Social Media Rants: What Do Chefs Really Think?

(SPOT.ph) Say you're in a restaurant and something goes awry. Maybe the dish is not quite to your liking, the service is off, or an unexpected mishap throws your night off track. The question: Do you reach for your phone? If you do succumb to occasional social media rants, you are not alone—far from it.

In today’s digital age, the first instinct for many diners is to turn to social media and share their experience, all the good and especially the bad. Justified or not, every day can feel like a brand-new battlefield on Facebook or X. On one hand, word-of-mouth recommendations can do wonders for a business. But if restaurants somehow end up on the wrong side of an internet tirade, they can easily find themselves exposed to the unforgiving judgment of the internet. So, what do chefs think about customers sounding off online?

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How do chefs really feel about restaurant guests and their social media rants?

Noted food writer Angelo Comsti recently hosted At Your Service, a one-day event bringing together chefs, restaurateurs, service professionals, and media to touch base and discuss a variety of topics in the industry. Subjects ranged from service styles to emerging trends, but one interesting takeaway was the chefs’ perspective on modern customers’ social media habits. Specifically, how do they feel or deal with restaurant guests who air their grievances online? 

For Stephan Duhesme of Metiz, it’s important to take the target market into account when criticizing a restaurant. After all, a customer’s expectations may simply not match up with the vision of the establishment. For instance, a trendy restaurant playing loud music would naturally not appeal to a senior citizen. 

Great food critics, Duhesme emphasizes, understand a restaurant’s concept and target market, whether it's catering to more upscale diners ready to splurge, an older crowd seeking a quieter experience, or casual guests who are after a laidback meal. He reminds diners you cannot judge a casual restaurant the same way you judge a fine dining restaurant—and the diversity of styles only makes Manila’s dining scene even more exciting. 

“Not everybody is going to like your restaurant, and that’s okay. The more you try to please everybody, you will just be middling, essentially,” Duhesme adds.

Meanwhile, Tina Legarda of Bamba Bistro remains focused on the task at hand amid social media comments: offer good food with good service. Instead of letting the online reviews affect or dictate the direction of the kitchen staff, she says the challenge fuels her team to do better. Thanks to eagle-eyed and sharp-tongued restaurant guests who won't hesitate to point out if you are "gaya gaya," she says, “You’re forced to be more creative. You’re also forced to be more authentic. The idea of having to change your style because of your guests; [then] you’re already not doing what you’re here for. You open a restaurant because you’re introducing yourself."

“Social media has been a great help, with the bad and the good,” she continues. “At the end of the day, we continue to strive for what we’re here for, which is to serve and to cook. Let’s go back to that, the basics. And if the guests like it or not, at the end of the day, it’s us being who we are. So, it shouldn’t matter.”

If you can, give the restaurant a chance to fix the issue

Quenee Vilar of Celera acknowledges the growth of modern diners, marveling at how customers are now very intrigued about the different elements that go into a dining experience, from ingredients to cooking techniques. She shares, “[For us], it’s nice to talk to guests who are curious.” However, this newfound interest comes with warranted and unwarranted criticism, too. 

While Vilar gets the urge to vent online (“I’m young, I fully understand [that] it’s nice to rant on social media”), she says that a more productive way to comment on a restaurant exists. “If there’s a problem, [why not] just say it then and there?” she suggests. “So, na-address pa. If you just said it, baka malibre pa yung meal mo. If you put it on social media, then it’s another problem.” There’s also the risk of spreading false information, she points out, which would only add another layer of problems to the issue. 

The other chefs agree; it is best to approach the restaurant in real time. This not only avoids the potential online drama—who really wants that stress?—but also gives the establishment a chance to rectify the situation and save your dining experience. After all, wouldn't it be better if your meal wasn't totally ruined, too? 

A separate talk on the different style of restaurant service briefly discusses the issue, with Liza Morales, institute director of Le Cordon Bleu Ateneo de Manila, weighing in on the growing trend of customers airing their grievances online. The reality is, she says, social media platforms like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Facebook encourage public reviews, ratings, rankings, and even rants.

“It’s really a balancing act,” she admits. “I don’t know the answer; but I hope you will always give a chance to the restaurant or hotel. Let them know [about] the problem before broadcasting it, destroying the brand, or giving [them] a one star.”

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