David and Goliath battle as Australian battles Google for bad reviews after fake sign sparks ‘unfair’ outrage

A Melbourne restaurant has been flooded with negative reviews after posting what they claim is an old photo on social media, leaving Australians outraged. The image showed a sign at Steffey’s Pizza & Pasta that offered customers a $5 discount if they wrote glowing online reviews of the food.

People said such an approach was not only unethical but also illegal, leading to many one-star reviews being left on the restaurant’s Google page. But Steffey’s marketing director Adam Nichani said Yahoo finance no such sign has existed since the new owners took over the restaurant six months ago.

He said the owner – who is beside himself with stress and fears he will be forced to close the business – has spent hours with friends and family asking Google to remove the one-star reviews.

Do you have a story? Email [email protected]

“We were bombarded with 50 reviews and the same photo is used in every review,” Nichani said. Yahoo finance.

They looked through security footage to see if the sign had been planted, but found nothing and are convinced it is old.

RELATED

Nichani said this type of reputational damage could “cripple” a business like Steffey’s.

“I talked to the owner of the business last night and he was freaking out,” the marketing director said.

“He was so nervous. He was so anxious. I don’t know if people understand that. Right now, with the pressure of the cost of living, the biggest pressure is really on the retail sector .

“That’s where people cut costs. Sales go down, revenue goes down because people can’t really afford to spend that money.

“And in a situation like this, it affects everyone.”

The story continues

He feared restaurant staff might even face verbal abuse from customers who think the photo posted on social media is news.

Unpredictable Google Reviews Cause Stress for Small Businesses

A Google review can be done by anyone, from anywhere, without verification of your experience. You just need an account.

It appears that most of the one-star reviews on Steffy’s page have been removed, but some remain.

The owner, who did not wish to be identified, considered deleting his presence on Google, fearing another wave that could jeopardize his business was imminent.

“It’s just not fair for small business owners to go through this,” he said.

Nichani said it takes almost 10 minutes to fill out a request form to report a single questionable review to Google.

Google has asked those who request removal of a review to “be patient” as the review may take several days.

You get a “one-off” call, but Google also warns, “There is no reliable way to know who is right about a particular customer experience.” »

This can be problematic for owners who object to bad reviews, versus potential trolls with no skin in the game.

Are companies allowed to offer incentives for good reviews?

Those who may have seen the sign online and crowded into Steffy’s aren’t wrong to feel outraged, if somewhat misdirected. There are restrictions on how companies can influence reviews.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) states that businesses cannot create false or misleading reviews about their own product, or ask others to create false or misleading reviews.

It is also against the law to offer an incentive such as a discount or free gift in exchange for a positive review, as this could mislead future customers.

Inducements are permitted, but they must be permitted regardless of the tone of the review, or if it is clearly disclosed so that consumers know that the review was incentivized.

The ACCC said businesses concerned about fake reviews should contact the platform and request their removal. But as Steffy now knows, it’s not always as simple as it seems.

“Alternatively, the company may respond to the review to correct the public record,” the ACCC said.

Get the latest news from Yahoo Finance – follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn And Instagram.