Menupages.ie - negative reviews are removed

TheBigLebowski · 05-11-2008 7:32am

ntlbell wrote: »

is this not enough lebowski?

Frankly, no it's not enough for me. I'm not saying menupages didn't handle this badly or that something fishy didn't happen, but people are making out here that bad reviews can be removed at ease by restaurateurs. Apart from the fact that we don't know the actual details of what was in the original review that was removed, if it is so easy, then why are there hundreds of bad reviews for restaurants including 'premium' restaurants that have not been removed.

I'm sure some incident did happen around this but I don't believe it is widespread and I will still use the website.

Anywho, thats my thoughts on the whole issue...

AARRRGH · 05-11-2008 11:06am

ALL of my friends have had negative reviews removed within weeks of them being online.

As menupages stated themselves, if they appear on the site they are NOT unreasonable reviews; this is because menupages review all reviews before placing them online. Menupages have also admitted restaurants can simply ask for negative reviews to be taken down, so it is clear negative reviews are being removed by restaurants.

Here is my review - is it so unreasonable?

I live in the apartments above this restaurant. It is always empty so I was feeling a bit sorry for them so thought I'd give it a try! The starter and main course were quite tasty, although the portions are very small and they boil rather than grill your food when you use the barbecue. The dessert was very disappointing, as it was frozen and tasteless. Overall I felt I paid a lot of money for very little food, and have to say I left the restaurant feeling a little bit angry. I am a regular of the Korean restaurants on Parnell Street and think they offer much better value for money, and food of at least the same quality.

dudara · 05-11-2008 1:31pm

The only problem I'd have with that review is that you mention other restaurants, which is generally not allowed with menupages.

AARRRGH · 05-11-2008 1:36pm

dudara wrote: »

The only problem I'd have with that review is that you mention other restaurants, which is generally not allowed with menupages.

OK, fair enough, however it passed their review process and was placed on the site, and only became a problem when the restaurant asked for it to be removed... The e-mail menupages sent me says it was removed because my experience was negative, not because I mention other restaurants.

I forgot to mention in the review that I left the restaurant feeling hungry!

pandamoanium · 07-11-2008 9:06am

If Sandra is still reading this, and I presume she has been and will continue to do so, then I would strongly suggest that you come back on here again and respond to peoples queries.

If Menupages.ie are in fact being lambasted and are innocent of all charges, then you have nothing to worry about. Come and defend yourself, silence the naysayers.

The truth always comes out in the end.

I think it's important to note that there have already been 7,745 views to this thread alone. Think about it. That's a lot of people. A lot of people who have read damning reports and evidence of menupages.ie and will think twice about using it again, particularly since you were so vocal and defensive at the start Sandra, and now, the silence is deafening.

Try typing in Menupages.ie on Google.ie - see the fifth search result, this is it. Yup, this very thread wth the rather loud and brash headline of "Negative Reviews are removed!"

So even casual searchers of menupages will probably stumble across this thread.

7,745 views already Sandra, and still counting...

The "bury your head in the sand" approach and hope it will all go away isn't working.

olaola · 07-11-2008 2:48pm

Was chatting to a friend last night who told me that menupages would not put up his negative review, saying that it was slanderous. Now A: this guy works in the business, B: I was at the same dinner and C: what he said was completely true (he ordered tuna and it was rancid - he had to run to the toilet to spit it out)

So they are still rejecting negative reviews. We should set up our own site!

TheBigLebowski · 07-11-2008 3:07pm

olaola wrote: »

Was chatting to a friend last night who told me that menupages would not put up his negative review, saying that it was slanderous. Now A: this guy works in the business, B: I was at the same dinner and C: what he said was completely true (he ordered tuna and it was rancid - he had to run to the toilet to spit it out)

So they are still rejecting negative reviews. We should set up our own site!

Menupages have an obligation to screen the reviews to make sure that they are within the rules. Any chance we could see the actual wording of what was in the review?

Do you really expect them to allow every single review to be posted on-line?

TheBigLebowski · 07-11-2008 3:12pm

AARRRGH wrote: »

ALL of my friends have had negative reviews removed within weeks of them being online.

As menupages stated themselves, if they appear on the site they are NOT unreasonable reviews; this is because menupages review all reviews before placing them online. Menupages have also admitted restaurants can simply ask for negative reviews to be taken down, so it is clear negative reviews are being removed by restaurants.

Here is my review - is it so unreasonable?

I live in the apartments above this restaurant. It is always empty so I was feeling a bit sorry for them so thought I'd give it a try! The starter and main course were quite tasty, although the portions are very small and they boil rather than grill your food when you use the barbecue. The dessert was very disappointing, as it was frozen and tasteless. Overall I felt I paid a lot of money for very little food, and have to say I left the restaurant feeling a little bit angry. I am a regular of the Korean restaurants on Parnell Street and think they offer much better value for money, and food of at least the same quality.

In fairness, I can't see any reason why this review was removed. No abuse, libel or any other reason. Also it doesn't actually name any other restaurant as stated in the rules. All I can hope is that they've now learned their lesson from this thread!

ntlbell · 07-11-2008 3:16pm

olaola wrote: »

We should set up our own site!

I was just thinking the same, menupages is pretty bland as far as websites go considering they have financial backing.

A hobbiest could do a much better job and after this has came about it might be a good as time as any as people will be now looking for somewhere honest for their reviews.

If anyone is interested in starting their own and needs a hand with anything from a technical/hosting POV PM me!

Now you're eating..

AARRRGH · 07-11-2008 6:36pm

ntlbell wrote: »

If anyone is interested in starting their own and needs a hand with anything from a technical/hosting POV PM me!

Funny, I was thinking the same thing yesterday. I run lots of websites (at a loss, I do it as a hobby) so I would have no problem funding an advert free, conflict of interest free site.

Hmmm. Let me have a think about it and I'll PM you.

08-11-2008 12:28am

Lads come on ,this thread is turning into a conspiracy.

LolaDub · 08-11-2008 12:33pm

Lol its not a conspiracy, if you read it from the beginning you'll see its one user posting their review was removed and several other people confirming the same. Menupages came and confirmed they did remove reviews but never came back to answer the further questions, its all extremely obvious now that they do remove reviews.

On the new website, i think its a great idea as it and this thread will show menupages and hopefully other businesses that when you trat people so badly and annoy them so much they don't just go away

admiralofthefleet · 11-11-2008 8:09pm

now the good review for my place is gone

trellheim · 13-11-2008 1:46am

from their current FAQ

http://www.menupages.ie/FAQ.aspx

Amendment to Policy, October 2008:

Up until mid-October 2008, we did have a system in place where on rare occasions a restaurant might try to make it up to a customer who had a bad dining experience. In those instances, the review, which had been put live on the web site, may have been put on hold (removed) until after the restaurant had put the situation right with the user - we believed this was a fair system for both user and restaurateur. If the outcome of this was still negative, the original review was reposted, or if the outcome was positive and the user wished to update their review, this was also posted. However, following recent user feedback, this option no longer exists and bad reviews will simply stay intact, even if a restaurant is trying to rectify a situation with a user. We are sorry if this amendment to policy disappoints you and we hope it will not hinder your ability to continue to enjoy the web site.

Do you remove a review if a restaurant asks for it to be removed?

No - even if they are our paying customers! All reviews stay intact (apart from in the few specific circumstances outlined above), so restaurants please do not ask.

How can users have a review removed?

You cannot. However, when users log in to the web site and visit their "My MenuPages" membership area, a review can be amended, edited or re-written by the original poster.

How can a restaurant have a review removed?

They cannot - restaurants have no facility to amend a review - however, they have a "right to reply" which will appear directly under a review which they wish to comment on. These comments are also moderated and are subject to the same review conditions as listed above under "are reviews always posted".

Mr E · 13-11-2008 9:32am

Thats good news.... now lets see if its enforced.

faceman · 13-11-2008 2:24pm

Well it seems that the menupages people have been listening and taken appropriate action. Well done to all who complained and to menupages for listening.

ntlbell · 13-11-2008 2:38pm

AARRRGH wrote: »

Funny, I was thinking the same thing yesterday. I run lots of websites (at a loss, I do it as a hobby) so I would have no problem funding an advert free, conflict of interest free site.

Hmmm. Let me have a think about it and I'll PM you.

saves us a bit of work

AARRRGH · 15-11-2008 1:51am

trellheim wrote: »

from their current FAQ

http://www.menupages.ie/FAQ.aspx

Amendment to Policy, October 2008:

Up until mid-October 2008, we did have a system in place where on rare occasions a restaurant might try to make it up to a customer who had a bad dining experience. In those instances, the review, which had been put live on the web site, may have been put on hold (removed) until after the restaurant had put the situation right with the user - we believed this was a fair system for both user and restaurateur. If the outcome of this was still negative, the original review was reposted, or if the outcome was positive and the user wished to update their review, this was also posted. However, following recent user feedback, this option no longer exists and bad reviews will simply stay intact, even if a restaurant is trying to rectify a situation with a user. We are sorry if this amendment to policy disappoints you and we hope it will not hinder your ability to continue to enjoy the web site.

Do you remove a review if a restaurant asks for it to be removed?

No - even if they are our paying customers! All reviews stay intact (apart from in the few specific circumstances outlined above), so restaurants please do not ask.

How can users have a review removed?

You cannot. However, when users log in to the web site and visit their "My MenuPages" membership area, a review can be amended, edited or re-written by the original poster.

How can a restaurant have a review removed?

They cannot - restaurants have no facility to amend a review - however, they have a "right to reply" which will appear directly under a review which they wish to comment on. These comments are also moderated and are subject to the same review conditions as listed above under "are reviews always posted".

They're still lying though. As I can prove, and many previous posters can prove, menupages removed our negative reviews without telling us. I only got offered a meal after I complained my review was removed (and started this thread.)

I do hope menupages sort out this issue going forward, but I have no faith they will do so.

The Mighty Ken · 01-12-2008 4:23am

I had a couple of reviews that were left unpublished prior to the amendment of their Terms and Conditions. I'll assume that these reviews would be published if I posted them now though? I intend to go back to the same Dublin sushi restaurant where I saw one of the waitresses breathe into the plastic plate lids to make the contents of the conveyor belt plates look streaming hot. Then I'll post another review (hopefully with some photographic evidence) and perhaps menupages.ie will approve it this time. Because fvck knows the general public deserve to know about the kind of things that go on in some of these places before they eat there.

AARRRGH · 01-12-2008 12:00pm

The Mighty Ken wrote: »

I had a couple of reviews that were left unpublished prior to the amendment of their Terms and Conditions. I'll assume that these reviews would be published if I posted them now though? I intend to go back to the same Dublin sushi restaurant where I saw one of the waitresses breathe into the plastic plate lids to make the contents of the conveyor belt plates look streaming hot. Then I'll post another review (hopefully with some photographic evidence) and perhaps menupages.ie will approve it this time. Because fvck knows the general public deserve to know about the kind of things that go on in some of these places before they eat there.

Go for it

but something tells me they still won't get published.

Bluetonic · 03-12-2008 2:43pm

Anyone fancy a job?

Menupages.ie Administrator

Menupages.ie is Ireland's leading dining out guide with over 4,000 listings of restaurants, bars and cafe's. Launched 2 years ago we receive over 240,000 visitors to the site every month and this continues to grow.

Due to our growth we are expanding our Admin team. We are looking for a candidate with exceptional organisational skills who can manage a diverse daily work load. There is a strong emphasis on Customer Service in this role so confident phone manner is essential. Strong typing skills will be an advantage along with good online knowledge. The candidate will be responsible for the following;

1. Process and vet reviews from our users prior to posting live on Menupages.ie.
2. Contacting our clients on a daily basis to update required information.
3. Deal with queries from our users.
4. Manage the launch of future counties we expand into.
5. Updating of current listings.

This is a fantastic opportunity to become part of a fun team and great brand. Not many jobs offer such a diverse and unique range of responsibilities.

http://www.jobs.ie/ApplyForJob.aspx?Id=881651

Cicero · 05-12-2008 12:17am

I have absolutely ZERO faith in menu pages- I tried to post a negative review on a particular hotel/restaurant- 4 times- not once did it publish- however, other restaurants I wrote up in the same area (both positive and average) and beyond were published- not getting into conspiracy theories but as there are negative reviews on menu pages, there is cerainly something up with this site in terms of how it 'chooses' to publish reviews.
An explanation is definately required or I will be more explicit as to what failed to publish and let the public make their own mind up

AARRRGH · 05-12-2008 12:53am

Cicero wrote: »

I have absolutely ZERO faith in menu pages- I tried to post a negative review on a particular hotel/restaurant- 4 times- not once did it publish- however, other restaurants I wrote up in the same area (both positive and average) and beyond were published- not getting into conspiracy theories but as there are negative reviews on menu pages, there is cerainly something up with this site in terms of how it 'chooses' to publish reviews.
An explanation is definately required or I will be more explicit as to what failed to publish and let the public make their own mind up

It seems to come down to two things:

1. If Menupages think there is any chance the review could get them in trouble they don't post the review. This basically means most negative reviews.
2. If restaurants ask for negative reviews to be taken down, they comply.

Menupages are now saying they have stopped doing 2, but I suspect this means they'll just do more of 1.

As many others have pointed out, Menupages rely on restaurants for their income; this means they cannot be impartial. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you".

LolaDub · 05-12-2008 1:13pm

Has anyone tried resubmitting a review?

TheBigLebowski · 05-12-2008 1:35pm

AARRRGH wrote: »

It seems to come down to two things:

1. If Menupages think there is any chance the review could get them in trouble they don't post the review. This basically means most negative reviews.
2. If restaurants ask for negative reviews to be taken down, they comply.

Menupages are now saying they have stopped doing 2, but I suspect this means they'll just do more of 1.

As many others have pointed out, Menupages rely on restaurants for their income; this means they cannot be impartial. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you".

OK AARRRGH, you need to find something better to worry about. Your obsession with the goings on of menupages is getting to unhealthy levels. Really starting to think you have ulterior motives...

ntlbell · 05-12-2008 1:42pm

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

OK AARRRGH, you need to find something better to worry about. Your obsession with the goings on of menupages is getting to unhealthy levels. Really starting to think you have ulterior motives...

Your obsession with his obsession is getting unhealthy

do you have shares in page 7 media or something?

I'm really starting to think you have ulterior motives..

Dennis the Stone · 05-12-2008 1:48pm

Only saw this thread today! I tried to post a negative review back in march but surprise surprise it wasn't accepted. There was no libel, abuse or anything of the sort in it.

My review outlined the bad service, wrong orders and cold food. I'm going to try resubmit now.

AARRRGH · 05-12-2008 4:30pm

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

OK AARRRGH, you need to find something better to worry about. Your obsession with the goings on of menupages is getting to unhealthy levels. Really starting to think you have ulterior motives...

I think I'm allowed comment on people's comments!

I've no obsession with Menupages, but I do think everyone should know their website cannot be trusted. If that means I have to post here every now and then, so be it.

Bluetonic · 05-12-2008 9:09pm

AARRRGH wrote: »

I've no obsession with Menupages

Come on admit it, you've all the pages printed out and stuck to your wall.

faceman · 05-12-2008 9:49pm

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

OK AARRRGH, you need to find something better to worry about. Your obsession with the goings on of menupages is getting to unhealthy levels. Really starting to think you have ulterior motives...

rumour has it that he is going to go to a restaurant and not pay.

AARRRGH · 05-12-2008 11:08pm

Bluetonic wrote: »

Come on admit it, you've all the pages printed out and stuck to your wall.

Just like in the Happiness postcard scene! :pac: :pac: :pac:

(It's on youtube)

Cicero · 07-12-2008 11:48am

AARRRGH wrote: »

It seems to come down to two things:

1. If Menupages think there is any chance the review could get them in trouble they don't post the review. This basically means most negative reviews.
2. If restaurants ask for negative reviews to be taken down, they comply.

Menupages are now saying they have stopped doing 2, but I suspect this means they'll just do more of 1.

As many others have pointed out, Menupages rely on restaurants for their income; this means they cannot be impartial. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you".

