The Tyranny Of Trip Advisor

Here's a story for you. A Brit family of five go into a Brit bar. They order for all five, one of the orders being for the daily set menu, which happens to feature pork chop as its main dish, and it is the pork chop which is to prove central to this story, as the mother complains that it has not been cooked how she likes it, i.e. no sign of any pinkness and so basically done to a crisp. The pork chop is cooked more, almost of all of it is eaten yet apparently it is still isn't to the lady's satisfaction. When it comes to the bill and divvying up time, the mother and the three children head out of the bar, leaving the father. The bill has had two euros knocked off it because the pork chop hadn't originally been to the mother's satisfaction. The father says that he won't be paying for any of his wife's meal. It was a set menu, it wasn't right for her and (and this is a stunner) her holiday (not her meal) has been ruined as a consequence.

The bar owners, somewhat taken aback, insist that because all of the meal, save for a very small part of the pork chop, had been eaten there was no justification for not paying. It is at this point that the story starts to get slightly confused in terms of the father leaving and the mother returning, but to cut to the chase, the mother returns, the father having gone off down the street to wait with the kids. By now, it isn't just her meal that isn't going to be paid for, none of the meals are going to be paid for, all 68 euros worth of them.

The mother is told that if she won't pay or attempts to leave without paying, the police will be called. And this is exactly what happens, the mother seemingly surprised that the police are a) called and b) turn up. One of the policeman speaks very good English. He asks the mother about her meal, did she eat it, and so on. She says that she didn't eat all of it, as her son had eaten the dessert. The policeman points out that the dessert was, nevertheless, consumed. He insists that the bill is paid in full without any discount for the pork chop. The mother still refuses, despite actually having the money in her hand.

The policeman then asks for some identification. The mother has none, provoking the policeman to tell her that it is against the law not to. The mother produces an E111 card. "This is not identification," says the policeman but notes down the details anyway (which do include a British National Insurance number, so there is some type of identification). The mother is still refusing to pay, so the policeman tells her that if she doesn't, she will spend a night in the cells and be in court the next day, then remembers that it is a Saturday and so adds that she will spend two nights in the cells. With this threat, the mother finally pays up, and the policeman warns her of the consequences if the police have to be called again to attend to an incident involving her.

The story in itself may not be uncommon. It happens all the time that people, and don't let's just insinuate that it is only the Brits because it isn't, attempt to pull a fast one. But what makes the story altogether more significant is what the mother says as she is leaving, having been made to pay.

When the family first came into the bar, and this was noted not only by one of the owners but also by other diners (some of whom became involved and supported the bar owners), the mother made reference to a certificate for excellence from Trip Advisor that hangs in the bar, by just saying the name of the website. This could have been taken one of two ways, but suspicion was aroused from the outset and indeed Trip Advisor did get mentioned in the exchanges prior to the parting words from the mother, which were: "I'm going to blacken your name on Trip Advisor and get all my friends to do so as well."

What this was all about of course was that there was premeditation. The Trip Advisor commendation inspired the complaint. It was premeditated and in effect a form of blackmail. Not every tourist seeks to exploit Trip Advisor in this way, by knowing that a malicious review, or the threat of one, can be extremely harmful, but some do, as they indeed exploit the internet full stop. The worst thing about this case is that the bar is going to close its account. It cannot afford such malice.

The case exposes the flaw with Trip Advisor but more importantly it exposes the flaw with some people, with some tourists who are dishonest and malevolent. Trip Advisor claims reviews that can be trusted. The problem is that they can't be, because the website has unleashed the worst of human nature that itself cannot be trusted.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.