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The trick which hasn't failed me yet is to look at exclusively 1-star reviews. I've been using Google Maps, and I'm assuming this trick will work with other ser

The trick which hasn't failed me yet is to look at exclusively 1-star reviews. I've been using Google Maps, and I'm assuming this trick will work with other services also. First, look at the ratio of 1-star to other reviews - do the 1-star reviews create a "hockey stick"? What's the ratio of 1-star to 2-star? 1-star to all reviews? Second, see what people are complaining about, for example, these 2 1-star reviews reveal vastly different experiences: Cafe: Horrible staff and horrible food. The owners wife argues with the customers, over charges and makes sure to let you know shes overworked and exhausted. We paid over a 100 dollars on lunch for 4 people. One of those orders was on a childs menu. The resturant is very neat looking and has the potential to be successful. They need a new cook and new staff. Its clear everyone hates their jobs. Pub: We picked this place based on the high reviews. I specifically wanted to dine here for the crab cakes. I'm fairly certain there wasn't crab in them since they where mostly batter. The flavor was lacking and the aoli was gross. I didn't say anything and should have. I just left and I'm still hungry. Price is extremely high too. Needs new menu. These restaurants are within 5 miles of each other. As the second review was entirely about the food, it's safe to say there were no service, billing, parking, or other issues - especially since other reviews back this up. And food ratings frequently reflect preference - maybe I would enjoy the crab cakes. So the second establishment would get my business. But yes, there's no source quite like the opinion of a local, directly from their mouth. Even better than the above system is to find a bar/pub/coffee shop/etc where the locals go, and ask them how things are going in the area.

SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
During my travels I was definitely surprised at first just how effective that buying a beer for someone sitting next to you at a pub is for getting all sorts of information. It's definitely the cheapest investment you can make into having a great time abroad.
- 4ad 8y ago
  That depends on what kind of person you are. I could never do it. And if a stranger would come to offer me a beer I would be surprised and annoyed, and if he wouldn't stop pestering me I would quickly leave. It's also a cultural thing, I don't think I'm that far from the norm here. We just don't do this.
brosirmandude 8y ago
Oh this is interesting. Someone more code-inclined than me should build a review scraper (if it doesn't exist already). >enter business >scrapes reviews >pulls out most mentioned phrases and can filter common ones like "great", "awesome", etc >specifically highlight the negative reviews that DON'T mention the certain things you care about.
RussianCow 8y ago
It's funny that this is your take on those two reviews, because my initial reaction was exactly the opposite: I would weigh the pub review more highly. In general, I have found that people (especially Americans) tend to vastly over-exaggerate service issues at restaurants, and it's always unclear from those kinds of reviews whether this was just a one-time thing or something systemic. Plus, I'm not sure how it's possible to tell that "everyone hates their jobs" from one visit. On the other hand, someone saying that the crab cakes were "mostly batter" is a pretty objective observation about the food (you know, the most important part of going out to eat) that I can use to make my decision. Either way though, I think we're mostly in agreement about how to find good places to eat.
- tragomaskhalos 8y ago
  This is a good point - sites like notalwaysright.com have what are to this British person's eyes utterly jaw-dropping accounts of US businesses bending over backwards to accommodate idiotic, rude or blatantly dishonest customers, who would basically be told to bugger off if they tried their histrionics here.
- stephengillie 8y ago
  > It's funny that this is your take on those two reviews, because my initial reaction was exactly the opposite: I would weigh the pub review more highly. And I weighed the pub review more highly as well. And the pub has locals raving from 30 miles away. Nobody knows about the cafe; I went in once and it was completely empty, so I went to the McDonald's that had a few customers.
dazc 8y ago
Agree, the 1 star reviews on Google maps are usually pretty accurate at describing what the problems are.
cyxxon 8y ago
Yes, I do that too: last year I explicitely checked potential vacation hotels for "terrible and lacking entertainment" because I wanted a quiet hotel. Had a great stay in an adult-only hotel without any entertainment at all, exactly what I wanted. So yeah, looking at bad reviews can provide a lot more information that most people think.
nicolas_t 8y ago
I have a different trick, I filter out English reviews on Tripadvisor and favor heavily places with good Japanese reviews. I find that my tastes in term of food align with Japanese (and in a smaller measure French and Italian) customers whereas British and Americans tend to have very different tastes than me. Interestingly too, Japanese customers tend to be stricter in their ratings (this can be seen in Tabelog in Japan where 3.6 is a really good score for a restaurant).
malvosenior 8y ago
As another commenter said, I'd come to the opposite conclusion. I always discount service related complaints as I rarely if ever experience service so bad that I'd not come back. Often you'll see people complain about a long wait or something on the menu not being in stock. I only look at food quality and restaurant cleanliness reviews and it works out pretty well. If multiple people are saying a place is dirty, I'll avoid it at all costs. People talking about greasy, old... food is also a pass. Most of the time when people complain about service I feel they have weird expectations or lack skills for properly interacting with the staff.

SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago

During my travels I was definitely surprised at first just how effective that buying a beer for someone sitting next to you at a pub is for getting all sorts of information. It's definitely the cheapest investment you can make into having a great time abroad.

4ad 8y ago
That depends on what kind of person you are. I could never do it. And if a stranger would come to offer me a beer I would be surprised and annoyed, and if he wouldn't stop pestering me I would quickly leave. It's also a cultural thing, I don't think I'm that far from the norm here. We just don't do this.

brosirmandude 8y ago

Oh this is interesting. Someone more code-inclined than me should build a review scraper (if it doesn't exist already). >enter business >scrapes reviews >pulls out most mentioned phrases and can filter common ones like "great", "awesome", etc >specifically highlight the negative reviews that DON'T mention the certain things you care about.

RussianCow 8y ago

It's funny that this is your take on those two reviews, because my initial reaction was exactly the opposite: I would weigh the pub review more highly. In general, I have found that people (especially Americans) tend to vastly over-exaggerate service issues at restaurants, and it's always unclear from those kinds of reviews whether this was just a one-time thing or something systemic. Plus, I'm not sure how it's possible to tell that "everyone hates their jobs" from one visit. On the other hand, someone saying that the crab cakes were "mostly batter" is a pretty objective observation about the food (you know, the most important part of going out to eat) that I can use to make my decision. Either way though, I think we're mostly in agreement about how to find good places to eat.

tragomaskhalos 8y ago
This is a good point - sites like notalwaysright.com have what are to this British person's eyes utterly jaw-dropping accounts of US businesses bending over backwards to accommodate idiotic, rude or blatantly dishonest customers, who would basically be told to bugger off if they tried their histrionics here.
stephengillie 8y ago
> It's funny that this is your take on those two reviews, because my initial reaction was exactly the opposite: I would weigh the pub review more highly. And I weighed the pub review more highly as well. And the pub has locals raving from 30 miles away. Nobody knows about the cafe; I went in once and it was completely empty, so I went to the McDonald's that had a few customers.

dazc 8y ago

Agree, the 1 star reviews on Google maps are usually pretty accurate at describing what the problems are.

cyxxon 8y ago

Yes, I do that too: last year I explicitely checked potential vacation hotels for "terrible and lacking entertainment" because I wanted a quiet hotel. Had a great stay in an adult-only hotel without any entertainment at all, exactly what I wanted. So yeah, looking at bad reviews can provide a lot more information that most people think.

nicolas_t 8y ago

I have a different trick, I filter out English reviews on Tripadvisor and favor heavily places with good Japanese reviews. I find that my tastes in term of food align with Japanese (and in a smaller measure French and Italian) customers whereas British and Americans tend to have very different tastes than me. Interestingly too, Japanese customers tend to be stricter in their ratings (this can be seen in Tabelog in Japan where 3.6 is a really good score for a restaurant).

malvosenior 8y ago

As another commenter said, I'd come to the opposite conclusion. I always discount service related complaints as I rarely if ever experience service so bad that I'd not come back. Often you'll see people complain about a long wait or something on the menu not being in stock. I only look at food quality and restaurant cleanliness reviews and it works out pretty well. If multiple people are saying a place is dirty, I'll avoid it at all costs. People talking about greasy, old... food is also a pass. Most of the time when people complain about service I feel they have weird expectations or lack skills for properly interacting with the staff.