I live in a city with many fully vegan restaurants. Usually they are great and I rate them 5 stars on Google. Even if they’re maybe a 4 out of 5 I tend to rate them as 5 to give them that like bit of support.
Today I went to a vegan bakery and the donut was not good. I don’t want to be a detriment to a vegan business, but I also want to give honest feedback. Should I rate 5 stars or the honest 2 stars??
That's what I do when I care about the restaurant.
Usually the reviews are for other people to see how good the food is not the restaurant itself tbh. Most bad reviews are just people making stuff up whining they didn't get their way unless the food actually doesn't taste good
Well, op said the donut wasnt good, so that sounds like a reason to explain to others it wasn’t good. Its one thing if its a bad vegan donut and an otherwise non vegan bakery, but if making vegan baked goods the whole business, they should be good at what their focus is or they frankly deserve to fail if they dont adapt. The food industry is a cut throat scene. Its a shame they arent good at what they put so much money into i guess is all i see here. I would love to see more vegan bakeries.
Don't rate dishonestly. We want vegan food to have a reputation as tasty and satisfying, not disappointing.
Yeah but if they were good most of the time and just bad one time, it's not fair to rate them poorly. Just talk to them first.
"Don't rate dishonestly" doesn't mean "Go to Google Maps this instant and let them have it". It means that should OP choose to write a review, I believe that review should be honest. But OP could also leave it alone, call the business, or try another menu item.
Personally, I don't leave negative reviews unless I feel a place is irredeemable. Like the time I sat in poop at a bar and the manager told me I was making a big deal out of nothing. Now they got a shit review.
shit review
ba dum tsss
Like the time I sat in poop at a bar
Excuse me, what? How in hell did that happen?
Sometimes there is going to be a one-off. Bad day, maybe temperature was hotter/colder than usual in the bakery.. I think OP should give them a chance to fix it before lowering their score. If they don’t know something is wrong, they can’t fix it.
Op didn't say if it was a different bakery. If it was a good bakery OP's been to a few months ago or less, then be more relaxed on it. If OP hasn't been there in months or it's a new bakery, be more strict on it
Op did not imply that. Also- food should be consistent. Its a donut, not seasonal fruit. Donuts should always be consistent. Its a classic item not something fancy or complex. It youre a donut shop with shit donuts, why praise mediocrity in the name of preserving a business just because its vegan?
if they were good most of the time and just bad one time, it's not fair to rate them poorly. Just talk to them first
that won't change the "bad one time", and that is what op wants to rate, right?
This ideal idea goes right into the trash within the first second when you look at how other people rate vegan locations.
Check out the lowest ratings and you will see a pattern.
You don't have to rate something if you're not sure how to rate it.
Literally LOL this is hilarious
Recently a whole new vegan restaurant opened next to me, I went to try it on the second day they were open. It was good but there were clearly things that could be better, so I sent them a message on instagram to let them know my honest feelings and they were very happy with the constructive criticism!
Also I like to be "harsher" on apps like The Happy Cow because it's mostly vegans and I want to be honest, but in Google Maps I would be nicer to vegan places (not dishonest though)
Just don’t rate and maybe email them your feedback so they can improve
I think this is the best option. A bad review really impacts a small business, even more so a vegan one. Give feedback to know where they can improve, but unless I just had an absolutely terrible experience I never review if I don’t have at least some nice things to say.
I'd say this depends how bad it was lol. If it was noticeably bad, leave a review. If it was just mid email and don't rate.
I'd contact the business and tell them what they can improve on.
If possible I’d give them another chance, so much can happen in BOH and with labor and food cost these days I’d accept a not good donut and give them another chance over them wasting the food even if it wasn’t the best
Yea fr maybe it was js one unsuccessful attempt of a donut
Rate honestly, please! It is so disappointing to go to a place and the food just sucks. And it can be actively hurtful if you have someone along that is hesitant about vegan food
I have an excellent vegan restaurant near me, but their front of house was horrific.
After a few times going and getting to the point I would never dine their again, I called and spoke with the owner.
He said he realized it was bad, but the manager always shifted the blame, etc. I explained I do not want a vegan restaurant to disappear because of a horrible manager.
Anyway, it's been 6-7 years later, and they are thriving.
You know you also have the option of just not leaving a rating, right?
Agree about rating honestly, but also agree with supporting businesses. Why not go to the bakery and have a chat about it first - could it have been end of batch or something?
You don’t have to rate immediately
Have to say that vegans are a loyal and generous bunch but this does mean that I've eaten at a lot of places rated as 5 on happy cow or Google which are a real disappointment when you get there. If somewhere is not good either don't rate them or rate honestly as it sucks to be a patron at an over rated establishment.
