Yelping Out Loud
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The writer said it best – “Is this a Service or a Shakedown”
(San Francisco Business Times article)
The good folks at Yelp in San Francisco have taken the public restaurant reviews to a whole new level, and it’s not a pretty picture. When the media encourages the public to literally hold a gun to the heads of the restaurant community, and in so doing, ask the restaurants to pay ($150) to guarantee a positive review to be posted first, I see this as major league problem.
Yelp calls the $150.00 a “sponsorship” – I would call it something else (the word blackmail actually comes to mind). Of course, it’s outrageous on the part of the web site, but sad that the restaurant community in San Francisco is not only allowing this to happen, they are supporting it with their hard-earned dollars.
I can’t say it often enough – as interesting (and profitable) as the public reviews might be, how can you trust them? How do we know that the latest review that slams a given restaurant was submitted by someone who was ever in the given dining room? The answer is that we don’t know, and by definition, the entire process is not to be trusted.
The restaurants continue to support the very sites that are helping to put them out of business. I actually see this as a bigger problem than the Yelps of the world asking for so-called sponsorships. You can rationalize all you want to and even conclude that these reviews help the restaurants get better. You are also allowed to believe in the Easter Bunny.
It’s a bad situation that continues to get worse, and the restaurants have it difficult enough without the public assaults. Each and every time you write a check to one of these sites, you contribute to the demise of the restaurant business as we know it.
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Comments
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.
Andrea in Albuquerque
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
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
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.
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
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 contacted 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 like 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!
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…
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.