Restaurant Owners Concerned over Customer Reviews as Competition in the Delivery Market Heats Up

Delivery app service providers are insisting that real-time monitoring is in place to filter fake reviews. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Jun. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Controversy is looming over customer reviews for restaurants offering delivery services.

Customer reviews are seen as an important factor in restaurant choice, especially in a highly competitive food service industry.

There are negative reviews, however, that are being questioned as to their authenticity and how much they reflect the facts about the restaurant.

Some customers, after ordering food from several local restaurants, have left ‘bitter’ reviews on more than half of the vendors.

“Bad reviews immediately affect restaurant sales,” said a local restaurant owner. “There wasn’t a single order on the next day after someone wrote about our food not living up to his expectations.”

There are also cases of restaurant owners that manipulate customer responses by hiring viral marketing firms.

Delivery app service providers are insisting that real-time monitoring is in place to filter fake reviews.

“We have applied a computer logic that detects illegal reviews, and shuts them off based on abnormal patterns of behavior,” said an official from Baedal Minjok, the number one delivery app in South Korea.

Restaurant owners, in response, are holding promotion events where customers can receive various benefits by writing reviews upon ordering food.

This way, customers can win additional food and services, while restaurant owners can collect positive reviews.

Some experts, however, are concerned that such practices may affect customer reviews to lean towards benefitting restaurant owners.

Others point out the need to replace the review system all together due to its inefficiency.

H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)