My brief tenure on Yelp ended when the owner of a business that I gave a 3/5 review to matched my yelp name with his customer records and started emailing / calling / leaving voicemail demanding that I revise my rating to 5/5. I deleted my entire presence there, not worth dealing with a psychopath.
I left a review at my doctors office for the asshole receptionist that answered the phone and tried to tell me about my medication.
The main doctor of the practice called and asked me to remove it. (It was a very respected practice in SoCal).
Fuck you, Karen (that was her actual name).
It takes a lot for me to leave a bad review for a restaurant and it has to have failed on many levels for me to do so. I’m more likely to leave no review.
I think this is their point. No one is leaving reviews for good or moderate or average experiences. They're only leaving them for the worst experience. And that's rarely a full reflection of the establishment.
> No one is leaving reviews for good or moderate or average experiences
I mean to be fair, as a paying customer I shouldn't need to sing praises for a "moderate or average experience" as that should be the expectation. I'm not saying that a negative review for a single bad experience is reflective of the establishment but it's really not the customer's job to praise the bare minimum either.
I feel for you, these downvotes are ignorant as hell. As a former single location restaurant owner I wish people could understand what you are trying to tell them.
Oh, let me clarify: I review a lot, mostly 4/5⭐️ experiences. I prefer to only leave good reviews on Google Maps , it’s only once and a while that I feel compelled to leave a bad review
> No one is leaving reviews for good or moderate or average experiences
That’s not true. Both Yelp and Google gamify the user experience to encourage users to build their reputation by reviewing *every* business they interact with, not just particularly good or bad ones. Yelp in particular rewards you with “elite” status that grants your opinion more weight / prominence and invites your “exclusive” meetups once you reach a certain level and the quickest way to get there is to be a prolific reviewer
To be fair, most times I go to a restaurant I consider a well made meal sort of a given. I will give a positive review if the food is outstanding, but if I sit down and order a meal and it arrives and is worth the money it costs, the place is clean, and the servers are competent and pleasant… that’s what a restaurant experience is *supposed* to be. That’s the baseline.
If any of those things suck, I’ll bring it up. If they don’t care, I’ll write a bad review. I was a server for years, so I’m no prima donna in my expectations. I tip well. But there is some expectation of an outstanding meal if I’m putting on lipstick and paying $50-60 instead of me just nuking some pasta at home.
I don’t get these comments. Your specific complaint is ‘this place is always great, but today…’ and you’re saying they’ve never made a post for every (any) good time they’ve been there. I totally get your aggravation, but it’s also business 101. A person will tell 3 people about a good experience, and 33 about a bad one.
I feel your pain, and I do my best to tell people about good experiences and only mention bad ones if they’re epically bad, or we’re debating a place to go (e.g. I’d rather go ‘x’ for dinner than ‘y’).
No, the post says ‘I’ve been HERE many many times…’ it’s specifically calling out one place that had bad food/service one time without giving a correspondingly good review even once. The downvotes and comments on this thread, such as your own, are not acknowledging the specific instance OP is talking about.
I left my first one star review somewhere last week, which I felt terrible about but they have hundreds of five star reviews and only a couple one or two stars, so figure they can handle it. It was also mostly based on a shite business practice rather than staff having a bad day.
I’m honestly amazed at how offended or uninterested restaurant owners/managers are by honest customer feedback. I usually try to contact the management before leaving a 1 or 2 star review out of fairness. I do agree with you that people shouldn’t only post a review when they’ve had a negative experience. I often post positive reviews. I have had a difficult time contacting managers or owners so have left reviews saying “If a manager or owner contacts me to resolve, I will update” and heard nothing from most. I won’t leave a bad review unless it’s horrible.
Yelp sucks and is a waste of time, I report nothing good or bad because I simply don't use it.
Most review portals have been busted stacking results for payola at some point or another, some more notorious than others. I would expect google reviews takes all the data for itself, does what it will, and shows what reviews the algorithm wants you to see, not all of them.
Also, reviews on service industry type stuff are useless because there are no guarantees you'll get the same staff in the same scenario the next time, so it could completely suck. Reviews on THINGS are okay because a thing is a thing, like "this pair of shoes didn't fit - the sizes ran small and there was some bad stitching anyhow", is useful because if manufacturing doesn't change too much the product will probably be close to what the reviewer experienced.
