In my conversations with several business owners and managers, most of them have love-hate relationships with customer review sites such as Yelp. Like them or not, I believe they’re a great way to gauge customer feedback and engage in customer feedback.
However, there is some skill in interacting with customers online – especially with those who provide negative feedback, and even more so with prolific and influential posters.
Take Janelle W., for example. Since 2007, she has posted over 800 reviews on Yelp. Yes, she eats out a lot (“I really like different kinds of ethnic food,” she says. “I can’t cook that stuff at home). Personally, I enjoy her reviews. They’re, bold, bodacious, and people follow her recommendations.
There’s something about animal carcasses smoking over an open flame that just excites me. So when I saw a cloud of smoke hovering over Vernor Highway, and after I realized that it was woody, meaty smoke and not the burnt out engine of the primered ’64 Dodge Dart stuck on the curb, I knew I had to stop.
When I saw the Two Way Inn pop up in Carole H.’s review feed, I wondered whether it might be the name of a double penetration porno. “Damn!” I thought, “this girl with the angelic profile picture is into some freaky shit!” But I read on, and learned that the Two Way Inn is just a bar, and the only thing porn-like about it is that it’s been indulging the vices of sinners for over 100 years.
While I personally have never experienced the thrill of receiving said blow job, I wholly concur with the sentiment if modified for the feminine counterpart. Because Pupusería y Restaurante Salvadoreño’s pasteles de pollo ($5) are quite possibly the most mindblowing plate of food in all of Michigan.
If there was any kind of serious money in writing restaurant reviews, I’d suggest that she change careers. Given there’s not, she and others like her are the new wave of business owners need to keep an eye on. From my guesstimate, many business owners don’t. Over the last four years, she’s only heard from about 25 business owners and managers, with one of them being a horrible example in how to not respond to a bad customer review.
Case in point: last year she was the first person to review a newly-opened restaurant. Surprisingly impressed, this humble little mom-and-pop restaurant garnered a cult-like following based on her 5-star recommendation.
But holy rainbow-shitting unicorns! Against all these odds, (restaurant redacted) serves up some of the most phenomenal Thai food in metro Detroit.
But over the months, customers started revolting, citing poor value and quality, as well as rude service. Sometimes, the owners responded publicly on the site and vowed to correct the situations. A few times, some reviewers, including Janelle, received some really scathing private messages.
“In early January, I got an email from the owners that read: “F*ck you. (Restaurant redacted) is the only place for Thai food,” Janelle says.
Bothered by the email, Janelle privately contacted one of the owners who claimed that that a friend got access to his phone and thought it would be “funny” and “a joke” to send the harassing email. He apologized and she suggested that he should just let the matter go away.
However, the mixed and some scathing reviews continued. Several months later, Janelle received another similar harassing email from one of the owners.
This time, Janelle took the situation to Yelp’s discussion board where the restaurant was outed and others chimed in, including one of the owners.
My impression of the situation? As one Yelper put it, “Suicide by Yelp.” In fairness, Janelle was nice the first time, although this San Francisco bookstore owner really took things to even more of an extreme.
In talking with Janelle, we agree on several ways that business owners and managers should deal with customers online.
Don’t try to buy customer loyalty: “A few times they’ve offered me free meals before I’ve reviewed them,” Janelle says. “I tell them I want to pay for it because it’s the ethical thing to do.” And, yes, I’ve seen people post of instances where businesses have been offered people freebies, and sometimes they get outed. It’s not a pretty situation.
Don’t insult a customer: “Do they think they’ll want to go back there?” Janelle says. My advice: Contact the poster privately. Let him or her know you’ve heard their concern, and better yet, let them know what steps you’re taking to correct the situation and ask them to return again.
Don’t rally your friends: “Sometimes, businesses will tell friends and customers to write about them,” Janelle says. “It’s obvious that they’re friends that are affiliated with them. That’s not cool.”
Deal with the situation privately: Recently, I and several people had a horrible experience at a restaurant. Having been there several times with positive experiences, I contacted the owners privately and told them what the issues were without getting into any fits of rage. They took it as an opportunity to make things right. Also, Janelle and I agree on not going overboard by publicly replying to every person that posts a positive review as a way to combat negative talk. It reeks of desperation.
However, a little creativity can go a long way in dealing with unhappy customer reviewers as in how a New York City restaurant and a San Francisco pizzeria dealt with theirs. Risky tactics? Perhaps, even if the customer isn’t always right.
Bonnie Caprara is a Detroit-based freelance writer and media relations and social media consultant. She can be reached at bcaprara@wowway.com and at MsQuote on Twitter.
In my work with Community Marketing Associates, I’ve heard a great deal of complaining from retailers about special events like parades, street fairs and cruise nights.
But what about that landscape company, barber shop and insurance agency that has nothing to do with an art fair, parade or a cruise night? Perhaps they won’t sell as many bags of peat moss, clip as many heads or sell fewer policies that day, but they could entice some new customers to come back another day. The landscape company could check out some of the artisans that are selling landscapes or garden art and offer to sell them in their store. The barber shop could run a “husband day care service” – a place where the guys can get their hair cut, grab a hot dog ,and watch a ball game while their wives and girlfriends browse the booths. (Is that male customer bonding, or what? This would work great for a bar, too.) The insurance agency could get out there and visit some of the people hanging out with their cars, which they insure. After all, who isn’t always looking for a better rate? 
Bonnie Caprara is a Detroit-based freelance writer and media media relations and social media consultant. She can be reached at bcaprara@wowway.com and at MsQuote on Twitter.
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