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Rating chocolatiers or patisseries


Lior

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I realize that the U.S. and Canada are huge and so rating small businesses perhaps does not have much effect. In my area chocolatiers get rated constantly, and not always by professionals, and some often get rated quite negatively. Luckily I have not been under the microscope -I have almost never agreed to go along with such requests(who knows, it could kill my small business...self confidence?), but I personally do not like it and would never publicize my personal opinion in order not to harm a small business. I do not know even if my opinion is based on anything but personal taste or more. But is it okay to rate and publish results or opinions? Am I too sensitive? And if it is okay, so, who should do it? Would you agree to subject your small business to be rated in a local paper and discussed by the locals?

Edited by Lior (log)
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OK, on behalf of my own reposteria I'd welcome a review in the local paper; I'm already discussed by locals (many of whom won't give out my contact info or location, as my bakery is considered super-exclusive. This irks me a bit, because the more business the better! I'm only exclusive at the moment because I don't have as many clients as I'd like to. :blink: )

Personally, I'd want locals reviewing me before I'd ever let a so-called "professional" from the capital in, although I'm quite confident in the quality of my offerings. However, what I sell isn't available anywhere else in the country so perhaps a big-city critic would be a good idea....

I'm also comfortable writing reviews of other bakeries and food establishments, as I try very hard to be objective about the experiences I have (who knows if I make it or not), and generally unless I get food poisoning the reviews I write tend to be neutral to positive.

I'm also completely aware that in Ecuador at least, a bad review won't kill a reposteria. People here are quite sensitive to the fact that reviews are personal opinions, and in fact a bad one can increase business as people flock to the establishment in question find out whether the critic had his head up his butt or not. In most cases, the declaration is that the critic was being nasty for nastiness' sake.

Elizabeth Campbell, baking 10,000 feet up at 1° South latitude.

My eG Food Blog (2011)My eG Foodblog (2012)

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Local papers are O.K., they need content, and will usually be happy to print your opinions.

Publicity is very funny-strange. Once you attract attention, everyone wants a piece of it. Should a store get attetnion, it will attract bloggers who will want to blog. There are "good' bloggers, and "bad" bloggers. The 'good' bloggers write and are happy, the "bad" want some kind of compensation and will attribute the store's succees to their blogs.

Getting on various websites dedicated to food is another story. I've had several customers rate my chocolates and service enthusiastically--only to find thier comments/ratings removed a day later. You see, I don't advertise with these sites, why should they contribute to my success if they don't get a piece of the action?

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I've had several customers rate my chocolates and service enthusiastically--only to find thier comments/ratings removed a day later. You see, I don't advertise with these sites, why should they contribute to my success if they don't get a piece of the action?

Interesting. I had never heard of this before but when you say it, it makes perfect sense.

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Here there are not so many chocolatiers, although there are a good few hobbyists. The country is tiny after all. So when a rating is done it usually involves 5-10 of the well known chocolatiers in the country (I can't really think of more chocolatiers than that number). They get rated and then all the chocophiles and hobbyists give their opinions on the online paper or local forums, or amongst each other and their aquaintances.

Usually one or two perhaps 3 get good ratings and others are either ignored or put down. There is no advertising of the chocolateries that I know of in these papers and so on.

Again, what matters more? What the public thinks or what the "professionals" think? I know of a company that gets bad ratings by the chocophiles/hobbyists and yet the company is well known and does better, probably even more so than the others that get high ratings. I simply think that their emphasis is not always on top quality products, as it is on other things and they do very well.

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Personally I would be more put off if a company has no reviews then if they have a couple of bad reviews, always seems fishy to me.

"My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them."

-Winston Churchill

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I've had several customers rate my chocolates and service enthusiastically--only to find thier comments/ratings removed a day later. You see, I don't advertise with these sites, why should they contribute to my success if they don't get a piece of the action?

Interesting. I had never heard of this before but when you say it, it makes perfect sense.

A-yup. But..... These sites rely soley on individual's opinions. That is to say, the sites do not pay for these opinions, and these opinions are the basis of how the site gets thir advertising revenues from form.

It's all about having your cake and eating it too.

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