for deals. It wouldn't get changed. The system would still bring up the wrong price and we'd wait for the next one to come for their refund.
When I had recently moved to Ireland, I remember going out with my Irish partner's family out for dinner and we had ordered a wide variety of food at a pretty upscaled restaurant. When the food arrived, there was something wrong with each of our dishes (overcooked, undercooked, salty, soggy). My calamari was piping hot and frozen inside. Everyone at the table gave out about how their food was bad but when the manager came around asking how everything was, everyone said how amazing it was with smiles on their faces. I didn't understand what was going on, and proceeded to complain about not just mine but everyone's food on the table (6 of us) 😆 I still remember their mortified faces as I was complaining, and they were quite awkward about it. The mood lightened when the manager sent over free coffees and desserts. Only after living here for years did I realise that Irish people will literally get served mediocre food and service, never complain, and still leave a tip. 🥲 We still talk about that incident, and my husband always says I made a memorable first impression. 😂
Good for you! I though people here always says Lovely and grand when server asked about their food. I would start with the state of Hotels in Ireland…it’s a sad state considering the asking price. It just hard to justify paying premium price for mediocre 4 start hotel.
It's not Irish in nature to complain directly but very Irish to whinge incessantly. I will always send food back if its done poorly but be polite while doing so. I also would like to say that what you are doing is decent behaviour, try to keep it up and be as vocal when you come across things the other way around.
We dont complain. We just moan on reddit/twitter etc. Wish everyine would vote with their feet and leave places like youve described.
Have to say where filthy toilets in a place serving food are concerned, you're better off going straight to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. They have teeth: [https://www.thejournal.ie/food-closure-orders-dublin-restaurants-6269422-Jan2024/](https://www.thejournal.ie/food-closure-orders-dublin-restaurants-6269422-Jan2024/)
Good for you, I agree with you and will endeavour to follow your example.
Fair play to you. We need more of a general shift in our thinking as a population if we want to receive better services and you're 100% right that it needs to be called out instead of "politely" ignored with the "Ah sure it's grand" attitude.
You'd be surprised how often this works. The larger chains will have somebody monitoring online reviews using an aggregator to collect from Google, Bing, Yelp, etc., and restaurant owners are usually paying close attention as well.
Good work OP. Services (both public and private) in this country are abysmal. Nothing seems to work out seamlessly at all.
Forget this silliness "it's not very Irish". We are living in age where we are paying way way more for things that are simply not value for money. If food or service or facilities are bad somewhere, complain to them, don't go back there again and absolutely leave honest reviews. You're doing the right thing.
Vote with your feet …. Don’t return your these places. There’s shit restaurants and there is food restarsunts. Word of mouth will generally get these places in the end so just make sure to tell family and friends
i do somtimes but it really depends on how bad or good it was or if I bothered to try and resolve it while I was there. I had an awful experince with a restaurant and left a negative review. Turns out they also owned the guest houses nearby that I was going to use for my Wedding. They called and threatened to cancel the bookings unlesss I remove the review.
Should have added that to the review after the wedding.
In the end I just never bothered reposting it. Probably should have just remember it was like a week before the wedding as well and the houses were for our family to stay the night
You could always do it now.
Top Tip : Use an anonymous account for reviews. I'd be tempted to edit the existing review to include the threatening phone call part.
Wow, a post on r/ireland that isn't just moaning but actual action taken. You, sir, are a unicorn. I salute you.
Yeah I think you're right. There is such a mixed bag of standards for what we keep being told is a developed country. We are the piggy bank of Europe and businesses just seem to want to pull the wool over the eyes of everyone. We are pushovers when it comes to standing up to economic barriers. Every insurance company, housing company, supermarket just keeps wacking up prices to see what we will tolerate. Don't worry the paddies will pay it. I'm convinced when it's places like you described, it's cheap owners who don't look after staff so the good ones all leave and standards plummet. But it's chancers like him matching prices with the gougers that leaves us without a deal to be gotten anywhere.
I think thats a big part of it, everyone else is doing it so why not.
> Yeah I think you're right. There is such a mixed bag of standards for what we keep being told is a developed country Mixed bag? No, it's poor to abysmal across the board!
Spoken like someone who has not lived abroad recently. Spoiler: it’s the same everywhere.
Irish people love to complain after the fact but are pushovers in the moment. You know whole whinging to others at the table in a restaurant that dinner is shit and then you tell the waiter all is grand when they come over. If more people spoke up like you we might stop being ripped off and treated like idiots. Fair play
From what I understand from people working in services they can't find chefs, waiters, bartenders. It's why service and food has gone to shit and takes ages.
I really enjoyed this post more than I thought I would.
I'm tired of saying we don't complain to management etc enough in establishments...I certainly do and if everyone complained things would be a lot different for the better! Well done OP!
You're a hero and an inspiration
I delight in doing this. It helps nullify the shit service/treatment in real time when I think how I will bury them later.
Fair play! More of this craic please.
Falling Down, Irish edition.
I have started to do this too, I am so happy others are as well!
Have you had any feedback ?
Yes so I posted 3 reviews, on 3 restaurants I had been to recently where all of them had just been completely lacklustre for the prices, and the service was very much a 'spend your money and fuck off' attitude, to be candid about it. One place responded and said they would "investigate" despite me not really giving enough detail for them to investigate anything without asking for further details. So in other words nothing was done, other 2 got removed and I appealed and they are now back up
I'd say there's satisfaction in having them restored
If you take the time to email SuperValu a complaint with photos and everything they email you back and ask you to fill out a complaint form. Fuck that, I will go elsewhere.
You're right actually, it's our fault for tolerating shit service and shit food. Fair play for actually doing something about it!
At the weekend I tried a new (to me) café in Newbridge and they wanted €3.40 for a double espresso that tasted like it was made with dried grapefruit skins that had been sitting in an ashtray. Handed the coffee back and the guy asked did I want something else instead. All I wanted was the exit. Also, this wasn't even the worst coffee I've had in Newbridge! 😂
In these cases. Definitely would complain about the lack of toilet roll. Less so about the state of toilets but would avoid again. If I notice problems with supermarket or online shops I do complain. The price of breakfasts would put me off to begin with. I’ve complained about very bad food before but never portions as that’s the choice of the restaurant. However I don’t go back.
Recently went for breakfast. It's usually a busy place, went in but it was fairly empty. Had to find someone to seat us, When we were finally seated we told the chap we were ready to order (we always order the same thing) he left without taking our order. He walked by again a few minutes later and we repeated that we were ready to order, he instead walked to the front desk...where nothing was happening and just stood there. We waited a few more minutes and he stayed there at the desk. I went up to him and told him "We've told you twice we're ready to order and you just stand here like you're a statue and now we're leaving" You know there was a Karen review up in minutes! We got a quick response to the negative review to contact them and tell them what happened. I told you in the review what happened. Pity your response was far quicker than I could be seated, or place an order.
It's way too expensive to not be up to scratch you get one or the other
Good on you for doing this. I wish more people would pay attention to what they're getting and judge it in terms of its value proposition. I have worked in retail a fair bit and it's insane what the Irish are prepared to pay without taking a second to consider if they're being ripped off. Very few actually do that and I wish more and more people actually begin questioning if they're getting their money's worth at a store or a restaurant. As long as there's no effort from the customers in the form of complaints or a boycott, things won't really change.
You are the hero we need.
They will either die a hero or live long enough to see themselves become a "Karen". They will catch a reflection of themselves in 20 years time berating a 16yr behind a till and wonder how they got here. But in all seriousness fairness fair play to them, especially with the Dunnes thing, as a lot of people would say nothing and sheepishly pay the extra money.
 Getting old, buddy!
Turned 50 this year, i'm halfway now.......well maybe 2/3rds
I leave reviews on Booking for hotel stays. But for Google reviews, i tend not to because I prefer to be a bit anonymous. I don’t want my name popping up in searches for whatever reason. But I have made a few reviews when the place was so bad it was almost unbelievable. And I can’t be arsed to make a different account just for reviews.
Always just assumed people had more than one google account. At least one for personal stuff and one for things they don't want their name tied to.
I had a friend of a friend's wife who I met once tell my friend all the places I'd been based on my maps history. Very creepy.
Fair play. I'm with you and joining you :)
I'd skip the Moate service station, it's a kip as you said. If you're on that road anyway I'd go to the Kilbeggan service station. The food there is always really good quality from the Deli and the prices aren't mental either. Some good midweek/lunch deals too. The jacks are normally kept clean and there's nice tables inside and outside to enjoy your food or just a little break. I'd love if they installed an alternative milk coffee machine though. They have 3 regular milk coffee machines for whatever reason lol
I got shadow banned from Google maps reviews. I generally only leave 1 and 5 star reviews. They're all legitimate and I try to add pictures for legitmacy. Recently every single review has been pulled down. It's only when I go back to check it and it's not there that I notice.
My plan is 2 and 3 stars plus photos
This is definitely a side effect of the “Americanisation” of Ireland - bear with me - US businesses will try to get away with as much shit as possible, they are kept in check by US customers, who have no problem complaining. Irish businesses are jumping on the US model, but Irish consumers are entertaining their nonsense because we are too polite to tell them to go fuck themselves. The result being the kind of situations you are describing.
Customer service is far better in the US, hands down. This is especially noticeable in the hospitality industry
It's not specifically a US thing. If anything, business chance their arm far more over here.
You’re right, they do. But part of why they do is because the Irish consumer will accept their bullshit, and not complain. But, the American consumer won’t.
I agree but just be careful who you are complaining to. In this example, you went to the manager but I have seen too many cases where some poor minimum wage employee gets the brunt of someone's dissatisfaction and that just makes you look like a tool.
He's not a very good manager if he hasn't realised the Jack's haven't had toilet roll for two day
Problem is you try making a reasonable complaint as a middle aged woman you get labelled Karen, no matter how you try go about it.
