Is TripAdvisor serious?

pauldavis123

I've been noticing for the last two years places have been "hacking" Trip Advisor by offering a super friendly service and gaining good reviews.

Checking Dublin listings today this cafe is now number one:

https://www.tripadvisor.ie/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g186605-d6522141-i231784313-Beanhive-Dublin_County_Dublin.html

What are they doing with their review criteria that this nonsense percolates to the top?

drunkmonkey

Look at the reviewers locations...best fry in Dublin my ass.

BuffyBot

As with pretty much any social media, apply scepticism.

coylemj

Is there a bit of food snobbery at play here? Tripadvisor is not the Michelin Guide, they don't set out to compare or grade restaurants, they are simply saying that the reviews (genuine or not) for this place are better (highest rate of 5*) than anywhere else.

Maybe they serve great coffee and breakfasts, what's wrong with that? I think I have a pretty sceptical eye when it comes to reviews on Tripadvisor - I especially note praise for unspecific service ('the staff couldn't do enough for us'), reviews that pick out named members of staff for praise (probably written by a family member or friend) and use of the word 'amazing' in the first sentence, a big giveway for me. It's amazing (sorry) how people's imagination abandons then when they write fake reviews.

The reviews for that place seem pretty genuine but remember they are only rating it as a breakfast and coffee joint, no more. Another issue to bear in mind is that people tend to be more ruthless when they are paying more so these guys probably get treated lighter than more expensive restaurants, hence the large number of 5* reviews.

rubadub

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Look at the reviewers locations...best fry in Dublin my ass.

yep, if there is no other reference I would not pay much attention.

Lad from Greece.

The best breakfast I had in Dublin with a real capuchino coffe. And juts 5 min walk from city center

For all I know it was the only breakfast he had in dublin, or the other 1 or 2 were utterly appalling.

I like to see the photos on these sites. I wish more takeaways would put photos up of their genuine food too. Many are stock photos, or else if cooked by themselves they have some arty photographer ponce it all up. I want to see what I will get.

On that cafe its mainly photos of latte art, the breakfast looks run of the mill, on terrible plates.