Yelp Extortion

After reading the first article that had been forward on to me, I was slightly upset with Yelp and almost ready to cancel my account and delete all my reviews. On some level I always assumed that they did this but choose to ignore it. I did this because I found Yelp to be helpful and had provided me with ideas of new places to try. I decided to stay with Yelp because of the new and interesting people that I’ve met by attending some of the Yelp sponsored and unofficial events. Some of them very cool, some of them completely out there and I would be afraid knowing if they were anywhere near my home. I imagine its about the same mix of people that you find on Amazon who review products. With Yelp it is nice to put a face to the reviewer.

With the second article I started to think less about Yelp and more about the businesses. Yes, Yelp does ask restaurants/bars/etc to host “Elite” events for their top reviewers where the booze and food is free. I’m not 100% sure but I don’t believe that Yelp pays a dime for this, the host place picks up the tab. In turn the Elite usually will give good reviews, nothing shocking really anything free will usually get a positive reaction from Yelpers. I can’t say that I’ve ever been back to any of the hosted sites or recommended them for that matter outside of Yelp. For the unofficial places I typically attend multiple times and will recommend. Why? Cheap drinks and lots of seating. Spend your marketing dollars elsewhere. Chances of Elites (at least in my area) coming back and or spreading the word about your place outside of Yelp are slim. You will probably be remembered for a few minutes until the next place comes along. Think longer term.

Businesses need to realize 4 things about Yelp:

1. People will always complain on the internet, get used to it. You dot have to be in person to do it and can say pretty much whatever you want, even if it isn’t true. I have to admit that there have been times where I have had an awful experience all the while thinking that I cant wait to get home and share this on Yelp – sad but true, I know. If anything you can take from negative reviews are ways to improve your business and future customer visits.

2. Don’t feed the trolls. I actually look for a few negative reviews before visiting a place, if its too perfect then I usually assume something is up.  Don’t go after them and attack them at all. From personal experience, my fiancee gave a bad review to a local place and got hounded by the owner to the point she just gave up on Yelp. Good for the business owner right? Not so much since she told everyone she knows how rude the owner was to her and that she would never ever go there again. Word of mouth is much more damaging than Yelp could ever be.

3. Word of mouth is still more powerful. Yelp will never replace friends, family, or co-workers. Even as an active user I still ask friends before doing a Yelp search. I trust them way over Yelp and most of my co-workers have never even heard of Yelp yet.

4. Run your business and treat your customers like you would want to be treated and you wont have to worry about Yelp reviews. Simple I know but its the little things that matter the most, good customer service is key. Almost annoying that I need to state this.

Yelp has huge potential to change the way we browse for a bar, restaurant, doctor, etc. Businesses who focus on their business performance/service and staying on top of things shouldn’t even have to worry about Yelp. They will be the ones getting the 5 stars anyways.

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