Corto Maltese Restaurant is the second business (that we know of) who have had their Facebook page attacked by bots who leave dozens of negative reviews and destroy an online presence in mere minutes.
For the world of travellers, social media is next to oxygen. You didn’t travel anywhere unless you posted it on Instagram and if you want to know what’s hot: where to go, what to do, where to eat – then you go to Facebook or Trip Advisor for the ‘best recommendations’.
But what if a review is a load of crap? Earlier in the season I wrote about how some travellers have started using Trip Advisor as Threat, i.e. “give me a discount or something free, otherwise I will write a bad review”. I am not even making this up, I have been told this by several sources – all restaurants owners and staff.
Well, there is something else that can happen – bots can spam a page, making hundreds of negative reviews, destroying a restaurant’s hard-earned reputation in a matter of mere minutes.
This just happened to Corto Maltese Restaurant and earlier in the year to Sanctuary Bar. They put a shout-out on their Facebook for people to show their support by leaving a positive review to help bring their rating back up.
It is a shame that this is even necessary, as a restaurant’s reputation should speak for itself but until our social media habits change, these platforms will hold a certain power over businesses.
You won’t often or actually – ever, hear us asking you to leave a review for a restaurant but we are going to break this, just for today. IF you have had a positive experience at Corto Maltese, why not go over to their Facebook page and show them a little love?
While I am at it, this goes for all of your favourite businesses – sometimes we can all be quick to write about the negative but forget to take action for the positive experiences. All businesses appreciate local support; so, take a few minutes and show that you care.