If true (and from experience, I suspect it is true) then this makes menu pages worthless as a service- none of the reviews can be trusted as balance does not apply- with sites like trip advisor, you are able to determine overall, if the hotel etc has merit or not- you weigh-up some of the more trivial or once-off complaints/experiences and ratings with the more insightful reviews/higher ratings, and you make your decision. I wouldn't like to see this site get popular as it's not a fair reflection of what service restaurants provide.
I know we should 'all get out more' and there's much bigger problems than menupages.ie right now, but isn't that what boards is about..keeping the outside world in check? besides, can't think of anything else to moan about right now

LolaDub · 09-12-2008 4:59pm

Has anyone tried re posting a review? I wrote a review about a bad experience in a restaurant and surprise it was never posted.

ntlbell · 09-12-2008 5:01pm

LolaDub wrote: »

Has anyone tried re posting a review? I wrote a review about a bad experience in a restaurant and surprise it was never posted.

Hey lola did you contact them to ask why?

be nice to hear their response to this

Dennis the Stone · 09-12-2008 5:12pm

Tried to post my negative review again and again.. Not accepted. Completely worthless website

LolaDub · 09-12-2008 5:15pm

I haven't. I've contacted them a few times in the past and rarely received a response. For the sake of this thread i'll give it a go, but i'm sure they're keeping an eye on this anyway.

boopolo · 09-12-2008 10:23pm

I for one think that taking a bribe (free meal) from a restaraunt in turn for the original reviewer removing his honest opinion is ridiculous.

If the restaraunt does want to contact the person who was not satisfied with their service, fine. If they want to compensate them for their bad experience, fine, but not so they can cheat other readers out of what should be an unbiased set of reviews.

If the reviewer accepts the compensation, he/she should be able to add this as a footnote/addition or an ammended review. This would not be bribe.

Sandra (is she gone?), I have no faith whatsoever in your website. Your feeble attempt to dampen the situation, as I see it, is scattered with untruths.

Boo

carbsy · 10-12-2008 12:21am

Menupages.ie is a total farce, I suggest naming and shaming the establishments in question in threads here instead.It might wake them up! :rolleyes:

olaola · 10-12-2008 12:31pm

carbsy wrote: »

Menupages.ie is a total farce, I suggest naming and shaming the establishments in question in threads here instead.It might wake them up! :rolleyes:

I agree - especially in this economic climate, they should working hard to keep customers coming back!

Darragh29 · 11-12-2008 4:14am

boopolo wrote: »

I for one think that taking a bribe (free meal) from a restaraunt in turn for the original reviewer removing his honest opinion is ridiculous.

If the restaraunt does want to contact the person who was not satisfied with their service, fine. If they want to compensate them for their bad experience, fine, but not so they can cheat other readers out of what should be an unbiased set of reviews.

If the reviewer accepts the compensation, he/she should be able to add this as a footnote/addition or an ammended review. This would not be bribe.

Sandra (is she gone?), I have no faith whatsoever in your website. Your feeble attempt to dampen the situation, as I see it, is scattered with untruths.

Boo

This is the most ridiculous aspect of what has emerged on this thread. It's so completely stupid it's laughable, coming from a website that claims to give you unbiased information. You certainly know what country you are living in when you see this type of absolute nonsense going on...

boopolo · 12-12-2008 4:38pm

Darragh29 wrote: »

This is the most ridiculous aspect of what has emerged on this thread. It's so completely stupid it's laughable, coming from a website that claims to give you unbiased information. You certainly know what country you are living in when you see this type of absolute nonsense going on...

I had to read your post 3 times (brain is getting slow these days). At first i thought you saying my post was ridiculous, as it was after my quote. I presume you mean you agree with what I said about bribing people to get a bad review removed.
Anyway if 50 people visit a restaraunt ond 2 people get bad service/food out of 50, if all reviews stay you will have a 1 in 25 chance of having a bad experience in the that restaraunt. People need to know this. It is useful to know that the two people with a bad experience got compensated. But no compensation should be made to recant an honest review.

Boo

Dannyboy83 · 13-12-2008 2:17am

Not read the entire thread but it sounds like an Online protection racket - not the first of its kind.

Cough up the cash or we'll slate your restaurant, could be effective if the site has a big following

heggie · 13-12-2008 11:14am

maybe you should read more of the thread then if you think that.

griffdaddy · 15-12-2008 2:35pm

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Not read the entire thread but it sounds like an Online protection racket - not the first of its kind.

