Have you ever left a Google review? Or how about a review on Yelp? Maybe you have critiqued a business or restaurant on the Internet after having a poor experience at one, but have you ever taken the time to leave a good review for the local business that always and consistently delivers exactly what you are looking for, every time you go there without fail?

If you have never left a good or positive Google review, you may want to reconsider. 

You may not know this, but that local business that you love in Western New York thrives from Google Reviews. Those reviews, whether they are on Google or Yelp, help a local business spread the word about their service and how efficiently they are able to provide it. 

Yet people seem to be most driven to comment on something publicly when they are about to say something negative or filled with hatred.

It’s kind of ironic, actually. Contrary to the phrase, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” it seems like people have the most to say when they actually have nothing nice to say. If you don’t believe that, go take a quick scan of some recent Facebook comments. 

And it’s one thing to be critical, but why not be constructive about it? And you know, why not tell the truth?

One local business in Western New York is accusing a Western New Yorker of trolling their business after some things just did not add up in a recent Google review. 

Brandon Carr took to Facebook to share the recent review of his business, The Llama Dive & Arcade Bar, located at 26 Virginia Pl, Buffalo, NY 14202. 

Carr encouraged his Facebook friends that “you can’t always trust them [Google Reviews].” He called the reviewer a “troll,” and he had good reasoning as to why as well: his business has only been open for six weeks. 

Carr’s post read:

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“This is why I have trust issues lol. And why reviews yes can be a very helpful tool, they also damage businesses so ya can’t always trust them. It’s better to come in and form your opinion…not trust trolls on the internet. #urarenotyelping.” 

Now let’s take a closer look at the recent Google review left for The Llama Dive & Arcade Bar.

The 1-star review said:

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“Why are so many people rating this place so high? It’s overrated. I guess no one really knows what really goes on behind closed doors in most restaurants I suppose. Well allow me to share you the inside scoop….if anything, you should take my word for it or be sorry late ‘cause I in fact used to work here awhile back…I can tell you that none of the cooks here wear gloves and seldomly wash their hands even after handling the raw meats and you know what could happen next if not sanitary. I’ve seen how food is managed and how dishes are rather not thoroughly clean as one might think is exactly why I don’t order here and so many other countless reasons I refuse to gross myself out to bring to mention. Don’t let your eyes and taste buds deceive you. But if you feel otherwise, then it’s at your own risk. That said, I’ve done my job…how you go about it from here is solely upon yourselves. All I know is my grandmother used to always state that she don’t order out unless she can physically see who and how her food is being made and now I can see why. So to those of you who think the service alone is bad enough…trust me, you don’t even know the half of it ‘cause you’re not back there at all. So you’ve been warned. Good luck…..”

Again, The Llama Dive & Arcade Bar has only been open for 6 weeks.

The owner responded on Google Reviews as well, trying to dispute the claims.

He said: 

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“So I think you may have rated/reviewed the wrong restaurant by mistake. We’ve only been open for 6 weeks and you most definitely have not worked here.”

I guess it just goes to show that you can’t really believe everything you read on social media and on the Internet – you have to make some decisions for yourself.

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