So you had a bad experience at a restaurant. Should you pop on over to Instagram and take the place down? Leave a scathing comment that it took 30 minutes for your drinks to come out and your meal arrived cold? Or maybe fire off a little post about the rude server and the $30 cheeseburger that did not come with french fries.
With everyone so online these days, it might seem like a good idea to use social media to pan a restaurant for whatever reason. And maybe, if it’s a big national chain and no one who works there has any chance of seeing your little review, it might be cathartic (or even fun) to scream into the ether, so to speak. But to what end, really? Are you trying to share genuine feedback? To warn unwitting customers? Or do you just want to complain publicly? While I’m certain there’s an audience for your negative review, I wouldn’t say posting it on social media is the best look. But there are plenty of people out there who choose this course of action, so you do you, I guess.
Alternatively — and as Adam has already advised in this column — if you’re unhappy with the service you receive at a restaurant, you might instead consider reaching out and letting them know directly. This could be with a call or an email to the staff. Or, if you really need to scratch that Instagram itch, perhaps it’s with a direct message to the establishment’s social media account. This way, if you genuinely like the restaurant and plan to return in the future, they can hopefully take your feedback into consideration and improve for next time. And isn’t that kinder than being a jerk online?