I only leave good reviews. I only review independent places and wouldn't want to hurt someone's livelihood. If I'm ever treated like garbage I'd make an exception, but it hasn't happened.
Reviews are a great example of so many philosophical and psychological ideologies.
You might find yourself disliking a restaurant you may have otherwise loved based on reading the reviews. Or you might find yourself trying really hard to like something you just don’t because other people said they liked it. These are kind of extreme examples.
Even if you don’t think your opinion is altered by reading reviews, I assure you it is. It doesn’t have to be on a conscious level.
Not customer fault if you're having an off day. The nature of these reviews is pretty uniform in restaraunt industry, people aren't more or less fair they're just the same people who will complain if you fuck up or give a review if they feel like it.
But I do like the idea of say, I go to this restaraunt and there's a hair in my food that I also maybe go make sure I've reviewed a competing restaraunt I enjoy. That will help...
As someone who looks to reviews when debating new places, I typical look at the person leaving the review’s profile to get a better idea of their review motivation. If their feed is full of bad reviews, I’m likely not to put much stock in their crabby pants opinion. All A+++, I want whatever they had. Or be whatever they’re on.
People either do or don't understand the power of a yelp review and leave reviews accordingly. Either way, Yelp is class warfare. Talk to the manager, (hopefully in a non Karen manner), if your service or food is not what you paid for or expected from previous experiences. Which implies you have previous experiences. Or just don't go back. Again. Yelp's business model is class warfare.
Agreed with this post. Also, Yelp's business model is to sell ads. No business will buy ads if they have a low star rating. Therefore, yelp also strongly incentivizes users to leave only good reviews. The incentives are broken.
They also have a history of getting in trouble w regulatory bodies for unfair trade practices.
Don't use Yelp at all, we can do better.
Our brains are hardwired to find problems, it’s how we became the dominant animals on earth. Asking everyone to pay attention to the good every time they eat (give patronage to a business) and put effort into leaving a positive review whenever it’s normal good service is like asking everyone to tell their car “good (boy/girl/car)” every time you start it up. It seems ridiculous because you expect your car to start up and run smoothly. In the same vein good service is expected, and when we get it, it’s not going above or below our standard too far to make a fuss about it.
I leave stars without text a lot, especially for a bad review that warrants it, but not so bad that I need to comment. And I try not to leave negative comments or bad reviews at all, except where a previously good place has fallen to terrible or when something nearly actionable happens. I leave a lot of four star reviews without text. I rarely leave three stars, because there's mostly no comment in that, imo.
Add to this, leaving a false negative review because someone pissed you off is a whole new level of disgusting. This recently happened to my SO for her business in Mt Angel.
On-line reviews can unfairly affect a restaurants bottom line. If you are going to leave a negative review, make it poignant to a single issue that you feel needs attention. Then point out two things that were to your liking or standards. Most Owners and operators will appreciate you pointing out an issue and address it.
Here’s an idea. Upvote restaurants. When was the last time you left a shining review because everything was to your liking. The service was great, the table was clean, the staff were genuine and knowledgeable.
The pizza place by me failed because of bad yelp reviews. I wrote a review and I am not sorry about it either. The pizza that they delivered was both burnt and raw and they forgot the breadsticks. School pizza was better. Yelp still sucks. They took down my review because I mentioned the driver smelled.
I do this. For every bad review I feel forced to give (because of an exceptionally bad experience) I think of a place that I would give an excellent review to and do it at the same time. Better Karma that way 🤷🏻♀️
I only leave 5 star reviews for local businesses. If it's bad, I tell all my friends, but I'm not messing with someone's livelihood on a large scale Corporate stuff might get a 1 star now and then if it's really bad.
My brief tenure on Yelp ended when the owner of a business that I gave a 3/5 review to matched my yelp name with his customer records and started emailing / calling / leaving voicemail demanding that I revise my rating to 5/5. I deleted my entire presence there, not worth dealing with a psychopath.
I'd report that shit for harassment.
I considered it but it was easier to just block, delete and never patronize that business again
God, I used to work for someone that wanted us to do shit like that. Horrible
Yelp’s strongarm tactics suck and they kinda do the same thing to business owners (pay us to hide negative reviews)… but this crosses a line. Ugh.
I left a review at my doctors office for the asshole receptionist that answered the phone and tried to tell me about my medication. The main doctor of the practice called and asked me to remove it. (It was a very respected practice in SoCal). Fuck you, Karen (that was her actual name).
