Good customer service should speak for itself.

That’s what this restaurant server believed after spending years building relationships with regular customers and keeping the restaurant running during the morning shift.

Then a new manager came in with a different focus.

Suddenly, Google reviews mattered more than the work happening inside the restaurant.

Before long, employees who weren’t bringing in enough reviews started getting called out in front of everyone.

Read on to see how this whole situation unfolded.

My manager forced me to get Google reviews

I work at that restaurant in downtown Toronto and have for a few years now. Today I cried the whole night at home thinking about how my manager told me that I couldn’t even get reviews from customers.

These days, my manager has been pushing so hard for Google reviews. At our restaurant, there is a QR code on every table that, if you scan it and give a review, you will get a free drink.

So today my manager texted me around 2 PM and asked if there were no customers. I was so confused, then I said yes, there were customers. She said, “How come there is no review in three hours?”

Unfortunately, it’s the shift she works.

So at my work, I work alone in the morning until 4/5 PM. I have to do preparation, cashiering, and serving all by myself. Everyone comes and eats the lunch menu, which already includes a drink. From my point of view, it’s really hard to get reviews, and I genuinely don’t like pushing the customers to write them.

I always do my job. Every customer comes back, and I have served them well since I have been in this industry for 5 years.

Some customers love me and always come back. I know their regular orders. They sit down, eat, and leave. They see the QR code to give a review. Customers know if they give one they can get a free drink. They don’t care to give one, but the manager or bosses never see those things.

Her manager refuses to see her side.

They don’t see the side of the server. They think we can get reviews so easily by just asking. I don’t like begging for reviews because I feel like those are not real, and I also feel like I annoy the customer by asking for reviews. But I always try when I can.

So anyway, my manager said, “Oh, when even other people work in the morning they got 5 reviews. How come you got 0 reviews? You have to get a minimum of that much.”

After I saw that message, I felt like I got compared to other employees. I felt like I was back in high school and getting bullied in front of everyone. You might think I overreacted to it, but this is how I felt.

Then, she got called out again.

My manager asked me privately, but then they chose to mention my name and say it in the group chat in front of everyone.

After my shift, at night, my manager mentioned one of the employees’ names and said, “Anna (changed name) did a very great job getting all those reviews.”

That message made me really sad since I felt like I got compared again, and I wondered why the manager had to mention it in front of everyone.

Now every day I am scared that I can’t get reviews. I feel so pressured and forced. The way the manager forces us is by comparing us and mentioning us in front of everyone, which makes me feel worse.

At this point, she doesn’t even like going to work.

Now going to work is not about working anymore. It’s about aiming for Google reviews. I even think of buying fake reviews. This is how much I got pressured and forced.

If you tell me to quit that job, I know myself and how much I have put into this job emotionally and how I have done everything for my job for 3 years. I feel very sad about how I got treated just because I can’t get reviews.

FYI, the manager became the manager of that restaurant a month ago.

Now, she needs advice because she’s unsure what to do.

My boss probably forced the manager to get reviews. My boss always throws around the word money to get reviews. My boss might have told the manager that he will pay $$$ if the manager can get that many reviews.

I feel that what is happening is very unfair, and I keep thinking about it. I am even willing to show the screenshot of the tone and the way the manager compared me to others because I can’t get reviews.

I don’t know what to do anymore…

Yikes! It does sound like management is being a bit unfair.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who spent nearly 3 decades climbing the ladder at work only to be fired in a meeting that lasted less than a minute.

Let’s see how the people over at Reddit feel about it.

This reader thinks asking regulars may be a good idea.

For this person, it’s all about honesty.

According to this comment, people don’t like that.

Here’s what this reader would say.

There’s nothing wrong with encouraging customers to leave reviews.

But, there’s a problem when employees feel like they have to beg for them just to keep management happy. A good server can give excellent service all day long and still end up with very few reviews because most customers simply don’t think to leave one.

Plus, comparing employees in front of everyone only makes that pressure worse.

If this manager wants more reviews, there are much better ways to motivate the staff than making them feel like they’re failing at their jobs.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman whose HR department advised her to quit if she was that unhappy, so she did and found herself in a role reversal years later.