Revenge Reviews: A Tale of Fragile Egos and Public Shaming

Inspired by Natascha Ng

How did Natascha inspire this blog post?

Each year we seem to meet more and more individuals that feel our property, our service and our hospitality is there for their own personal use, or misuse, as the case may be.

Here’s Natascha’s Google review for not letting them do as they please in our café …

Image Source: Linked IN

These days, it seems that many negative reviews are penned vindictively by individuals whose egos have been bruised when they have failed to get their way, were called out for inappropriate behaviour or have tried to bend policies and standards to suit their convenience.

Let’s discuss this charming review from Natascha Ng, who claimed she “chose” the North Coast Café because we had a “barista coffee machine.” In reality, and upon reviewing our CCTV footage, Natascha selected our café as she was ordering food and drinks from A Little Deli Takeaway across the road. She then expected to use our café toilet facilities for free. 

It should be noted that A Little Deli Takeaway also has a barista coffee machine that makes very delicious coffee; however, being a takeaway, they don’t offer toilet facilities.

Naturally, Natascha believed she was fully entitled to walk into our café and make use of our facilities at her convenience and leisure, without cost or challenge. When informed that she needed to be a customer to use our facilities, Natascha begrudgingly purchased a coffee.

Natascha then took to Google to express her outrage—not only at being unable to “pee for free” but also because we didn’t allow her companion (let’s call him Jonny) to eat a bacon sandwich, purchased from A Little Deli Takeaway, at our outside tables.

It should also be noted in Natascha’s review that she does not mention why she received “bad service” from “un-accommodating staff“

Like Natascha, Jonny also felt entitled to do as he pleased in our café—to sit wherever he wanted and eat whatever he’d purchased elsewhere. 

Jonny also believed that he should not have to face any challenge or fallout for his actions.

We kindly asked him to not eat food from another establishment at our tables.  We also pointed out the sign, right next to him, that says ‘Drinks only at these tables.”

Their combined expectation was that we, the café owners, must simply keep quiet and allow them to do as they please, for ‘fear’ of a negative review.

There was no apology from Jonny or Natascha, for the misunderstanding, or for simply not realising, or for just sitting absentmindedly without even considering it might be rude … no, it was our fault.

Here's a candid shot of 'Jonny' sitting at the North Coast Cafe, eating a sandwich purchased at A Little Deli Takeway. Sitting next to the sign that says no food at these tables.

Rise of Revenge Reviews and Validation-seeking Behaviour

A revenge review typically starts with an incident where a customer’s sense of entitlement meets resistance.

Natascha’s revenge review is simultaneously laughable and disappointing. It’s a prime example of how review platforms like Google and Tripadvisor have become battlegrounds for unconstructive revenge. Individuals whose fragile egos can’t handle the slightest resistance to their entitlement take to these platforms to vent their frustrations and seek validation. Instead of providing constructive feedback they aim to publicly shame businesses and staff for daring to enforce good behavior, policies or standards.

One of the driving forces behind revenge reviews is validation-seeking behavior. In a society that increasingly values instant gratification and social approval, the power to rate and review businesses gives individuals a platform to broadcast their grievances. Positive comments and likes from like-minded individuals provide a sense of validation, further feeding their fragile egos.

Such behaviour not only undermines the purpose of genuine reviews but also reflects a deeper societal issue. This need for instant gratification and validation has led to a culture where any resistance or challenge is met with an exaggerated and often misleading online tirade.

It has become less about informing future customers and more about soothing wounded pride. This public shaming, driven by their fragile egos, does a disservice to all and skews the reality of customer experiences.

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