Based on the discussion in this thread, we are checking to see if there is enough interest to setup a restaurant reviews section. Thanks for your input!
Sticky threads tend to wear thin in a couple of ways. The "stickiness" brings attention to them for a while, then they tend to be ignored. Also, in our mobile world, the sticky messages at the top of a forum can mean more scrolling on small smartphone screens. (Seems trivial, but believe me, we get fan mail about this sort of thing!) A separate forum for reviews would also allow for multiple threads to be opened, rather than one big long thread with different restaurants being discussed. That's our 2 cents - we appreciate any differing views and additional input. Thanks!
This area is growing so much in all directions, it makes sense to have a forum for restaurant reviews and new establishments getting ready to open. I like the idea!
Good. Maybe it will light a fire under their butts to improve if they don't like the reviews (although Yelp doesn't seem to accomplish that).
I voted no, I have seen too many fake reviews and vendetta reviews on other sites. Today in one of the discussion threads a member accused a restaurant of serving horse meat, a business owner really has no avenue to fight back on these issues. Also, if I owned a restaurant I would really think twice before I advertised on this site.
I agree with Hught. We are talking about peoples livelihoods. Just look at what the political pit has created! Last week I asked about a honeybee problem. Wayne gave me the info I needed. He was also attacked by 2 of his political pit adversaries. Don't do this to a business because somebody has personal issues, opinions, or even an isolated bad experience. Bad restaurants usually take care of themselves.
You consider calling Wayne "the honey bee whisperer" an attack? WOW, talk about "making a mountain out of a mole hill"... I do hope you resolved your bee problem. My opinion on the restaurant reviews is no, leave that to Yelp, etc. Not to long ago, we lost a local restaurant due, in part, to so called "reviews". I have been told that several local restaurants, through the years have closed down for the same reasons. Personally, I would like to see more non-chain restaurants come to the area, not run them out of the area.
I agree with Hught also. You must look at the liable issue if something bad is said and costs the business revenue.
Thanks for the input - and to explore a little further on the topic, do you see any value in review sites (not just restaurants)? Do you use any particular one on a regular basis? For me, I have found that if I am buying an item, I tend to trust Amazon reviews. If I am travelling to someplace that I haven't been before, then I've found TravelAdvisor to be beneficial. Just this past week, I joined Angie's List as they led me to believe that that had ratings on a particular local service I was interested in using.....I was not impressed. Really received no value from Angie. Good or bad experiences from others on review type sites?
I usually consult TripAdvisor before staying at a hotel. Like anything else, you have to understand that individual perspective and expectations play a huge part in someones opinion. I also look at Ebay ratings before making a purchase. As a general rule, I dont buy from anyone with less than 99% approval.
You people worried about liability....People already review restaurants on here, why would it be any different if there was a special forum?
How would this forum differentiate itself from a site such as Yelp that already has 100s of JoCo reviews (http://www.yelp.com/search?find_loc=Johnston+County,+NC)?