This one is having a right go at one of our more prolific reviewers. More a barney than a review. Delete? Or ask them to tone it down a bit?
This one is having a right go at one of our more prolific reviewers. More a barney than a review. Delete? Or ask them to tone it down a bit?
Come On You Hatters!
This post has been copied over from the review deletion thread. As I wanted to poll opinion.
Straight off I would like to take the option to ask them to tone it down off the table, I don't have the time to enter into a dialogue with a 1 drop reviewer, experience suggests it will be infuriating and wont get us any more quality content on the site. So I am prepared to do limited edits (can't see how that would help this) or delete with a deletion reason. So any suggestions?
I have to admit that I think it would be a shame to delete it, I was sniggering as I read most of her review, does anyone want to guess at the unnamed landlady's name? Steve's review is good and I have no problem with it, I think the tone of the reply just adds further flavour to the pub and helps anyone in their decision of whether or not to visit, whilst not quite crossing the line to a deletion for not reviewing the pub or being about someone else. I suppose my only concerns are that it has a lot of potential for escalation and I guess Steve may not find it as funny as I do.
I think most of us who dip into the site on a regular basis would guess who the reply was from. However, for the benefit of casual users, wouldn't an explanatory note from Admin, identifying the poster as the landlady, simply put the record straight and enable her response to be left unedited?
I must admit I was half concerned and half amused when I read her piece. With a name like Lehany and Irish music playing, I took The Weston to be an Irish pub. For her to state we don't sell much Guinness said it all for me.
'And where he supped the past lived still. And where he sipped the glass brimmed full' John Barleycorn, Carol Ann Duffy.
I think we can guess she is the landlady, but is she? I had a Google but found nothing on the licence, gues the only sure way is look over the pub doorway
I also had a smile at Irish pub that has no call for Guinness
Unless proven as landlady, I would just let it stand unedited, and let any readers make up their minds, who knows one may even try the pub and post another review
Steve C posted as he found, customer / land lady does not like it, she has her reply, leave it like that I say
'And where he supped the past lived still. And where he sipped the glass brimmed full' John Barleycorn, Carol Ann Duffy.
I haven't investigated, so Farway's concerns are sound. It is hard to be certain and I am certainly not in this case, I was just drawing my innuendo from the review.
I have been mulling this since posting, and I do worry it is a bit of a double standard by me, but I still do find it quite funny I'm afraid.
I wouldn't be tempted to visit the pub based on either review so for me they have both managed to contrive the same result to a third party despite being polar opposites! In fact, knowing Strood, I'm not tempted to visit any pub there given that Rochester is 10 minutes walk over the bridge!
She has a remarkable memory considering her post is three month's on from Steve's. First Guinness sold of the day, football, delivery problems on the real ales. But maybe all that happens every Saturday and certainly judging by another pub review site she had delivery problems with the ales three years ago.
It's hard to believe that she's not the landlady, but there's not any definitive evidence. I don't think that I would delete the review either - after all it does provide some more information about the pub.
I think that if I was Steve I might just post a concilliatory response - gratifying to learn that real ale is usually available and that I was just unlucky on my visit; obviously not able to judge whether the landlady is a rude person or not based on just my one visit, but of course have to say that if she has time to serve me then she has time to say good afternoon/thanks as this takes no additional time, but as you say maybe she had other things on her mind; fair enough with the ear-splitting music, if your regulars like it that way then fair play to them, it's just that I don't like it that loud; best of luck with the pub. It's Steve's call of course, and fair enough if he just wants to let it rest.
I have to admit if Steve were to reply I would probably delete both responses as reviews are supposed to be reviews rather than replies, which is another potential reason I should delete the response already there. This is to avoid the sort of tit-for-tat degenerations that can happen that no one wants to read.
Sorry to put another spanner in the works.