‘Watch out for review boosting at food outlets’: Netizen says Google rating of food chain he visited in Tampines jumped from 2 to 4+ stars in a day

SINGAPORE: A netizen has warned diners to be cautious about food outlets’ online reviews after claiming the Google rating of a food chain he visited in Tampines jumped from two to four plus stars in a day.

In a post on r/SingaporeRaw, he said he had a “pretty bad experience” at the food chain and felt the rating at the time, about two stars, matched what he observed when dining there.

What’s weird, he added, was when he checked again the following day, the Google rating “shot up significantly to 4+ stars” and was then suddenly flooded with “5-star reviews from accounts that looked brand new.”

“It is a massive shift from the opening month, where most people were leaving one or two stars,” he said.

Warning other diners, he added, “Just wanted to put this out there so people stay sceptical. Don’t just look at the 4-star average on Google Maps and assume everything is great. It is always safer to filter by the newest reviews and see if the accounts have actually reviewed other places before. Seeing a score jump that much in 24 hours is definitely worth noting before you spend your money there.”

Commenters, however, were not surprised at the “super common” issue, which others described as “standard practice”.

One said, “You see those reviewers with less than 10 reviews, you know already. Most obvious are those that name-drop the staff/manager. 100% paid reviews.”

Another shared, “Hot tip, always look at the lowest reviews. If the lowest reviews say the food s*cks, avoid like the plague, but if it’s about service, generally it’s fine.”

A third added that a five-star review online usually means the one providing the review got something for free, “otherwise creating multiple fake accounts.”

According to Google’s Business Profile Help Centre, reviews, which appear next to business profiles on Google Maps and Search, are meant to reflect customers’ “genuine experience”.

Any form of incentivised or manipulated reviews, including offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for posting, changing or removing reviews, is considered fake and misleading content and is strictly prohibited under its policies.

However, businesses can get more reviews by reminding customers to leave reviews and responding to reviews to show that their input is valued. /TISG

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