False bad reviews are so annoying, especially for small businesses! My husband and I get them all the time for our business, but most of them are for a shop of the same name, 5-6 states away..and the other half are things like "I don't like the name of the shop" or "I don't like their business hours"....it is absolutely ridiculous! Google and Facebook do absolutely nothing for false reviews..and Yelp helps a little with taking them down. Its really bad for business. Luckily we haven't gotten anything serious and most people come in and laugh with us about the silly "bad reviews" we do have.

But, there are places out there that should not be open. Like the Asian restaurant that insisted it was serving my husband vegan meals only to find out they put chicken broth in the sauces. Or the restaurant that was a few doors down from where I worked that had moldy buns, rancid mayo and undercooked fish. (The health department was called on them several times, but it was pointless because the wife of the owner worked for the Health Department and could give him a heads up every time she saw a "surprise" inspection scheduled.) There are people out there that complain way too much. But you can usually tell which ones are lying by the details they leave..especially if it's a local place.

If a consumer is genuinely concerned about the sanitation and food quality of a restaurant, they won't just post a bad review - they'll contact the local health inspectors and file a legitimate complaint. I, as many, have had bad experiences as a consumer and have had to file a few complaints (seeing a mouse scurry across the floor towards the kitchen whilst eating dinner certainly raised an eyebrow). I also used to work in a Chuck E Cheese and the amount of times people would order pizza, eat, then come up not 30 minutes later to complain that the food gave them food poisoning was ridiculous. What did they want? MORE of the supposed poisonous food... Also, anyone complaining on Yelp but demanding free food from the place they've just given a bad review is pretty much a red flag as a scam.

Used to deliver pizza. Delivered to a house once that is way nicer than anything I'll ever afford. Got a bad tip and when I returned to the store I had to take another delivery to the same address, same food. I asked the owner WTF? He said the customer called in to complain about a hair on her pizza. Both our cooks were bald. Own said to do it anyways to avoid bad press.

Not to mention, if this was really a maggot in the food, how is it not covered in the sauce? Did it just drop on the plate as it was being carried out of the kitchen? Sure, that's technically possible, but... scammers are awful. Stop lying!

We get people complaining about the food mainly because it's an up-market restaurant and they want a free, expensive meal; usually they eat 90% of the meal before deciding they didn't like it...

Hmm. I remember reading somewhere that these people will post bad reviews on yelp and then yelp will offer to remove them for a fee. It's extremely shady. The only thing I'll say is to keep an open mind and look at other sources if possible.

I don't think the reviewer got "destroyed", jesus bored panda, do you have to be so obviously clickbaity? for once, I enjoyed their response, it was finally well reasoned, a little bit cheeky, but not nasty. Although I would like to have seen a screen shot of the google search just to make it more legitimate

Reminds me of another post on BP where a woman complained about "tree leaves" in her food. It was bay leaf.

The restaurant with the "veggie" omelette deserves a rather bad review. Apologizing and making a new one is quite the necessity. Comping the meal was a nice gesture, but still. It's not as if she got a tomato in her salad and she just doesn't like tomatoes. The reaction of the employee just shows how much they don't give a s**t.

The same photo appeared at least 4 years earlier in a yelp review of another restaurant by a different reviewer. And the comeback by the owner didn’t stop that woman who calls herself Roxy S. from Anaheim. Six days later she published an equally inflammatory comment about another restaurant which she called "a racist" – see attached file (I didn’t conceal anything because it’s easy to find it on yelp). Such people should be held accountable for their reviews. Roxy_S_on_...2b-png.jpg

One of my favorite restaurants was Anthony's at the Des Moines (Seattle) Marina. Once I found HALF of a cutworm in my salad. Completely grossed out to be sure, but simply let the waitress know instead of being an a*****e about it. My meal was comped and nothing further was necessary. Another time, my ex & I had ridden over on the motorcycle and were having drinks & appetizers on the upstairs balcony. The waiter came out with a (too) full tray and dumped the clams I had ordered all over me - my leathers and INTO my helmet - which by law I had to wear home. He was mortified, but all I could do was laugh because it was just so absurd. We were comped for the food and the manager gave us a coupon for 1 free entree. The other diners actually complimented me for being so nice about the whole thing. S**t happens and life goes on.

My doctor has a disgruntled patient who keeps leaving multiple bad reviews on different sites. It frustrates her so much because so many businesses suffer at the hands of bad reviews that are unwarranted and the business really has no recourse. She's a fantastic doctor and you can tell all the reviews are written by the same person over and over again.

Many members of my family travel often in the US and abroad. They rely on reviews and common sense when booking places to stay and restaurants. I live in the Greater New Orleans area, where I was born and raised, so word of mouth or tried and true favorites is my go to for restaurants when I take visiting family out to eat. I usually take family to neighborhood restaurants, especially for seafood. When my brother visits, I am often treated to a lovely meal, at a place I have never tried. He nails it every time and we have a wonderful meal with excellent service, delicious food and time to chat and catch up. To me, nothing says NOLA fine dining when you can relax over food and wine and visit because the table service is excellent and seamless.

It only takes one review to make a 4 or 5 star business look bad. Some people are just critical but others are downright mean!

Please do not recommend a cat for this kind of idiot. Otherwise, the reply from the restaurant was gold.

I would NEVER, and have never, publicly given any small establishment or their individual staff a bad review. Huge corporations are fair game. I might whinge to my friends that the food wasnt that good in a restaurant - but always keep in mind that they could have had a specific problem that day and it did not reflect their usual standard. Favorite food memory is of the Kirkstone Pass Inn and the Australian waitress who had only been working there a week - On serving my Cumberland Sausage swirl she remarked that they reminded her of dog turds. Had to laugh. Pre-internet

I guess it's not so difficult to drag this "lady" to court for slander. Make her pay like she went to hospital for some minor treatment. That will clean her out and give her something to do with her life like earning the $300.000 she's owed on damages to the restaurant.