I opened a cafe a few months ago. The premise is very small and my business partner and I live directly above it so it’s closer to a side hustle more than anything since we only open for the morning rush. Business has been steadily increasing and we’ve been getting nothing but good feedback from our customers so far.
Last month I invited my entire friend group to enjoy a beverage and slice of cake at the cafe for free in exchange for honest feedback in the form of a Google review since I wanted to try out some new drink ideas and also get a little bit more traffic on our Google page. My friends ate, drank then bounced and good time was had by all. Each of them promised to write a review the next day.
Every single friend wrote a review. And every single one was obviously generated by chatgpt and written in American English (not even the official language here). Some of the reviews even mentioned services or drink items that we don’t have! I was really conflicted. While I appreciate them taking (a moment of) their time to write a review I feel like not only was it a half assed gesture but also I think that since people can tell a fake review from a genuine one it affects my cafe’s credibility. Would you visit a cafe where the only reviews are all clearly ai generated? I wouldn’t, which is why I’ve asked a couple of them to take their reviews down and redo it.
I’m not entirely surprised that they were taken aback and not happy with my request, its not pleasant to be told that your gesture no matter how small is meaningless. One of them even said that they don’t feel welcome at my business anymore. But I feel like as a business owner I should be mindful of credibility to the point where I have to risk offending people, unsurprisingly my business partner agrees.
TDLR: My friends reviewed my cafe using chatgpt and now they’re upset that I wasn’t grateful
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I opened a cafe a few months ago. The premise is very small and my business partner and I live directly above it so it’s closer to a side hustle more than anything since we only open for the morning rush. Business has been steadily increasing and we’ve been getting nothing but good feedback from our customers so far.
Last month I invited my entire friend group to enjoy a beverage and slice of cake at the cafe for free in exchange for honest feedback in the form of a Google review since I wanted to try out some new drink ideas and also get a little bit more traffic on our Google page. My friends ate, drank then bounced and good time was had by all. Each of them promised to write a review the next day.
Every single friend wrote a review. And every single one was obviously generated by chatgpt and written in American English (not even the official language here). Some of the reviews even mentioned services or drink items that we don’t have! I was really conflicted. While I appreciate them taking (a moment of) their time to write a review I feel like not only was it a half assed gesture but also I think that since people can tell a fake review from a genuine one it affects my cafe’s credibility. Would you visit a cafe where the only reviews are all clearly ai generated? I wouldn’t, which is why I’ve asked a couple of them to take their reviews down and redo it.
I’m not entirely surprised that they were taken aback and not happy with my request, its not pleasant to be told that your gesture no matter how small is meaningless. One of them even said that they don’t feel welcome at my business anymore. But I feel like as a business owner I should be mindful of credibility to the point where I have to risk offending people, unsurprisingly my business partner agrees.
TDLR: My friends reviewed my cafe using chatgpt and now they’re upset that I wasn’t grateful
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> 1. I asked my friends to take down reviews of my cafe that they wrote because they’re all ai generated, somewhat misleading and look like paid reviews.
2. It seems ungrateful to ask them to do so because it was a nice gesture, and now they’re upset with me for responding negatively.
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
NTA. It sounds like you made the deal known in advance: you wanted their honest feedback in the form of online reviews. AI generated reviews, which included products you don’t sell, are by definition not “honest.” They didn’t keep their end of the deal.
NTA. Report their reviews, if they were obviously AI-generated. Provide your proof that they’re fake. I can’t believe your friends would treat you like this.
NTA…You asked them to write a review. If it’s AI generated, they really didn’t write the review, did they?
NTA. These friends sound like they suck. You gave them a free drink and cake, and they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. If they were ALL AI-generated, it’s fairly obvious that they cooked up this plan together, i.e. “let’s get the free shit and just scram”. Delete these reviews and drop these friends. Tell them they’re correct in their assumptions that they’re not welcome at your business anymore.
NTA – if i immediately could tell the reviews were all AI slop, i’d blacklist the place mentally from ever being attended. Very shitty these friends can’t take 30 seconds to write a couple nice sentences about your cafe.
NTA
AI generated reviews arent honest reviews.
This is a clear case of be careful what you ask for. If they are bulking, then they are not the friends you thought they were. ESH
NTA. Is this the kind of site where the business owner can respond? Maybe you could respond to a few: “Thanks for your comment! BTW, we don’t currently serve (item you don’t carry).”
I see someone else suggested reporting the review; another good idea.
NTA. They didn’t make a gesture, they damaged the reputation of your café by making it seem like you’re generating fake reviews. Because that’s exactly what people are going to assume.
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NTA. You gave them free food and drink for them to write a review – and they were so lazy they just had AI do it for them. That is not what you agreed to – if you wanted that, you could’ve made fake accounts and done it yourself. You’re absolutely correct that anyone who is going to take the time to check reviews will see right through it and probably skip your cafe, which only hurts your business. I would honestly be asking if they’re actually friends. It literally would have taken them 2 minutes tops to hop on, give you 5 stars and write something like “great food, wonderful customer service, would go again!” Seriously, it didn’t have to be a novel, it just had to be their words.
NTA
They didn’t write the review.
The reviews weren’t honest because they don’t reflect the products and service.
When I review a place, I always take the time to actually do the work. I also indicate whether or not there’s any potential bias (this is my friend, I received freebies in consideration, etc.)
NTA You are going to have to break a few eggs in order to make an omelet here. Even if your friends don’t get why their reviews are harmful to your business, they still are. You can’t sacrifice the start of your business to spare your friends’ feelings regardless of what their intentions were.
I’d tell the offended friends that you’re sorry, but could they please understand that obvious AI reviews are counterproductive. You appreciate their intentions, but this is too important to just let go. (You can be diplomatic just to get it done even if you think their intentions were just to save themselves time and effort.)
>I feel like as a business owner I should be mindful of credibility to the point where I have to risk offending people, unsurprisingly my business partner agrees.
You’re right. And frankly, your friends were lazy and thoughtless. You didn’t even ask them to write good reviews, just honest ones. They might not get it, but it was in fact them who strained the friendship first by posting such bogus reviews. Even if it were a stranger’s new cafe, and I had agreed to participate in a promotion where I received free food and drink in exchange for an honest review, I wouldn’t do that to them.
NTA
Are you sure these people are your friends?
They got free food or drinks, and couldn’t even write a quick 3 sentence review themselves? Wouldn’t take more than 3 minutes.
Are they really your friends?
Damn!!!!
Sounds more like you’re doing too well and they want you to fail
NTA. It’s not that hard to write a review. “Lovely little cafe. Had a slice of lemon cake and a cup of tea. Would definitely come again” see that took me 30 seconds to write. Your “friends” suck. No more free food for them.
NTA. It’s not that hard to write a review. “Lovely little cafe. Had a slice of lemon cake and a cup of tea. Would definitely come again” see that took me 30 seconds to write. Your “friends” suck. No more free food for them.