Repeated Abuse Using Delivery Platform Star Ratings
"Please Do Not Harass Us with Malicious Reviews," Plea from Small Business Owners
A customer’s order of Agujjim through a delivery platform / Photo by Social Networking Service (SNS) capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] "I added more bean sprouts because you said there were too few in the dish, but I got a 2-star rating... How can someone be this malicious?"
Abuse of delivery platform reviews continues unabated, with customers placing unreasonable food orders and resorting to 'star rating terrorism' when their demands are not met, a phenomenon commonly referred to as 'review power harassment.' Some leave harsh reviews simply because there were many bean sprouts in the food, while others demand expensive menu items as free services. As cases of such abuse increase, the government has announced plans to protect self-employed business owners through guidelines for improving platform star rating systems and revising related regulations.
On the 2nd, a review posted on an online community showed that a recent customer, Mr. A, ordered agujjim (braised monkfish) through a delivery app and posted a photo of the food in the review section, writing, "It's delicious. But I like bean sprouts, and there were too few of them," followed by "Still, it was tasty."
Mr. A gave a 4-star rating out of 5. The restaurant owner who saw Mr. A's review replied, "You felt there were not enough bean sprouts. If you had requested more bean sprouts because you like them, we would have just added more," and added, "You enjoyed the food, but you gave one star less because of the bean sprouts... It pains my heart. Thank you for your order."
The problem arose when Mr. A ordered agujjim from the same restaurant again. In the star rating review section, Mr. A wrote, "I ordered a single serving for the first time, but all I remember is eating bean sprouts. It used to be delicious when I ordered before, but I don't think this is a proper single serving," and left a much lower 2-star rating than before.
After reading the customer's harsh review, the store owner expressed a feeling of injustice, saying, "I did as you requested, so how could you leave such a malicious review?" / Photo by SNS capture
The restaurant owner, after reading the review, expressed frustration, saying, "Customer, last time you ordered agujjim and said it was delicious, and you left a 4-star review saying the bean sprouts were insufficient from your perspective," and added, "This time, you requested a lot of bean sprouts in the special requests, so I deliberately added more, but how can you leave such a malicious review?"
He continued, "There has been a lot of talk recently about star rating power harassment during these difficult times, and we are experiencing it too," and lamented, "I’m sorry to say this, but please do not use our restaurant anymore. We are not confident we can satisfy your taste. Please do not torment us with malicious reviews."
Netizens who read the story criticized it as 'excessive power harassment.' One netizen pointed out, "Knowing full well that self-employed business owners’ sales can be swayed by a single star rating, would someone really want to do this?" Another netizen expressed outrage, saying, "Malicious reviews seem to be causing suffering to too many people. If this is the case, it would be better to eliminate star ratings and reviews altogether. What is the purpose of reviews?"
On the 3rd of last month, a case of 'star rating abuse' was reported, where a customer demanded an additional food item worth about 7,000 won while placing an order. / Photo by Internet homepage capture
This is not the first time the so-called 'star rating power harassment' controversy has arisen. Earlier, on the 3rd of last month, a consumer ordered food at a sushi restaurant and said, "I'm so hungry. Please add 4 more salmon sushi. I will post a nice review," and demanded, "No combined delivery. Please come immediately. I am timing the delivery," which sparked public outrage. The restaurant owner who received the order said, "The customer requested sushi worth 7,000 won as a free service," expressing disbelief.
In June, Mr. B, who ran a gimbap restaurant in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage and eventually passed away after receiving a complaint call from a customer who ordered food through a delivery app. The customer demanded a partial refund, claiming the color of the shrimp tempura was unusual, and after Mr. B refused, the customer hurled abusive language and left a 1-star review on the delivery app.
Despite such situations, most restaurant owners have no choice but to endure. Complaining about a so-called '1-star review' often leads to more malicious reviews or complaints. In effect, these are 'power harassment reviews.'
According to a 'Delivery App Usage Survey' released last month by the Justice Party's '6411 Livelihood Special Committee' and the 'Justice Policy Research Institute,' 63.3% of self-employed delivery app users in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon reported experiencing damage from star rating terrorism or malicious reviews. This means 6 out of 10 self-employed delivery app users have experienced power harassment.
The reason owners are forced to be swayed by power harassment reviews is that delivery app star ratings and reviews have an absolute impact on sales. In the survey released by the Justice Party, 7 out of 10 self-employed business owners said star rating terrorism or malicious reviews affect their sales. 38.8% answered "very much," and 35.5% answered "to some extent."
Members of civic groups including the People's Livelihood Hope Headquarters of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the National Franchisee Council are holding a press conference condemning the delivery app review and rating system. / Photo by Yonhap News
The enormous influence of delivery apps in the food service industry is also a problem. According to data from the mobile app analytics company 'Mobile Index,' as of January, the total monthly active users of major domestic delivery apps such as Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, and Coupang Eats reached 29.21 million. This means the vast majority of the adult population in Korea uses delivery apps. This explains why star rating review scores have such a huge impact on restaurant profits.
Given this situation, delivery platforms are actively managing star rating reviews. For example, Baedal Minjok and Yogiyo have strengthened sanctions by using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to monitor and delete false, abusive, and malicious reviews in real time. Baedal Minjok has reportedly deleted over 62,000 malicious reviews since its service launch about 10 years ago.
The government is also preparing measures to protect self-employed business owners from malicious reviews and excessive power harassment. On the 11th, the Korea Communications Commission announced guidelines for improving platform service review and star rating systems to encourage voluntary compliance by businesses, and plans to review revisions to the prohibited acts regulations under the Telecommunications Business Act in the long term.
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