I have a new policy on this, actually. When it's a bad experience, I try to call the manager the first time to give feedback privately. It could be a fluke. If it happens again, I'd leave a fair and honest review. I want vegans visiting my area to be able to find a good meal, and I want new vegans to feel encouraged and empowered.
Giving a 5 instead of a 4 is fine, a 4 means it was pretty good. If it's a 2 then it's ridiculous to give them a 5 just because they are vegan. give it an honest review, if it was that bad the business won't last, an honest review might help them improve.
Feedback isn't necessary in a public forum. You can email them.
if someone is on the ropes about being vegan and goes to a vegan place where the food sucks they're gonna second guess the idea
Go talk to the people. A few words in person avoids the consequences of a negative online review and might actually get you a better donut.
Ratings are always 5 stars or 1/0 (whatever’s lowest). Either the business was good and the people were nice (5 stars) or they were absolutely horrible and rude (lowest). If it’s anything in between, just don’t rate. There’s no reason to tarnish a small business because it wasn’t your favorite. Low ratings count affect people’s choices enough, so not rating something is already saying a business isn’t very popular. Low ratings, however can kill a growing business.
That’s just what I believe. There’s no reason to hurt someone’s income just because you found it below average in taste. There’s real health and service reasons to leave negative reviews.
How about you not feel the need to rate them at all after ONE experience?
Go back 2 more times then average out what you rate them and give an honest rating if you must rate them at all. Or just say nothing and let them live.
What is with the need to RATE everything?
Or you could just not rate them at all…
"The food was awful. Can't wait to go back!"
If you want to convince people that vegan food is delicious when made well, tell them about the good places. It's hard to believe this needs to be said...
Always rate honestly. I appreciate vegan places existing but that’s no excuse for bad quality (or any other issues). Most of the time I rate vegan stores really well, because they usually are. But there has been a bunch of ones I had to rate badly (two different ones in japan come to mind).
Tell this exact post to the owner, if i was the owner i would invite you to return for a free meal cause you obviously care about my business, we would discuss how you think i could improve, i would listen to you and try again and then offer you another free meal as you are now my PAID tester lol
Instead of rating online I’d call them or submit an online feedback form if they have one. Then you could try again in a couple weeks, if still no improvement or no response back I think an online review would be fair.
Be honest. Why mislead someone else. A donut?
Don't rate at all. Why don't you give them another chance and see if it was a one-off....try something else
What are you 20? The donut was bad. There's zero reason to give them five stars.
Just because a place is vegan does not mean it should stay open. If it is bad it is bad. Rate it how you feel accurately reflects your experience
Well what was wrong with the donut? was it stale, raw or what? because usually these businesses are happy to make you another one if something went wrong with the batch or anything.
I remember I tried a place in Savannah, Ga and got a few orders, it was a super busy day too and I got the pancakes got back to my car and they were raw but I just decided I wanted to eat pancakes that day and I didn't want to leave with a bad experience so I walked back in past the busy line and just said "The pancakes are raw" and that immediately got the chefs attention who checked to confirm and then started my new order right away, a few minutes later I got the new pancakes + some free chocolate chip cookies and the food was delicious I would to love to go back.
I just looked it up the name was Fox and Fig Cafe but sadly they closed and sold the restaurant to a deli 🤦 what a tragedy
Rate the entire experience, not just how you liked the donut. Was the service good? Is it located in a good area? Was it neat and clean? Was the prices good?
I mean... you want to give an "honest rating" based on a single donut...
Don't you think that's kinda flawed? If I would rate a location I would go there a couple of times before doing so.
You should rate honestly and they should make better food.
I’d talk directly to someone and see if you can’t get a replacement/refund. You also don’t HAVE to leave a review for a restaurant at all.
Depends. Do you think people should trust vegans opinions?
Get off the internet more.
But if you feel the compulsive need to announce your judgement of everything, on the internet, maybe do some drugs. Jesus I don’t know, you went to a business once, you didn’t like the donut, and feel the need to rate it?
Honestly maybe have more than one donut before you spend the time and energy to publicly praise or shame them and hurt their business forever for what may have been a fluke.
Sauce for vegan cities?
No, because then others are going to go based on your rec. Nothing is more annoying than inflated ratings for vegan restaurants. If a vegan place is bad, people are going to go and try it and think all vegan food is bad. You’re hurting the cause by doing that.
I’d not rate it, email them privately, and give them the feedback.
If food is nasty please don’t give excellent ratings please. I live in a very populated area and all the vegan places for the most part is subpar
Think of it like this - if someone that isn't vegan sees that place rated at or near 5 stars and goes in there, gets a donut, and feels the same way about it, do you want that to be their impression of a "good" vegan bakery?
