The Modern Pickpocket

 At first thought, it does not seem obvious that a menacing "Parisian mob" would be lurking within a small-knit, work network of a restaurant. All restaurants have customers that make complaints, or send food back when something is wrong; this is similar in any industry with a retail component. The best thing about customers that make complaints face-to-face, is that the problem can, most of the time, be fixed on the spot, without hassle. However, there are also customers, unbeknownst to any staff members working at the time, have a really awful experience, and decide to write: the dreaded negative review.

 Online reviewing sites, such as TripAdvisor, are huge networks in which people can write their opinions on restaurants, hotels and other products; give it a rating out of 5; and look at reviews of places before going there. I liken these kinds of sites to maps; as Kuttainen (2016) showed "[maps] are powerful (especially because we believe them to be representations of reality". If we use this statement to analyse reviews of restaurants, is it possible to believe that they are all true? Or are they designed for a specific purpose by the creator, therefore an alteration of the "whole" truth as explained by Wood, Kaiser, and Abramms (2001, pp. 1, 3-8 )? 

  The statistics shown at Hospitality and Catering news (http://www.hospitalityandcateringnews.com), have some horrifying real life effects on small business, like the restaurant where I work. Negative reviews are taking very seriously, and everything is done to see: what happened, why it happened and how it can be prevented from happening again. Some people though, like the pick-pockets in old Paris, just want to ruin your day - by posting a fake and/or unnecessarily scathing review. Just look at what can happen when nasty reviews by these modern pick-pockets can do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnhzByQq9ns


At least the lovely reviews do not go unnoticed, and we do get rewarded (usually in the form of warm, fuzzy feelings), in my workplace when we find out about them.


Reference List:

Hospitality And Catering News. (2012). What to do about fake online reviews. Retrieved from: http://www.hospitalityandcateringnews.com/2012/10/what-to-do-about-fake-online-reviews/

Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Maps, week 4 notes [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_76323_1&content_id=_2298403_1

Wood, D., Kaiser, W. L., & Abramms, B. (2001). Seeing through maps: Many ways to see the world. Oxford, United Kingdom: New Internationalist Publications.

sarkcqure. (2010, July 18). Dangers of fake online reviews [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnhzByQq9ns