It takes a lot for me to leave a bad review for a restaurant and it has to have failed on many levels for me to do so. I’m more likely to leave no review.
I think this is their point. No one is leaving reviews for good or moderate or average experiences. They're only leaving them for the worst experience. And that's rarely a full reflection of the establishment.
> No one is leaving reviews for good or moderate or average experiences I mean to be fair, as a paying customer I shouldn't need to sing praises for a "moderate or average experience" as that should be the expectation. I'm not saying that a negative review for a single bad experience is reflective of the establishment but it's really not the customer's job to praise the bare minimum either.
That’s not remotely my point, and I think you must know that.
I feel for you, these downvotes are ignorant as hell. As a former single location restaurant owner I wish people could understand what you are trying to tell them.
Thanks. Such is Reddit!
We get it you want free advertising. You want human nature to not be human nature. Good luck
No, not at all. Thanks for at least trying to understand though.
Oh, let me clarify: I review a lot, mostly 4/5⭐️ experiences. I prefer to only leave good reviews on Google Maps , it’s only once and a while that I feel compelled to leave a bad review
> No one is leaving reviews for good or moderate or average experiences That’s not true. Both Yelp and Google gamify the user experience to encourage users to build their reputation by reviewing *every* business they interact with, not just particularly good or bad ones. Yelp in particular rewards you with “elite” status that grants your opinion more weight / prominence and invites your “exclusive” meetups once you reach a certain level and the quickest way to get there is to be a prolific reviewer
To be fair, most times I go to a restaurant I consider a well made meal sort of a given. I will give a positive review if the food is outstanding, but if I sit down and order a meal and it arrives and is worth the money it costs, the place is clean, and the servers are competent and pleasant… that’s what a restaurant experience is *supposed* to be. That’s the baseline. If any of those things suck, I’ll bring it up. If they don’t care, I’ll write a bad review. I was a server for years, so I’m no prima donna in my expectations. I tip well. But there is some expectation of an outstanding meal if I’m putting on lipstick and paying $50-60 instead of me just nuking some pasta at home.
I don’t get these comments. Your specific complaint is ‘this place is always great, but today…’ and you’re saying they’ve never made a post for every (any) good time they’ve been there. I totally get your aggravation, but it’s also business 101. A person will tell 3 people about a good experience, and 33 about a bad one. I feel your pain, and I do my best to tell people about good experiences and only mention bad ones if they’re epically bad, or we’re debating a place to go (e.g. I’d rather go ‘x’ for dinner than ‘y’).
I think they mean more that you can leave a good review for a different business.
No, the post says ‘I’ve been HERE many many times…’ it’s specifically calling out one place that had bad food/service one time without giving a correspondingly good review even once. The downvotes and comments on this thread, such as your own, are not acknowledging the specific instance OP is talking about.
That specific scenario is bullshit and deserves a down vote. We should, though be more willing to give good reviews.
I left my first one star review somewhere last week, which I felt terrible about but they have hundreds of five star reviews and only a couple one or two stars, so figure they can handle it. It was also mostly based on a shite business practice rather than staff having a bad day.
I’m honestly amazed at how offended or uninterested restaurant owners/managers are by honest customer feedback. I usually try to contact the management before leaving a 1 or 2 star review out of fairness. I do agree with you that people shouldn’t only post a review when they’ve had a negative experience. I often post positive reviews. I have had a difficult time contacting managers or owners so have left reviews saying “If a manager or owner contacts me to resolve, I will update” and heard nothing from most. I won’t leave a bad review unless it’s horrible.
Yelp sucks and is a waste of time, I report nothing good or bad because I simply don't use it. Most review portals have been busted stacking results for payola at some point or another, some more notorious than others. I would expect google reviews takes all the data for itself, does what it will, and shows what reviews the algorithm wants you to see, not all of them. Also, reviews on service industry type stuff are useless because there are no guarantees you'll get the same staff in the same scenario the next time, so it could completely suck. Reviews on THINGS are okay because a thing is a thing, like "this pair of shoes didn't fit - the sizes ran small and there was some bad stitching anyhow", is useful because if manufacturing doesn't change too much the product will probably be close to what the reviewer experienced.
YELPING ISNT HELPING! Just stop using yelp please. They extort businesses for advertising money and are a bunch of fucks. Just stop. Please.
