It is too bad that there is not an area to reply to reviews, whether you agree or not. It would probably to hard to control. Many times I read a review and wonder if it is a rare situation or regular happening. When I read of a place that I have been to then it seems strange if it is an opposite opinion. A place that I go to doubles their visitor fee on holiday weekends, some take it as they are money hungry but in truth, they do it to keep people away. The campground is busy enough with the campers and if people bring in tons of visitors then it is totally crazy. I know I rarely have visitors while camping, I camp to get away but rent a site if you want to go as well. People complain that they hear the owner telling people they can leave if they do not like the rules. There campground, their rules and if guests are complaining and yelling for an hour then, yes, they should leave, it is clear that they do not like it there. Owners are money hungry and charge for everything. Well yes, it is nice when somethings are included and many owners can probably afford to have somethings included for free. On the other hand, if they offer bingo and you can win $$ then they need to charge, crafts, ceramics etc all cost $$ so many places charge for that, some have vendors come in to supply the activity and they are making the $$ not the campground. Anyway, just thought it would be nice to be able to add something to the reviews.
QUOTE(GaryWT @ Sep 4 2008, 07:21 PM) [snapback]13077[/snapback] It is too bad that there is not an area to reply to reviews, whether you agree or not. It would probably to hard to control. Many times I read a review and wonder if it is a rare situation or regular happening. When I read of a place that I have been to then it seems strange if it is an opposite opinion. To me, you post your "opposing" view by adding your own review to the mix. JJ
QUOTE(DXSMac @ Sep 4 2008, 09:22 PM) [snapback]13079[/snapback] To me, you post your "opposing" view by adding your own review to the mix. JJ I agree. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and you make that opinion known by posting your review. Replying to someone's specific review could be perceived as challenging that person's opinion. Not a good thing for many reasons.
From a campground owner: but on the other hand, I, as an owner, would like to have had the bad review tell me the problems in the first place instead of ranting and giving us a bad name on a review. I would like to respond and have the poster contact us directly so that we can clarify a negative situation. Everyone should take negative reviews as they are - one person's view. Owners, like myself, work hard to provide the camping public a clean, safe place to park. When someone disagrees with the rules, the rates, or anything else on the campground, a negative review can sometimes result. We have had both positive and negative on this website and, believe it or not, can tell who the posters are when they post negatively. We no doubt had a problem with them when they were here and had repeated "discussions" about them following the rules. Thank goodness, most of our reviews have been positive. I was brought up in the world of "If you can't say anything nice, don't say it at all." There are positive ways to write negative reviews without ranting and calling park owners names, etc. Just my POV. Thanks for listening.
I started this post because sometimes a negative review should not be a negative or that the thought of the # grade not matching the review. Some negative reviews are because it is a poor rundown campground and others are the reviewer did not like the owner or staff for whatever reason. Unfortunately one cannot tell if the owner is mean or the camper pushed the rules to the limit. I like an owner that enforces the rules, it makes my experience better but tends to lead to negative reviews. I have a hard time with reviews state how great everything is but the owner looked at them during their stay and did not smile, he was looking for something, I give them a rating of 1. Well if everything was great give them the 8 or whatever, that 1/2 star is what stands out and does not seem to be deserved. The thing that got me to write the review was when a camper stood in the office for an hour or so, complaining about a visitor fee and refusing to pay it, the campground would not let the visitor in. After about the hour, the reviewer walked into the office and heard the owner tell the camper that if he really did not want to pay then he could leave with his visitor. The reviewer, missing the entire hour, now writes that the owner is unreasonable and a terrible person who is money hungry. When the entire story is not know then it should not go into the review or a comment should be made.
I am another park owner who would welcome the opportunity to reply to a review. I have seen items posted in a review that beg for an explanation. For example,a comment concerning a lack of trees, for example may be mitigated by a reply that explains the campground is located in terrain that is considered High Mountain Desert and trees are not a natural part of the landscape.
I belong to another website that is review-based, but not just campgrounds and they have it set up whereas owners of the establishments that are being reviewed have the capabilities to address and respond to the reviews whether good, bad or otherwise. The "rebuttal" appears right after the review that is being addressed and others viewing it are made aware that this is an owner/manager making a comment. It's really neat, because if it's a bad review, it gives the other side the chance to make their side clear and is never just one-sided. And, it's also nice to just see how many of the owners/managers just thank people for posting reviews.
