Complaints come in all shapes and forms. Some of them are completely legitimate, others not so much. It’s evident that entitled people feel the urge to grouch no matter how small an inconvenience is for them. Pretty much everyone who has worked in any customer-oriented field has encountered such people.
Today’s story covers a ridiculous complaint from a woman regarding her order in a restaurant and the management’s epic response, which included a 5-minute video.
It’s not a coincidence that the internet culture created the meme “Karen”, even though the name is just a placeholder
A couple went into a restaurant in Texas and were disappointed with the service, even though it was great
The story begins with a couple going for lunch in a restaurant in Texas. The place they went to is called Herbert’s and is a local favorite. Unfortunately, the couple was not impressed by the staff even though they were great, and the wife, whose name is Susan, decided to take it online.
Herbert’s has been serving clients for decades and has accumulated a great reputation at this point. It’s in the restaurant’s best interest to grow and preserve its reputation as much as it can. Since they truly value their clients and want to make them happy, Herbert’s tried to accommodate the entitled couple to the best of their ability. Little did they know that making Susan happy wasn’t possible that day.
The core of Susan’s disappointment with the restaurant was that they did not receive the lunch discount, as they ordered at 10:52, and not at 11 am. The registry for lunch prices is set at 11:00, so the couple was out of luck. However, knowing this, the waiter did them a favor by giving them two free drinks, and one to go, completely off-charge. The service was lightning fast as well, and the restaurant’s provided video evidence supports this. But that didn’t cut it for Susan.
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
The restaurant accommodated them with free drinks, as well as a discount, even though they didn’t have to apply it
After the couple paid for their meal, Susan went back to the registry and complained that their meal wasn’t discounted. It’s worth mentioning that the discounted price was just a $1 difference as well. Of course, the restaurant staff was stellar and they just gave the discount to make Susan content. Lo and behold – she still wasn’t.
As a matter of fact, Susan thought it was a good idea to go online and share her review of the restaurant and spread misinformation. Her post quickly gained traction and got over 300 comments. Naturally, Herbert’s didn’t want to lose the good name and trust of their customers, so they decided to respond.
Herbert’s management got proof, video footage, and the complete timeline of the couple’s visit to the restaurant. They went over Susan’s review and completely dismantled it by providing supporting evidence on how the events went in reality. As if this wasn’t bad enough for Susan, the third biggest San Antonio news station got a hold of this and reported on it as well.
The restaurant didn’t take down the bad and fictitious review, but instead responded to it
Herbert’s rebuttal quickly gathered media attention as well and was shared on Reddit too. What stood out the most is that Herbert’s epic management completely took Susan’s review by the minute. They corrected all the lies Susan shared online with indisputable evidence, causing major embarrassment to the woman.
The staff shared that Susan made some comments right out the gate after being seated, saying that “it took a while” before the staff acknowledged them. In reality, the couple had to wait 1 minute before they were seated. Moreover, the cooks managed to make their orders in just 4 minutes, but they were still disappointed.
The restaurant’s time-stamped footage clearly shows the timeline of when the couple was acknowledged and when they got their meals, as well as their time of paying. Susan quickly realized that her lies had been exposed and since then, the post has been removed. We can only imagine the embarrassment she should’ve been feeling after Herbert’s came up with a 5-minute video to deconstruct her dishonesty.
Netizens share their respect and excitement, saying that the management’s response is “hardcore”
After going viral, Herbert’s not only defended their image and good name but received massive support from both local and social media. It’s great that the restaurant managed to preserve the reputation it built over many years and in doing so, gain even more traction. Some netizens even went on to say that such management should be an example, as they dealt with the dishonest review flawlessly and stood by their employees.
However, this is just one example of a dishonest review, which was quickly shot down. Of course, reviews can greatly influence a potential customer to choose one business over another. It’s estimated that around 82% of adults check the reviews before making a purchase. So what do businesses do to prevent such fake feedback, and what signs should you look for to avoid being scammed?
According to Forbes, the general awareness of fake reviews is growing, but it’s still hard for people to differentiate between legitimate and con reviews. To avoid fake reviews, it is important to look for signs such as the recency and quantity of the feedback.
Moreover, if the reviews are clustered together, and there are many of them spanning a short amount of time, chances are they are not genuine. Other red flags are grammar errors, the lack of 1 or 2-star reviews and them being generally imbalanced – the feedback is either overwhelmingly positive or negative.
Another giveaway can be the abstractness of the review. If it’s written in a very broad manner and not tailored to the specific service or product, it’s likely that the review is bought and is just being copy pasted. Companies are looking into ways they could combat this, but it’s not that easy.
For example, Amazon is acting on its own, publishing its policy on the matter and investigating such reviews. They aim to hold the people behind such reviews responsible through legal action. In 2022 alone, the company found a staggering 200 million false reviews with the help of AI.
Research suggests that at least 10% of reviews are fake. Interestingly, there’s a lack of consensus on the legality of such reviews. In 2022, the EU imposed new regulations to improve consumer protection. Traders and online marketplaces need to implement robust processes to ensure that the reviews are authentic.
On the other hand, in the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking to prohibit the unfair practice, and just recently implemented a law which will help to enforce legal action against fraudulent endorsement in the shape of a review.
What do you think about today’s story? Have you ever dealt with a similar complaint? Let us know in the comments below.
