By Matt Plapp
It happened again. I was asked to leave a Google review for a restaurant that had just messed up my meal. And as a guy who’s made it his mission to help restaurants grow, I’ve got to say, it’s frustrating to watch the same mistake made over and over.
Here’s the story: I ordered pickup from a national pizza brand. I got to the restaurant, checked the bag (thankfully), and noticed two major errors, one of which would’ve completely ruined my wife’s dinner. That’s happened before. I usually don’t check the bag and end up being the bad guy at home. This time, I was smarter.
The food was below average and not the quality you get when dining in. And the overall experience was a solid 3 out of 10.
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But here’s where it gets worse: Later that night, I got a customer survey via email. I thought, “Good, here’s my chance to give honest, private feedback. No rants. No bad vibes. Just a heads-up to the brand.” I filled it out truthfully, looking to simply give feedback and not leave a public review, since that’s not my style. Plus, I would never leave a bad review for a restaurant I’ve eaten at hundreds of times, based on just one visit.
Then came the kicker. Once I submitted the negative feedback, the next screen encouraged me to leave a Google review.
Seriously? You’re telling me that, after I just gave you a 3 out of 10, you immediately handed me a megaphone to tell the whole world how bad the experience was?
This is what I call a review gating failure.
Review Gating (and Why You’re Probably Doing It Wrong)
Gating reviews isn’t rocket science. It’s the simple act of filtering feedback before it goes public. Here’s how smart pizzerias do it:
- Step 1: Ask for feedback via email or text, with a short survey of three to five simple questions.
- Step 2: If the customer gives a positive rating, then (and only then) you invite them to leave a Google or Facebook review.
- Step 3: If the rating is negative, thank them, acknowledge it and promise to follow up. Do not send them to Google or a thank-you page, and certainly don’t encourage them to leave a public review.
That’s it. It’s not complicated. It gives you a chance to fix the issue privately before it damages your public reputation.
Now, is this bulletproof? No. Some angry customers will still find your Google listing. But most people are just looking for a place to vent, a way to be heard, and if you give them that outlet privately, they’ll take it.
Here’s an important task for you to tackle: Audit your review funnel today. Pull up your email surveys, check your POS-generated follow-ups, and look at your loyalty program touchpoints. I find that many mistakes like this in restaurants’ marketing funnels go unfixed because the owners—you—never go through the program like your customers do.
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Every week, my team finds restaurant websites linking to the wrong place, loyalty emails with broken links, and review programs sending disgruntled customers to a platform to leave a public review. How do you ensure this isn’t happening to you?
Use your own marketing funnels! Go through every aspect of your marketing, every month. And, in this case, see where an unhappy customer ends up after they leave negative feedback. Is it a public review site? If so, fix it. Now.
Make Your Customers Feel Heard
Don’t give angry customers a megaphone. Instead, give them what they want: to be heard!
If someone gives you feedback that their experience was not perfect, pick up the phone. Give them a call, and if you don’t have their phone number, send them an email. Customers simply want to be heard. This isn’t simply about avoiding a bad public review; it’s about repairing your relationship with every customer who cares enough to tell you.
P.S. It’s been three days, and I’ve not heard a peep from this restaurant. You can probably guess what I think about that!
My name is Matt Plapp. I’m the CEO (chief energy officer) of America’s Best Restaurants. I’ve worked with thousands of restaurants since 2008 when I started this company, and over the next 12 months, we will help 2,500-plus restaurants with their marketing. This is the latest article in an ongoing series of columns for PMQ Pizza to help restaurant owners understand the gold mine we have to market in 2025—and beyond.
