Today (14.08.2025) we’re celebrating something I consider truly extraordinary. We’ve hit four thousand reviews on Google Maps and, at the very same time—pure coincidence—our average rating climbed from 4.5 to 4.6. I think we’ve pulled off something both fantastic and fascinating.
First of all, let’s be clear: 4,000 reviews on Google Maps, with no tricks, no fake boosts, and fully in line with Google’s rules here in Vienna—that’s already a huge accomplishment. It’s significant. I checked: in our segment, we simply don’t have any competition on this metric.
The other, and probably the most important point, is that our average rating went up from 4.5 to 4.6. Honestly, I’ve never heard of that happening with this many reviews. Our case is the first I personally know of where someone managed to pull it off. And I’m incredibly proud of it.
Here’s some background. When we had up to around 1,600 reviews, our average rating was 4.8. That was amazing. Truly impressive. But from that point, the score started sliding—4.7, then 4.6, and eventually down to 4.5. Why that happened is a story for another time.
I spent a long time thinking about how to fight this wave of negativity. And one day, it clicked. I tried a bunch of different tactics to increase the number of reviews, and finally, one of the ideas worked! It took months of trial and error before the idea came to life. Today, we’re averaging about 250 reviews a month. For a pure to-go spot, without hiring any agencies or paying for fake boosts, that’s pretty solid. And let me stress again—all 100% of our reviews are honest, real, and voluntary.
I calculated that to raise the average by just one-tenth of a star, at least 95% of the next thousand reviews needed to be five-star ratings. And that’s exactly what happened. It took 1,000 new reviews to move the needle. That took about four months of focused work with our team, plus some clever solutions along the way. And here we are.
The next goal? To get back to 4.8. I figure it’ll take another 3,000 to 4,000 reviews, with 95% of them at five stars. That could take a year to a year and a half of the same kind of effort—or maybe even better—plus new creative approaches. But to have a 4.8 rating built on 8,000 reviews? That would be extraordinary. That’s a worthy goal.
Of course, beyond working with visitors and applying techniques to hit these numbers, the main reason for such a rating comes down to the quality of service and product. In our case—Fenster’s case—the core asset, the true capital of the business, is the team, at every level.
For guests to willingly give us five stars, the company puts in a lot of work. It sounds obvious, but it’s both the truth and the reality. At the end of the day, that’s what our job is: to keep improving endlessly and to come up with new products.
I’m deeply grateful to our management for understanding our mission so clearly, and to the whole team for responding to the challenges we set—and most importantly, for sharing the values we’re working to create and uphold. Once again, I want to emphasize: our current team is the best, and I’m proud of them! Just as I’m grateful to our guests who get what we’re doing, who love it, and who come to us every day—for the most expensive cup of coffee in Vienna!
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