You don’t have to rate it. Don’t be dishonest, but if you think maybe it just wasn’t your taste but others like it, just don’t submit a rating.
Why rate it. You don’t have to. Just call them up and say the donut was bad. They will maybe invite you back in to try something that is better. Most restaurants prefer to get constructive criticism.
Low ratings can really negatively impact a business. If they have been great most of the time, it is not fair to them to rate them low because their food was not good one time. You don't need to leave a rating at all and instead just reach out to the bakery by phone, email, or DM and give them your honest feedback. Most of the time they will appreciate it and improve.
If they are consistently bad/mediocre and refuse to improve after you have left feedback several times, or they were rude to you or did something really terrible, then leave a low rating.
Instead of rating, maybe try talking to the owners first and seeing if you can offer constructive feedback. If they don’t improve after that, leave an honest rating.
Give it 5 stars and share your experiences in the message. They tried for 5 stars but the taste wasn't to your liking. Just my own
Seconding the recommendation to just reach out to the business. Give them a chance to improve.
Do 4 because promoting vegan businesses would hopefully make some more people aware of it, even if it as small as rating it.
Yes. Vegan spots die easily and never get a fair chance. Always rate them highest
My policy is I rave publicly and criticize privately. But it's not a perfect statement because I don't mean doing both at the same time. Like if I have something nice to say I will put it online but if I have a complaint I'll take it up with the owner.
As a small business owner myself I particularly empathize - one employee having a bad day can literally destroy my business if a customer complains online. I can train, coach, teach, prod, beg, or bribe the employees to do it the way I show them, but the fact remains when I leave they're gonna do whatever they want. (It's not always like this, I'm a good boss and have had some good employees) Oy this turned into a rant my point is don't drag them on the internet, if you have a valid complaint that you think would improve the business and want to make your thoughts known, tell the establishment.
Tell it like it is. We don't need to soften our approach just because its vegan. Going vegan can bring up hill challenges with making popular items vegan for sure. if u are providing a service, and it's not good, it should be rated truthfully. They can't get better if they think they are good.
I’ve been in this predicament. Just rate honestly and describe why you rated it that way. If they don’t read their comments then they’ll go downhill. I’ve seen it happen.
Talk to them and give them your honest feedback. If they are AHs about it, leave the 2 star review. If they take the feedback on board, try again in a few months and if it’s better, leave a good review, if it’s still bad, talk to them again and depending on their response consider a poor review.
While you don’t want to damage a vegan business, there’s also no point damaging other people’s experience. A bad vegan bakery isn’t good for vegans and isn’t good for how non-vegans see vegan food, so never give good reviews for bad products just because they’re vegan. The best case scenario for everyone is that the bakery ups their game.
Please rate truthfully. There's a vegan sweets place in Bethlehem, PA that vegan influencers raved about. When I finally had the chance to go I bought many of the items that were said to be great. While the soft serve was good, the expensive mini cheesecakes were so heavy in vegetable shortening feel and taste with no 'cheesecake' flavor at all and all were dry, all 3 different kind that I bought. The donuts were good depending on the filling but the cookies and brownies were straight up so sugary it made my teeth ache. I think I spent like $80ish and only liked maybe $20 worth of items. Also, the staff were rude.
I know we all want to boost vegan businesses but they will never get repeat customers if we don't call them out. You can of course reach out to them behind the scenes but I think an honest review with a follow-up of your next visit holds much more weight, it shows they either listened and corrected or they didn't.
Rate the experience rather than the food. How nice was the atmosphere? Were the staff friendly? How clean were the tables? Things like that. Maybe give a 4/5 overall.
Is someone forcing you to give your opinion on the internet?
You don't have to rate everything, you know?
what everyone said already. call em up. say I want to support a vegan business but your donut was nasty. do better!
Should I rate 5 stars or the honest 2 stars??
honestly?
2 stars
Nah, just keep it real. Besides you only tried the donut. They have other options too. So write to them or wait to rate?
Praise publicly, critique privately
Rate honestly
I'd rate 3, one extra for being Vegan, and express in the comments what the problem was, they might improve it, and those who use ratings to make decisions wont be left thinking all Vegan baking sucks as everyone rates this one high and it sucks.
Why one extra for being vegan? How do you even know they are? I know a vegan business that's owned by a nonvegan.
They mean vote one extra for the place being vegan not the owner. Weird thing to find issue with lol
Weird thing to defend.
'if this is the best vegan has to offer, no thanks'
You don't wanna cause thoughts like that no?
There are always gonna be karens rating it 1 star. You need to give it 5 stars by default or else the losers online will actually have an effect of the buisness.
you could talk to them in person about the issue with the donut, that might have more affect than a 2/5 has.