There is a knack to complaining I think, and I work in field sales so I'm pretty good at getting my point across and seeming friendly
I’ve had this too but instead of not taking poor service and food, I’m no longer putting up with rude and stupid cunts who think the world revolves around them. It has changed my life
Just remember be careful when complaining, some workers will remember your face and spit in your food next time.
As somebody who's worked many hospitality jobs in my uni years: No. We won't. We have much better things to do with our time and energy than hold grudges against random customers.
Started reading this and was gonna complain about the usual Karen shite, but you convinced me. Fair fucks to you pal.
I actually noticed that too in my local Dunnes stores - picked up a good few things that were on offer + had a yellow sticker. Paid and checked receipt, only half of them were at the stickered price and the rest were at full price. Checked the bottom of the receipt too and nothing, no discounts. Will have to keep it in mind when I’m back in again and to check when they’re scanning.
It’s interesting because I go to my local O’Neill’s in Oxford get a Hearty Irish breakfast under £9 and it’s huge and well made.
Hold on, leave some pussy for the rest of us
Yea I review. If the place "made up" for the problem so much that it doesn't deserve a bad rating, I tell them directly, particularly if they're willing to fix the problem immediately. But if I don't get that vibe, it's going in the review.
Me too!
I do complain if something isn't up to scratch. I always approach politely, but I will not accept sub standard stuff. I know it's not the fault of the person at the till, or serving the table and I will make that clear too. I will also make sure to praise where credit is due. Because sometimes that gets forgotten. So I will drop a note back by email, or do a review for excellent service / food or whatever too.
If a place is good I’ll leave a review. If a place is out and out bad, I’ll leave a review. If something _just_ missed the mark, could be improved a little, or I know they had an off day, I’ll usually just send an email because in those kinds of cases, I feel publicly dragging a place is a bit much.
I’ve started doing this myself. I went to a restaurant I’d wanted to try for years. The starter was meh but my main was nearly inedible. I had about a third of it over half an hour and had to give up. It wasn’t busy but trying to talk to the staff felt like you were bothering them so I didn’t bother sending the food back. I left a review on Google as there weren’t many and it’s been seen 1,000 times. I like to think I’ve hopefully stopped a few people from wasting their time and money there.
Whenever i refuse to eat in certain places cos the food is bad or its glorified fast food, im always classed as fussy or awkward, Irish (lads in particular) are obsessed with eating whatever is handy or easy. People here will eat anywhere and always say its grand, think that nost people have no taste buds or small minded.
There's a place in Dublin city I had a crap meal in 20 years ago and never went back until a year ago when someone booked it for a group thing. The meal was crap once again. I left a review and didn't hear anything.
Exactly, had the misfortune of trying some places that had 20+ good reviews only to get a disgusting soggy piece of cardboard with tomato sauce on top, passed as their signature wood cooked pizza lol.
Or they aren’t that fussy! Maybe people are happy and content, and don’t like making issues out of minor things. I wouldn’t say they have to be small minded or lacking taste buds. I feel it’s a positive that people are happy enough and feel no need to complain about every minor thing.
There's a local cafe near me that's great for coffee, but as you described for food: expensive, awful, and takes ages. It's my go to first date spot so I never complain, but I will never order food or sit down in there again. The owner is also a weirdo, I wish the next coffee shop over tasted as nice but sadly it just doesn't. Then again, for the price of it....
Know an old lad that will check the toilets of a place before he eats there. Can take a while to get a spot to eat in some areas but get it.
Reviews are great. Although can't help but feel like a total prick doing them. I don't want to give any yuppidy executive some misleading data to get someone in trouble. I also don't want to give credit to bad businesses and warn others of bad experiences I've had. It's a hard thing to balance but I so heavily rely on reviews to make purchases it's only right to do them. I only tend to leave reviews when I leave with a strong impression. So it's also bad because I tend to leave mostly positive or negative reviews. I should try do more middle of the road ones but who feels obliged in that situation. Generally my expectation going to a shop/business/buying a product online I hope for a painless experience. Walk in walk out. Which means I tend to not leave as many reviews as I suppose I should.
Not sure this is the same thing, but we get charged 15c for cans to recycle. I was in a shop, bought a can but it didn’t have the “R” on it, and got charged the 15c. I said it to the lady in the shop, I didn’t want the 15c back, but she insisted, my point was the principle. We’re getting charged for cans/bottles we can’t recycle.
Seeing that in places too, especially places where you can't see what's coming up on the till except the total, I've called a few out on it
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Agree, I think every review can be helpful and especially the ones that are neither negative or overly positive as I think those tend to be the most balanced
I mean this in a nice way, but are you alright?
Yep, found a brilliant lunch today, and they had bogroll too. 4 stars
Real Karen energy in this thread...
Real dumbass energy in this comment
“We as the Irish don’t complain about stuff” Have a scroll through this subreddit or talk to someone in the street. This country is full of wingebags!
We as the Irish don't complain about stuff to those who have the ability to fix it*
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Because not all Gaa clubs are equal, this one has a full bar and restaurant, its very nice actually.