One-star reviews from people who never came in: a Northumberland pub's view

Karen Errington runs the Rat Inn at Anick, near Hexham, which sits 8th in this year's Top 50 Gastropubs list. Writing in The Morning Advertiser, she says feedback culture has gone too far.

What she has seen - A one-star review from someone who walked from Corbridge on a hot day and found the pub closed, without checking the opening times online - A caller who wanted to book Sunday lunch but first had to check the roast potatoes were plain, then called duck fat "REVOLTING"

Her advice from an industry friend: don't read review sites. She says she has found that "quite liberating".

On your shift: you can't stop people reviewing, but you can cut the easy ones. Make sure the opening hours on your website and Google listing are right, especially around clocks changing and winter hours. When a guest asks a fussy question on the phone, answer it straight and tell them exactly what they'll get, so nobody turns up expecting something else. And if a review stings, pass it to your manager and get back to the people actually in front of you.