Anonymous

Bob,

I agree with your view of the problem. Paid reviews are nothing less than blackmail.

The Golden Gate Restaurant Association is working on the problem, and in a recent conversation with them, they pointed out that what appears on Yelp's website and what actually happens with them are two different things.

The Internet is proving more and more to be problematic as bloggers have virtually wiped out the traditional soft opening period with reviews even before the restaurant opens, and some ne'erdowell guide sites spring up and seize upon a business model that is nothing less than hurtful to the industry.

Traditional sites like Zagat, Restaurant-Guide.com, and several others, including well-established newspapers are often bypassed by potential diners, particularly foodies and food bloggers who are searching not for the great meal, but the best story. This reminds me of a New York blogger who reviewed a restaurant with the pre-determined mind-set to destroy it because he did not get the official PR scoop about the opening. Vindictive? You bet!

PR firms, even those specializing in restaurants have been struggling to balance the fine line between notifying bloggers and magazines which have a longer lead time than anything online. Many PR specialists in the industry are inexperienced with the blogging world and the speed at which a blogger can write a review.

Restaurateurs take heed. Forget the soft opening. Keep your doors closed and test the staff and kitchen's work solely with immediate family and closest friends. Don't even think about opening the doors to potential guests until you know every single thing is absolutely perfect. If you do, you risk a negative blog review.

Why is this important if you get a major local newspaper that's positive? Because when people Google your restaurant, after your own site, the next one listed will be that less than positive review. Your guests will read it and when they come in, they'll be comparing you to what the blogger said, not what the more qualified newspaper critic wrote.

The industry is facing an uphill battle with underqualified dining guide operators and bloggers alike. Before any restaurant accepts an offer or solicitation for anything paid online, they should discuss it with a restaurant consultant or qualified PR strategist.

Anonymous

Yelp is an interesting site - I think it's valuable, but all reviewers need to understand the importance of being a critic... the responsibility lies in encouraging the reviewee to become the best and do a better job. Whether you're reviewing a theatrical production, restaurant, or whatever, it's important to remember a lot of people have put a lot of their lives into making something that makes people happy. What we don't need is to have our dreams squashed, but to have the constructive criticism needed to make things better.

Anonymous

Thanks for the advice, today I actually recieved a letter and a sticker from Yelp congratulating our restaurant and to post the sticker.

Anonymous

This is one of the problems that I am trying to solve with my site . My site lets restaurateurs connect with diners and get feedback . You can get reviews too but the difference is that you can communicate with the reviewer so that you can solve problems if there are any .
I believe that if a diner has a problem with a restaurant experience they will 1st want to contact the restaurant operator before going to another site to post negative reviews .

The problem I see is that most restaurants don't have a clear and obvious way for a diner to communicate . Basically when you visit a restaurant there is nothing that is jumping at you and inviting you to leave feedback, so diners that are frustrated just go online to their favorite site and complain . Of course not all reviews are bad but if you are the unfortunate restaurant operator with a few bad reviews it will impact you severely because there are so many other choices that diners have to eat from .

Basically my site lets you get feedback from diners and connect with them . If you are open to feedback and if you communicate with the diners they will come to you first . They only go to other sites because they think nothing will be done about their feeback and also you have to let people know that you want to hear from them and also be willing to take action .
My site is www.dinersfeedback.com . I am looking for restaurateurs interested in testing it . I also have a blog with a lot of feedback stories . It is dinersfeedback.wordpress.com

Basically my site is like customer service for restaurateurs . You wont bypass a companies customer service phone number or site just to go complin somewhere that you know cant solve your problem . Diners want results so they will come to you first if you let them know that you welcome their feedback whether positive or negative .

Anonymous

This is what the copy on Yelp!'s site says about the "blackmail option":

"Favorite Review: Feature one of your favorite reviews at the top of your business page. It is a great way to put your best foot forward."

Let's consider this. In addition to adding slideshow and upcoming events features, the Sponsorship level membership, as indicated above, allows a restaurant to take an already written review and show it first. So what? The review itself is not paid, comped, or solicited - it is a review that is already in their portfolio.

Many restaurants have a poor web presence and their Yelp! listing might be the first Google result. If they choose (unwisely, in my opinion) to not develop or not have a real website, this is an alternative to help put out a banner to attract customers. In the currently horrible economic climate, Bob & Betty's Diner might be willing to put $150 into this little Yelp! promotion, rather than spend many hours and/or hundreds-to-thousands of dollars to build their website.

Does it or will it drag down the overall reputation of Yelp! among its community of reviewers? Hard to say. As a user of the site, I didn't always assume that the most recent review was the one on top - so many other aggregate directories default to having a featured blurb on top anyway.

Further, any restaurant with just one review or all positive reviews is going to get more in-depth scrutiny - surely someone must have had a mediocre experience, right?

Time will ultimately tell, but I do not see this new capability as evil.

