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- Sphinn It!
Went Hot: October 19, 2007 - 1:19 pm
Posted By: MattMcGee 627 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://gesterling.wordpress.com)
Category: Local & Maps
One step back for local search....
8 Comments
Comments
Good argument for a reputation management campaign. Important to know which review services are popular in your local area, and at the least, they should be monitored regularly.
I actually agree with the general message this cafe is putting out there -- talk to us if you have a problem with our food/service. At the same time, trying to ban Yelpers is pretty narrow-minded. But if you believe the "any publicity is good publicity" thing, then more power to them for all the buzz they've started.
I love Yelp and have met a lot of great people through it because unlike many Social Networks Yelp has an Offline aspect. If you live in the Bay Area, Yelp is a way of life and banning Yelpers cannot be good for that business.
What a great find, Matt! Thanks for Sphinning that.
I agree with you that the customer should attempt to speak to the staff first. Staff should be trained to handle customer complaints with attentive concern, particularly now that the penalty for not doing so could be a terrible business review.
In my own 'review' career, I have now written 3 negative reviews of inns my husband and I stayed at. The first time, I was so disgusted by the filthy conditions, I left without even trying to talk to the owners. It was just unacceptable. The second time, I reported my complaints to the manager, who reacted without appropriate concern. The third time, I reported my complaints to the manager, who seemed like they were possibly on drugs they were so out of it. It is knowing that I have the potential to warn others away from a bad experience that has made me adamant about bringing a bad situation to the responsible party, first, and giving them a chance to respond. I then know how to respond in my review.
My, this subject surely is full of interest. Great job, Greg Sterling!
Miriam
I think thats genius.
I am a fairly avid yelper and I think its hilarious.
I love it because most people that post on the 'net are negative in the first place, they're too timid to confront the issue and post their venomous reviews anonymously instead of telling the manager and trying to help management fix the issues.
On the flip side, people that *LOVE* the place will tell all their friends to go back while people with a bee in their butt will just continue to kvetch online.
It's definitely one-sided as most (spineless) people try to avoid confrontation at any cost, probably overtipped, then Yelped about it suchking so I can see why the owners are upset.
I'm sort of surprised by all the people taking up for management here. While there's a good point to be made about asking that your customers tell you in person if something is wrong, this seems like a horrible business move to have your business known as the one that tells online reviewers:
"Customers usually get treated like shit 'cause they treat the person behind the counter with no respect... Thanks for not visitings us again." On a review that I felt was fairly helpful.
Yelp to me seems like it could be a perfect place to supplement in-person complaints. If you have a person going around telling forty friends how horrible the service in Rooz Cafe is, you don't know and you don't know how to make it right. Steve could have easily contacted the bad reviewers and said, "Come back and try us again." and then you have a much better buzz.
It's surprising when we're hearing about Zappos how some businesses still get it horribly wrong.
@IncrediBILL - just as an FYI, Yelp itself will tell you that 85% of the reviews posted on the site are positive. And Bazaarvoice, perhaps the leading provider of product review software for online retailers, says that 80% of reviews posted on its client sites are positive.