Chicago Metromix

[KendallCollege]

I had dinner, this past sunday, at Devon Seafood Grill. The meal was SO AWFUL that I had to post the review on Chicago's Metromix.

I posted the review, on Sunday night, and it didn't show-up on Monday. I figured there might've an error so I posted a second review. It didn't show up.

I'd posted a review of the FANTASTIC lunch that I'd had, on Sunday, at Crust. That review appeared on Metromix. The Devon review never appeared.

It seems suspicious, right? What do YOU think? Am I being censored?

Trev.

[santo_grace]

Sounds like it to me. Do they advertise on Metromix? That unfortunately might explain it.

Please post about your lunch at Crust. I'm hearing such mixed things.

[jesteinf]

Metromix is definitely selective on what kind of reader reviews they will post. The way to guarantee that your review gets posted is to follow this format:

"My [boyfriend/girlfriend] went to [name of restaurant] and had an AMAZING experience. The food was supper yummy and the drinks were GREAT. I [or "my girlfriend"] loved the food, but my boyfriend [or "I"] thought the portions were too small."

[Jean Blanchard]

Metromix is definitely selective on what kind of reader reviews they will post.  The way to guarantee that your review gets posted is to follow this format:

"My [boyfriend/girlfriend] went to [name of restaurant] and had an AMAZING experience.  The food was supper yummy and the drinks were GREAT. I [or "my girlfriend"] loved the food, but my boyfriend [or "I"] thought the portions were too small."

←

That's exactly correct and exactly why I don't pay much attention to what I read on metromix or other sites like it.

[yellow truffle]

I love metromix. It's great for basic statistical information, such what are the hours, address, phone, price range, etc. As for the reviews, because anyone can sign in without knowing exactly where or who that person really is, it is hard to make a judgement call based on reader reviews. Although it is fun to read them. The use of superlatives are very frequent and there is a lack of any serious critiquing (especially the not so positive commentary), which I guess where the censorship comes into play.

[yellow truffle]

Actually the site that I like for basic statistical info is MenuPages (Chicago edition). Not only does it have the stuff that Metromix has, but it has the menu as well. Although my gripe is that it only covers Chicago, no suburbs (last time I checked).

[KendallCollege]

I was being a bit of a "smart-ass" when I posted the Metromix-bit. I fully understand the marketing behind the website. I knew why they were censoring my review. Business is business, afterall.

I guess I'm disappointed because metromix is supposed to be a "source" for quality recreation in Chicago. I know where my loyalty is, but...

How does it make our city look if a "vacationing" couple uses a metromix-approved property as their deciding factor for dinner? What happens if they choose Devon Seafood Grill without doing any homework?

::sigh::

Trev W.

[liv4fud]

I agree with the idea of censorship and them running their business. But then they should have it not as a *review* - only good review.

I had a horrible time at Bebe's - food didn't arrive in time (mine arrived after all others on table had finished) and didn't even get apology from the wait staff.

Owner/Manager wouldn't even bother to come and talk...

Posted it on Metromix and still hasn't seen the light of day.

Lost all respect for that site - other than the fact that I would go there for the stats - addresses etc.

One more reason to love eG!

[Darren72]

Out of curiosity, I just read through customer reviews on Metromix for a sampling of restaurants. The following seems clear to me:

1. Only a selection of reviews are on the site. For example, Charlie Trotter's has been open for some 10 to 15 years (and Metromix has been on-line for quite a while) but there are only 6 reviews on Metromix, with the most recent being from September 6. Clearly, older reviews are deleted. You'll find something similar for other restaurants. It is difficult to find any review older than a year old.

2. They clearly allow bad reviews to be posted. There are some quite bad reviews of Devon Seafood Grill, for example. You're likely to find some bad reviews for most places.

3. My guess is that they strive to have what they consider to be a diversity of opinions about each restaurant. They want to have 5-10 reviews for each restaurant that basically reflect the, say, 25 reviews posted. Or, more cynically, they want to have a few good reviews and a few mediocre to bad reviews for each restaurant. (Kind of like the front page of the paper that says "Dems say this...Repubs say that...".)

I suspect we all notice it when we post a bad review that doesn't show up, but fail to notice our good reviews that don't show up.

[KendallCollege]

I posted a wonderful review of Crust that same evening and it showed up. It is a new property so the "censor" might be off. I'd love to know what their criteria is for keeping/eliminating reviews.

I can only hope that people understand that metromix isn't an accurate source.

EGullet scores another point, eh?!

Trev.

Edited July 21, 2007 by KendallCollege (log)