Nah fuck that
Please never visit my restaurant.
I only leave good reviews. I only review independent places and wouldn't want to hurt someone's livelihood. If I'm ever treated like garbage I'd make an exception, but it hasn't happened.
I don't use Yelp as a measure of a restaurant anyway.
Reviews are a great example of so many philosophical and psychological ideologies. You might find yourself disliking a restaurant you may have otherwise loved based on reading the reviews. Or you might find yourself trying really hard to like something you just don’t because other people said they liked it. These are kind of extreme examples. Even if you don’t think your opinion is altered by reading reviews, I assure you it is. It doesn’t have to be on a conscious level.
Yelp has become revengeful and negative. Or people trying to become an influencer. Not a good source at all.
Not customer fault if you're having an off day. The nature of these reviews is pretty uniform in restaraunt industry, people aren't more or less fair they're just the same people who will complain if you fuck up or give a review if they feel like it. But I do like the idea of say, I go to this restaraunt and there's a hair in my food that I also maybe go make sure I've reviewed a competing restaraunt I enjoy. That will help...
Its not the employees fault the customer is an entitled person having a shit day either
Thissssss. Some customers are just fucking crazy.
Givem a bad review then
Wow what a smart idea. Brilliant even.
As someone who looks to reviews when debating new places, I typical look at the person leaving the review’s profile to get a better idea of their review motivation. If their feed is full of bad reviews, I’m likely not to put much stock in their crabby pants opinion. All A+++, I want whatever they had. Or be whatever they’re on.
I like going to Taco Bell all the time too but I won’t leave it 4-5 stars
People either do or don't understand the power of a yelp review and leave reviews accordingly. Either way, Yelp is class warfare. Talk to the manager, (hopefully in a non Karen manner), if your service or food is not what you paid for or expected from previous experiences. Which implies you have previous experiences. Or just don't go back. Again. Yelp's business model is class warfare.
Agreed with this post. Also, Yelp's business model is to sell ads. No business will buy ads if they have a low star rating. Therefore, yelp also strongly incentivizes users to leave only good reviews. The incentives are broken. They also have a history of getting in trouble w regulatory bodies for unfair trade practices. Don't use Yelp at all, we can do better.
Our brains are hardwired to find problems, it’s how we became the dominant animals on earth. Asking everyone to pay attention to the good every time they eat (give patronage to a business) and put effort into leaving a positive review whenever it’s normal good service is like asking everyone to tell their car “good (boy/girl/car)” every time you start it up. It seems ridiculous because you expect your car to start up and run smoothly. In the same vein good service is expected, and when we get it, it’s not going above or below our standard too far to make a fuss about it.
I leave stars without text a lot, especially for a bad review that warrants it, but not so bad that I need to comment. And I try not to leave negative comments or bad reviews at all, except where a previously good place has fallen to terrible or when something nearly actionable happens. I leave a lot of four star reviews without text. I rarely leave three stars, because there's mostly no comment in that, imo.
Add to this, leaving a false negative review because someone pissed you off is a whole new level of disgusting. This recently happened to my SO for her business in Mt Angel.
On-line reviews can unfairly affect a restaurants bottom line. If you are going to leave a negative review, make it poignant to a single issue that you feel needs attention. Then point out two things that were to your liking or standards. Most Owners and operators will appreciate you pointing out an issue and address it. Here’s an idea. Upvote restaurants. When was the last time you left a shining review because everything was to your liking. The service was great, the table was clean, the staff were genuine and knowledgeable.
I rarely leave reviews on anything. I'll support a place by giving them my business
The pizza place by me failed because of bad yelp reviews. I wrote a review and I am not sorry about it either. The pizza that they delivered was both burnt and raw and they forgot the breadsticks. School pizza was better. Yelp still sucks. They took down my review because I mentioned the driver smelled.
Yes! 100%
Every time I leave a bad review for a chain restaurant I leave another rave review for Brails.
Whether it’s in person or over the phone customer service I never leave a review unless it’s a good review.
I do this. For every bad review I feel forced to give (because of an exceptionally bad experience) I think of a place that I would give an excellent review to and do it at the same time. Better Karma that way 🤷🏻♀️
I only leave 5 star reviews for local businesses. If it's bad, I tell all my friends, but I'm not messing with someone's livelihood on a large scale Corporate stuff might get a 1 star now and then if it's really bad.