Red flags: when a restaurant review doesn't pass the smell test

Published Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010 4:12PM EDTLast updated Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010 4:33PM EDT0 comments

Yelp’s Stephanie Ichinose, Chowhound’s Jacquilynne Schlesier and Scott Jampol, senior director of consumer marketing at OpenTable share tips on assessing reviews:

The tone doesn’t fit

If you read a site often enough, you’ll get a sense of the general tone, Ms. Schlesier says. When the tone seems “off,” it could indicate a shill or an inexperienced reviewer.

The reviewer is too anonymous

“If a person has a very shallow profile, perhaps no photo, just one review and it’s a five star, or one review and it’s a one star, it doesn’t give you much context to make an assessment or judgment,” Ms. Ichinose says.

Reviews are all good or all bad

“If you have all five star reviews, then that seems kind of strange,” Ms. Ichinose says. A mix of reviews is a good thing. It lends legitimacy to the various opinions.

The review is stale

A review that’s a year or two old isn’t very useful, Mr. Jampol says. “Restaurants change a lot. They change their menu, their staff, their chefs. Lots of things change over time.”

Reviewers seem overly familiar

If they remember the names of all the staff or know details about the suppliers, they may be a little too close to the business to offer a fair review, Ms. Schlesier says.

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