(from Andrea in Albuquerque)

Anonymous

Hi Bob,
You started the article with The writer said it best – "Is this a Service or a Shakedown"

Is there an article you are referring to . Anyway while try to find the article I saw this article http://willdo.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/2008/07/elitists_whine.html

Ok Ok ..I found the article
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/06/30/story1.html?b=1214798400%5E1660726

Anonymous

Interesting take on Yelp's service. At Menuism.com, all the restaurant owner offerings are free. Owners can claim their listing, write a welcome message and reply to diners at no cost. If diners are free to voice their opinion on the site then owners should be able to respond for free. Here's an example: http://www.menuism.com/hitea

Anonymous

I find the general response by owners and operators to the many websites that offer public reviews an oddity. While it may pinch your ego, unless the complaint is wildly egregious, it is probably not going to damage your reputation or image. I liken the experience to being a Professional Waiter of almost 30-years and having suffered a variety of mystery shopper reports. I have been addressed with the tone and demeanor of Spain’s historical period of “The Inquisition” because of mystery shopper reports. Be they accurate or not… I had no recourse to defend myself and just suffered the insult and waited for it to go away. Sometimes the wheels come off the wagon and you crash. What is important is that the complaints not escalate on the same topic repeatedly. Ironically, operators regularly claim, “How can this be! Our food and service is outstanding!” Don’t all restaurants make that claim? Yet the #1 complaint is service. So… get over these internet reviews and focus on those customers within the four walls of your operation right now. That’s building your reputation and credentials the old fashion way: we EARN IT!
Paul C Paz
www.WaitersWorld.com

Anonymous

Hahahha - Anothe Yelp article . I guess they are popping up everywhere

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/02/angry-businesses-organize-anti-yelp-websites-this-is-a-sure-sign-of-their-success/#comments

Anonymous

PAY IT!!! It is the 21st century and positioning yourself on a website is as valuable commodity as a good ad space was 20 years ago. YELP is making you money. When I travel, it is a site that I review to find restaurants and other places that you might not normally find in a travel guide. With today's ever increasing usage of the internet for information - you would be foolish not to avail yourself to this. BE BOLD THINK - THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Anonymous

Totally agree Bob! When did we lose sight of the need to demand integrity from these people? It's simply fashionable now to create sites like Yelp to take advantage of the internet's "new found social nature" and leverage it for your own benefit and damn the need for responsible and accurate content.

Jeffrey Summers, President
Restaurant Coaching Solutions

Anonymous

Bob:

I looked up YELP in Philadelphia and checked out the site. First, I have to note that YELP is a site designed to allow anyone with internet access to comment, complain or rate any service or establishment in the area. It is not a professional restaurant review site. In this case, any rating or review depends upon the qualifications of the writer. Since I love Chinese food I looked at the ratings, read some reviews and checked a few good restaurants where I have dined many times. In one case the review was not complementary, the eater, I hesitate to call him a diner, ordered the most mundane soup and appetizer, and main course on the menu and then complained. He should have gone to his neighborhood takeout! The order of the list was almost random with a noodle house number one, a lunch truck at Penn in the top five and Susana Foo number 34 on the list. For me, this is a lot to do about nothing! When we have ratings we have to look at the raters first. As a restaurant, it is useful to be listed on any site. For example the Noodle House looked interesting to try. However, I would suggest that the restaurants invest in themselves rather that some new internet startup venture which will have little impact on their business.

Leo B. Fox
Associate Wine Editor
RestaurantReport.com

Robert Bickell

Vigilante Justice????

I get it – it's the internet and anything goes. The four letter words in Yelp reviews are perfectly acceptable. It's a fun thing and these people are having a ball (at the expense of the local restaurant community). Restaurants are fair game and the public can write anything they so desire, and I can tell you that negative reviews are infinitely more popular that the positive ones.

Just read #4 from Yelp's own advice for business owners...

"DON'T lash out at the people who have written negative reviews about you. Tempting as that may be, we see that backfiring in some cases as the Yelp community may up the ante and even engage in "vigilante justice" by spreading more negativity. Try to remember, "the customer is always right".

"Vigilante justice" from the Yelp writers – it does sound somewhat threatening. My question is how do we know that the writers are really customers, and guess what – the customer is not always right (a subject for another day). I could write a negative review on any restaurant in San Francisco and never even visit the City. What more do you have to know?

The various sites are basically all the same – the public provides the free and easy content, and the owners of the sites send bills to the restaurants (Yelp calls them sponsorships).

I will never understand how a responsible restaurant owner can support a concept that allows the public to bash his or her industry.

BB

Anonymous

I usually agree with Bob and once again, he proves this is an excellent topic. As a publicist for independent restaurants, I am SO against this sort of thing. I myself have been contact by Yelp (among others) to have client pay for what I would call "tiered promotion" on their site. I like the old fashioned way. Let the critics do their jobs, and let the food writers write. I do think outside the box, but let's call this what it is ADVERTISING!!!!! It's just putting a new spin on a old trick. If you want to advertise liek that your best bet is to take out an advertorial in yoru local paper(written by a professional) and call it a day! As a publicist, my job is to get the writers interested in the restaurant. If I can get them to a establishment, it then becomes their responsibility to hold up their end and execute geat food and service. If all that happens you have a perfect restaurant world and frankly, for me, a perfect client!

Anonymous

Hmm... I don't see anything wrong with what Yelp is doing. They are not providing positive reviews or giving option to delete negative reviews... only a way to show your restaurant above the generic results... I don't see what is so wrong with that... it is still objective and reviews are not skewed...

Yelp is actually one of the good sites that does provide excellent way to rate the reviewer... When I'm using Yelp I always rate the review so it is helpful to others... plus whoever only reads a single review...

Umer Farooq
Do you need restaurant insurance? Talk to me.

Anonymous

I hate Yelp. They never respond to you when you need customer support. Any reviews that need to looked at they dont respond. Terrible customer support.

Anonymous

Yelp has two problems. One: they treat their advertisers differently than regular businesses, because their advertisers are worth a lot of money. Two: they are too cliquish to expand beyond their targeted market, and have pretty much ignored Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Brownbook.net doesn't charge business owners to reply to reviews, and doesn't pay people to leave reviews. We also allow reviews globally, not just England, where we started. If you're angry at Yelp, come over to Brownbook!

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