Frequently Asked Questions

Isn't it great to know about a restaurants food, atmosphere and service before you eat there?

So whenever you eat somewhere we want to hear about it and so do thousands of our readers from the community. Sharing a few words about your experience can make a lot of difference in deciding a venue for someone and every opinion counts and is appreciated by the fellow readers. So let your experience be shared and write a restaurant review!

DineSmart provides you a platform to share your experience and an extensive database of restaurants, cafe's, eateries and many kind of food-joints, where you can easily search your favourite restaurant and read a number of reviews to help you decide on a lovely place to eat.

It's FREE to register now for access to exclusive offers and special FanMail deals from your favourite restaurants nationwide. Once you are a member you can post your own reviews - each one giving you a chance to win our monthly prize pack and as a member you will be able to send private messages to other reviewers too.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions which are not included in this section and we will endeavour to help you out.

Reviewers

• I want to review a restauant. What do I do?
  Great, just sign-up as a member and you can submit your review in no time. To review a restaurant, simply find the restaurant you would like to review under our restaurant search, click on Add Your Review the large brown tab just below your restaurants listing and follow the simple instructions.
• Why do I need to register?
  You can read the reviews and view the site without registering, but to share and submit your reviews you need to register with your full details and create a username. As a member you will also have access to view special offers and invitations extended by our FanBase restaurants.
• Would my personal details be visible to everyone?
  No. The username created by you is the only name which will be visible on the website or on the restaurants list of fans. Your profile details are for our records only.
• What does this 'sign me up as a Fan' thing do?
  As a Fan of one of our FanBase restaurants, you will be one of the first to hear (via e-mail) about any special offers or invitations they are sending out. Please be assured that the restaurants do not get your e-mail address. The e-mails are all sent via the DineSmart website.
• I am getting a lot of e-mails - how do I switch them off?
  You may have selected the whole of New Zealand or multiple cities while signing up as a Fan and because of that you will get offers and invitations sent out by any restaurant you are a fan of. Go into your account and click on My Restaurants then scroll down to Reset My 'Fans List'. Change it to a city you live in if you do not travel a lot, or just choose to be a Fan of the restaurants you have reviewed.
• How do I manage my restaurant fanlist?
  It's very easy, just login and go to My Restaurants. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and change your options (from all of NZ to just your city for example). You can also go through the list to update and edit the restaurants you already have or can include new favourites to it.
• What are the advantages of being a DineSmart VIP?
  Any reviews submitted by DineSmart VIP's are added automatically, on the other hand Public Reviewers need to have their review authorised by a DineSmart Admin before it goes live on the DineSmart website.
• How can I get DineSmart VIP status?
  Just keep submitting the reviews and we will keep an eye on your progress and let you know when you qualify for VIP status.

Subscriptions

• How do I subscribe or unsubscribe from the DineSmart newsletter?
  Log in to DineSmart and go to 'my details' which is on the top right hand side of the page. Now click on the Newsletter tab. Check or uncheck the box accordingly.

Reviews

• What are the rules or guidelines for submitting a review?
  We cannot accept any reviews that use foul language, include allegations of dishonesty or accuse a restaurant of making them ill etc
• Provide information How was the food, service, environment etc? Good, bad or average. Briefly explain with a small description what you liked and disliked.
• Avoid bringing up other restaurants names eg. the quality or quantity of food at ABC in the town is way better. In this case we will decline the review and ask you to edit it or we will edit it ourselves before posting the review.
• Why can I not call people names?
  It's a website for people to share their experiences and we simply can't accept slander.
• Can I share good experiences only or is it possible to share bad experiences as well?
  You are allowed to write whatever you have experienced as long as you are following the general guidelines eg. not using foul language, making allegations or accusations etc. We get a range of reviews on a daily basis, ranging from awful experiences, to standard, and some just marvellous.
• Why can I not rate a restaurant 10?
  We do not accept all tens and zeros. But if you actually think that all tens or zeros is suitable, let us know and we will evaluate that on its merits.
• Why has my review been declined?
  When we decline a review, we notify the reviewer of the reasons. Generally it is for something which can be easily fixed. Once edited as requested by our admin staff you can re submit your review and we will take another look.
• Why has my review still not been accepted?
  Occasionally it can take a few days to certify all the reviews we receive, so please be patient. We will inform you when it has been accepted or when it has been declined.
• What do I do in a situation where I think a review is unfair? Or if I think it is excellent and other people are judging it unfairly?
  In a situation like this, you can use the 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down' feature. it is directly under the review where it says 'Was this review helpful?'. Choose these icons to vote for reviews. After a few votes it may be voted off, or rescued. Please note you can only vote once, our system keeps track and will not register multiple votes.

Restaurants and their details

• How much do restaurants pay to be listed on DineSmart?
  As a basic listing with the name and address of the restaurant, it will be FREE on DineSmart, but to develop your profile and get noticed we recommend a FanBase listing. This is like your own website visible to our DineSmart visitors with the ability to market directly to your own FanBase of keen DineSmart members.
• What does it cost to get a FanBase listing?
  Contact our customer service team on 03 353 4190 or just contact us and we can discuss your options with you. Find out more on our Restaurant Owners page.
• Can I inform you of a restaurant not listed on DineSmart or if one of the listed restaurants has closed down?
  We have many restaurants on DineSmart from all over New Zealand, and we put a lot of time and effort into keeping that database updated for everyone. Please do let us know if something has changed or of a new inclusion and we will adjust the database. To submit a new restaurant just go to Add a Restaurant , fill out the details and it will be added to the site.
• I've joined your FanBase programme. How do I use it?
  First you need to activate your account by clicking the link on the email we send you and completing the online process. Shortly after you will receive an email with a password and a shortcut link to access your restaurant administration. You can also get to the login area by clicking on 'Update Details' just below your restaurant listing and entering your password. Once you have logged in you will see a Help Tab to step you through how it all works. If you are finding it difficult just give us a call on 03 353 4190 or contact us and we will help you to activate your account, set up your listing with photo's and menu's and send out an offer to your fans!

DineSmart Stats

• How many restaurants do you have?
  5,390
• How many reviews do you have?
  31,991
• How many reviewers do you have?
  19,208 of which 2 are DineSmart VIPs and 7 are DineSmart Admins