Cough up the cash or we'll slate your restaurant, could be effective if the site has a big following

Yeah, Scorsese's bringing out a film in the Q3 2009 called 'I.T. fellas' that deals with similar online crime groups in post dot-com boom America. It's being touted for its incredible likeness to several real life high-profile online protection rackets, as well it's harsh depictions of the gritty world of biased forum moderation. In one scene which tips its hat to a recent controversy on the Irish website 'boards.ie,' a restaraunt reviewer has his review removed in cold blood after spending 20 minutes thinking of witty puns and double entendres. The reason you ask? He simply mentioned MacBeth, the name of the popular pre-theatre eatery. This is definitely one to watch for next year, and it's certain that Hollywood -and not to mention Silicon Valley- will be watching too.

Jaysoose · 15-12-2008 3:29pm

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Not read the entire thread but it sounds like an Online protection racket - not the first of its kind.

Cough up the cash or we'll slate your restaurant, could be effective if the site has a big following

Read the thread, its pretty much the exact opposite and the restaraunts are calling the shots.

ntlbell · 02-01-2009 5:01pm

did anyone get word back from menupages on why their review was removed yet?

Cicero · 10-01-2009 12:31am

OK - January- new year- new approach..eh.....let's see...I'm really interested to know the outcome and if menupages will come and share their thoughts with us- they have a good site but some obvious flaws- shame to let such a site go to waste.

Have had no communication by mail with menupages.ie- also, while i have X amount of menupages points, there is nowhere to spend them

Posted a negative review of a restaurant a few days ago for more than the 1st time but haven't heard anything yet...would like to see this thread going for a while more...it's becoming a nice distraction from the real world...:o

boxplayer1973 · 30-01-2009 1:36am

I have been posting reviews on Menupages (don't think any have been turned down, to be honest I just jot them down quickly and never really check), and one thing that I did notice was that there are suspicious reviews...

Story in question - the restaurant I am writing about is the top rated one in my area for food. I've been several times and it has never been better than average, and it has sometimes been bad. Anyway, wrote a negative review, thought nothing of it, and then checked back a while later, to see a five star review from a first-timer whose nickname was obviously a direct response to mine. Three of their reviews (all five stars) are from first-timers who have never reviewed anything else - and as they don't have a lot of reviews, then this might have a big impact on their score!

Anyone else notice things like this?

Oh, and to keep up the disappearing review theme, checked something, and one of my reviews for a local resaurant has disappeared sometime in the last few months. I think in the future I'll keep the review and check back, and then resubmit again and again...

ntlbell · 30-01-2009 10:59am

boxplayer1973 wrote: »

I have been posting reviews on Menupages (don't think any have been turned down, to be honest I just jot them down quickly and never really check), and one thing that I did notice was that there are suspicious reviews...

Story in question - the restaurant I am writing about is the top rated one in my area for food. I've been several times and it has never been better than average, and it has sometimes been bad. Anyway, wrote a negative review, thought nothing of it, and then checked back a while later, to see a five star review from a first-timer whose nickname was obviously a direct response to mine. Three of their reviews (all five stars) are from first-timers who have never reviewed anything else - and as they don't have a lot of reviews, then this might have a big impact on their score!

Anyone else notice things like this?

Oh, and to keep up the disappearing review theme, checked something, and one of my reviews for a local resaurant has disappeared sometime in the last few months. I think in the future I'll keep the review and check back, and then resubmit again and again...

have you had any bad reviews rejected?

LiamD · 30-01-2009 11:08am

boxplayer1973 wrote: »

Oh, and to keep up the disappearing review theme, checked something, and one of my reviews for a local resaurant has disappeared sometime in the last few months. I think in the future I'll keep the review and check back, and then resubmit again and again...

From MenuPages FAQ: Reviews over 300 days old are removed from the site. They still remain on your "My MenuPages" membership area, should you wish to repost the review or amend it. This is to ensure that when a user is searching for dining advice, the information is as recent and up to date as possible.

Also, re the suspect reviews, I'm sure some unscrupulous restauranteurs exploit MenuPages by posting glowing reviews of their own restaurant. I'd imagine this would be very hard to catch though, so if you suspect something about a review why not email MenuPages?

Menupages.ie - negative reviews are removed

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