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Let me first say that I am a dedicated reviewer.
If I enjoyed a service, or felt that it was extraordinary, I write a letter or review the service/product immediately. I depend on honest reviews for purchasing things off of Amazon, and the honest reviews of brides on Wedding Wire. After our engagement ring purchase I emailed Tiffany & Co. to let them know how fantastic our experience was. I’ve never really questioned the legitimacy of a review.
Perhaps I was naive. We’re pretty happy with our current caterer selection. My father is currently hashing out the contract. I REALLY wanted to find a caterer who used local, organic ingredients and that hopefully would be in our price range. I was excited to find a local caterer who met those requirements, so even though we had met with Caterer A and Caterer B, we decided to look into Caterer C since they were the only local food/organic caterer we had come across.
When the caterer first called they kept Mr. D’orsay on the phone forever, and kept talking about how detail oriented they were. Afterward, the caterer sent Mr. D’orsay an email addressed to something along the lines of “Mr. J’orsay”. This automatically put me off. If this caterer was so detail oriented, couldn’t they get Mr. D’orsay’s name correct? Mr. D’orsay’s email even starts with Mr. D’orsay! Their price was also a bit higher than Caterer A or B, so we moved on with Caterer B and set up the aforementioned meeting and tastings.
Mr. D’orsay received a voicemail from Caterer C letting us know that due to the market they had lowered their prices. I began to think that I could overlook the previous gaffe and air of pretentiousness until…
They offered us a BRIBE.
They would refund us $300 pending positive reviews on theknot.com and chowhound.com. You’ve got to be kidding me! As a dedicated “reviewer”, if I enjoyed the service I’d happily give them positive reviews. I don’t mind if the incentive is small, such as free shipping, or a $5 gift certificate. But this was outrageous. I feel that that amount seems large enough to alter a review. I began to call into question the legitimacy of every review I’ve ever read about them.
In the end, I decided I’d rather have an ethical caterer than a local/organic one.
Is this a common practice? Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? Am I overreacting?
Yuck! That’s slimy. I’m also a firm believer in the honest review policy, and in referrals! Every time I find a vendor that does something special and out of the ordinary, I recommend them to my family and friends. Word of mouth is huge in the wedding industry!
Good for you for choosing integrity! 
Nope, you’re not overreacting. That’s creepy, and you were absolutely right to question whether those “rave reviews” were from people who thought, “well, they were just OK/made some mistakes/were a total disaster, but I really want that $300.”
And if they’re willing to use bribes to alter their reviews, how could you trust them when they claim all their produce is “local” and “organic”?
At my sister’s wedding, her DJ told her at the end of the night he’d play for another 1/2 hour for no cost — if she reviewed him positively on The Knot. If not, there’d be a bill to pay. Needless to say, we ended the party on time, and carried on elsewhere!
And I certainly didn’t look into that company when hiring my DJ!
Shady!
I also give glowing remarks to vendors and business’ that I’ve had a positive experience with. (sometimes so glowing it sounds like I’ve been paid- but really I’m just that excited to share a good thing with people)
Not just with my wedding but whenever I’m looking to hire or work with someone new I rely heavily on reviews of friends and online. (this will make me really look more closely at reviews i read) Maybe you should comment about the “bribe” on the msg boards- or is that too much? Just so others reading can look at the previous reviews with a grain of salt..
good for you for sticking to your guns instead of taking the money!
That’s egregious. You should post on theknot and chowhound, but tell everyone that the caterer offered to pay you $300 for a positive review!
That is crazy!! I can’t believe they offered you this *before* you booked them. I would think that it would make all potential clients rethink the reviews they have read and get a bad taste in their mouth about their business. I agree with HC - post a review about them and expose their sleezy practices!
Wow!!
I cannot believe they actually asked for a positive review in exchange for service. If this happened to me I will review them on the places they have requested but it wont be positive.
They are really bold.
I can’t tell if it would be worse of me to review them like that or not. Because I’m assuming most people who contact them will be asked the same thing and they can make their own decision. I haven’t crossed off adding my own review of them yet though.
That would bother me to and seal the deal for me not to use them. You are not overreacting.
I would definately let people know about the bribe as Miss Hot Cocoa suggests. They didn’t tell you about the bribe until a ways into negotiations so they may not make this offer to everyone (those who jump on their higher price perhaps)? By adding your experience to the reviews people will know to take the reviews with a grain of salt. I know I would be happy to know about this practice if they were on my list of caterers.
Wow that is incredible! It definitely makes you question the reviews you read now!
That is definitely not the type of vendor I’d want to work with. I mean, if your service can’t generate good reviews on its own, then you should work on providing better service, not bribing customers to falsely advertise for you.
Wow that is insane! I am a big reviewer too — mostly on yelp.com. I have never heard of this! Incredible! Good for you sticking to your guns.
Wow, I didn’t know people did that. Good thing you decided not to go with them. I rely heavily on word of mouth advertising for Vendors. And Yelp.
Seriously?! Grrrrr, that gets my goat! I’ve heard of vendor kickbacks, but never bribing a bride to give a good review. Good for you for standing on your morals!
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Mrs. D'orsay, Baltimore/Lancaster UK Age and Occupation: 24, nonprofit communications Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Web site developer and designer; co-owner of men's skincare shop Engagement Date: August 10, 2008 Wedding Date: August, 2009 Venue: Oakland Manor About Me: I'm a Maryland raised environmental policy wonk/activist/organizer and communications aficionado. In the past year I've lived in Baltimore, MD, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Lancaster, England. In my not so spare time I enjoy planning trips with Mr. D' Orsay, visiting friends and family and crafting like a mo-fo. I also enjoy modern dance classes, rugby and soccer but have been banned by my mother, MOHs, and Mr. D' Orsay from playing till after the wedding. I have an unnatural addiction to cheese and shoes, but love Mr. D' Orsay more than either and can't wait to become Mrs. D' Orsay!
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