Scammers are increasingly targeting restaurants with fake Google reviews to extort money. This trend, referred to as "review bombing," has raised alarms in the industry, prompting Google to implement new measures to combat the issue.
One notable incident occurred on Halloween when Jared Cohen, COO of Protein Bar & Kitchen, started receiving a barrage of negative reviews at his Chicago locations. The reviews were all one-star and characterized by odd, broken English filled with irrelevant references. The situation escalated when one review directly suggested that contacting the reviewer could make all the negative reviews vanish. This was a clear indication of an extortion attempt.
Review bombing is not an isolated problem; reports have surfaced from various cities, including Philadelphia and Chicago, suggesting that multiple restaurants have fallen victim to similar attacks. These incidents typically involve a sudden influx of one-star reviews designed to damage a restaurant’s online reputation, which can have a tangible impact on customer decisions. Vanessa Sink from the National Restaurant Association remarked that while there hasn’t been a major uptick in review extortion, fraudulent reviews have become a common response to restaurants’ actions that might be viewed unfavorably by some individuals.
For example, a restaurant supporting a particular political stance often finds itself the target of bad reviews from opposing views. Ashley McGowan from Marqii, a company assisting restaurants with their online presence, noted that they had not encountered such a coordinated attack before, with some clients reporting as many as 20 negative reviews arriving simultaneously.
The ramifications of these fake reviews can be severe. Ratings of 4 stars or lower can drive potential customers away since most diners prioritize higher-rated establishments in their search. The case of SHŌ, a new omakase restaurant in Chicago, illustrates this: after being bombarded with fake negative reviews, its rating plummeted from 4.9 to 3.0 in a mere 10 hours, threatening its fledgling reputation.
Fortunately, both Protein Bar and SHŌ managed to resolve their issues quickly thanks to Google’s recent introduction of a Merchant Extortion form, which allows restaurant operators to report these scams directly. This tool enabled them to submit evidence of the fraudulent reviews and have them removed efficiently. In Protein Bar’s case, the false reviews were taken down within a couple of days, although some reappeared later, necessitating another report. SHŌ experienced similar success, regaining its high rating shortly after the fraudulent submissions were addressed.
Google has stated its commitment to addressing scams and employs AI technologies to monitor and eliminate fake reviews proactively. However, there remains a lingering concern that these review systems are not entirely restaurant-friendly, especially since old reviews never expire, potentially skewing ratings.
As small businesses navigate these challenges, restaurant owners like Adam Sindler of SHŌ express the need to balance maintaining the integrity of consumer reviews while protecting themselves from fraudulent activity. As the restaurant industry grapples with this new threat, it underscores the importance of vigilance and adaptability in an increasingly digital and reputation-sensitive marketplace.
For more information on the impacts of review bombing and Google’s response, refer to these resources: