Restaurant Management Threatens To Write Up Waitstaff That Aren't Mentioned in 5-Star Reviews

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
May 12, 2023 12:30 PM EDT

Businesses fundamentally don't understand how the average person approaches online reviews. Unless you are a "Local Guide" on Google Reviews, you are probably not going to leave a review for a service unless it's a 1-star or a 5-star experience. That doesn't leave a lot of nuance for business owners when analyzing their reviews; It's either the greatest establishment on earth, or it's a pig sty. Consequently, business owners will do anything to ensure they get as many five-star reviews as possible. 

One waiter recently got stuck in a baffling situation involving this very quagmire. A manager wrote on a dry-erase board: 

"This week, I will be writing up those that are not mentioned 5-star reviews."

They asked the citizens of Reddit if this is illegal, which it, unfortunately, isn't. Legality aside, what a horrible way to run your business! This system is so easy to manipulate that it's almost hysterical. 

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  • 01
    Font - r/antiwork u/MCKtheMan 23h i.redd.it . People in (or were in) the restaurant industry, can managers do this?? I work for a corporate restaurant.
    via u/MCKtheMan
  • 02
    Handwriting - ID Soal This week. I will be writing up those that are not mentioned 5-star reviews
    via u/MCKtheMan
  • 03
    Font - Shoresy69420. 22h 2 Awards Have a friend write a 5 start review and mention all servers. Then have another write a 1 star and mention the manager ... Reply 1k ↓
    via u/Shoresy69420
  • 04
    Font - Head-Appeal-8001 · 22h This. Because they are 100% expecting employees to use their friends to get 5 star reviews which will in turn boost their company image. I honestly feel like this was a bad joke or a sleezy way to artficially generate reviews. 4355
    via u/Head-Appeal-8001
  • 05
    Rectangle - Blender Snowflake • 20h Restaurants don't organically have dozens of 5-star reviews mentioning specific servers by name? ... G 114 ↓
    via u/Blender-Snowflake
  • 06
    Rectangle - Stornahal 14h ● Most people don't leave reviews: those that do are usually upset. 487
    via u/Stornahal
  • 07
    Font - 1ardent 23h They can do whatever they want as long as it isn't messing with your wages, making you work without compensation, or so on. Writing you up for not getting a 5-star review is some petty ass bullshit, but it's not illegal. Just be similarly petty and have a friend write a 5-star review that just has your name in it and nothing else. Reply ... 307
    via u/1ardent
  • 08
    Font - idprefernotto92. 23h Could you potentially write a 5 star review on yourself, or each for eachother? I'm sure they could make other arbitrary rules around it, but still. "Management is a bunch of unrealistic dicks, 0/5 for them. 5/5 for the amazing servers who deal with them" 4118
    via u/idprefernotto92
  • 09
    Font - Ok-Resolve9154 • 22h I worked for a company that required a certain number of reviews. Google stopped letting me make new accounts with my phone number. It is a business tactic used by people who have no idea how business works. Especially a chain restaurant. Nobody is going to Olive Garden over Google reviews G 498
    via u/Ok-Resolve9154
  • 10
    Font - ch40schOru5 • 21h Places like McDonald's and TacoBell use the reviews (from the codes on receipts) as an internal grading scale. Taco Bell specifically says that if a review is not five stars it is negative. So essentially perfection or nothing ... 443
    via u/ch40schOru5
  • 11
    Font - nxdark • 19h That makes having 5 stars useless. 421 21
    via u/nxdark
  • 12
    Font - Blockedanus • 21h Dm me ill leave a review. But I'll absolutely hammer on your manager in it and say you're God's gift to restaurants. ... Reply 95 95
    via u/Blockedanus
  • 13
    Font - RevolutionaryArm5329. 22h I worked briefly at a place that tried something like this, but whoever got the most got a 500 bonus, dozens of fake reviews in a weekend, and then they said no bonus, all the 5 stars got replaced with 1 star reviews. Management made a bunch of threats about having friends/family post bad/fake reviews and how if they found out they would fire anyone connected to the people posting reviews in the group text. Someone put screen shots from the group text, 3 servers
    via u/RevolutionaryArm5329
  • 14
    Human body - Jamie Drone. 18h Why did this satisfy me so much G 417 ↓
    via u/JamieDrone
  • 15
    Font - Poisoning-The-Well • 19h "The beatings will continue until morale improves" ... Reply 19
    via u/Poisoning-The-Well

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Tags

antiwork toxic-manager restaurant memes toxic-workplace bosses waiter toxic-management restaurant toxic-boss Horrible Bosses restaurants bad bosses Reddit toxic-work-environment
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