Cover image via huiyuan89 Wordpress / Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
In this digital age, social media is not just a powerful marketing tool. Online reviews posted on a restaurant's page could also be a huge make-or-break factor, especially for local businesses.
The fact is, diners nowadays do not have to solely rely on word-of-mouth from friends and family when they decide on whether or not to try out a cafe or restaurant.
**Reviews** on an establishment's Facebook page or sites like Yelp and Foursquare are **publicly accessible** with just a few clicks, and **an establishment's reputation – both bad and good – can spread like wildfire on social media**.
Customers can rate the restaurants they've been to according to a star system on Facebook.
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Best case scenario, business owners take negative reviews as a sign to rectify their shortcomings and jumpstart improvements.
On the other hand, some can get pretty defensive – to the point of personal harassment – like this restaurant owner from Johor Bahru when a customer remarked that she had gotten food poisoning after dining in his restaurant on 17 February 2015.
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
The review seemed to have gone unnoticed, until the restaurant replied two months later:
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
When it failed to elicit a response from the reviewer, the drama did not stop there. A man believed to be the restaurant's owner then posted another reply and this time, he did not hold back:
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
That did it. The reviewer finally responded to the restaurant owner's "rude, defensive" response to her complaint, prompting a lengthy argument on the definition of "personal attack" by the owner.
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
The reviewer seemed to have had the last word on 23 November 2015, but that's not the end of it. On 24 March 2016, the restaurant's FB handle posted three of her personal selfies captioned with variations of "you are sick".
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
… And THAT is the story of how a 1-star review became viral on social media more than a year after it was posted
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Screenshots of the conversation between the reviewer and the restaurant's owner only came to public attention when it posted to a public Facebook group on 29 April 2016. You can view the original post [here](https://www.facebook.com/groups/400176440150017/permalink/651600885007570/).
Since the matter came to public attention on 29 April, a mini civil war has been going on between reviewers on the restaurant's Facebook page. On one side, the 1-star reviewers…
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
… And on the other, those who are a lot more generous with their stars
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
Image via Gianni's Trattoria Facebook
