March 8th, 2010 
In case you haven’t heard, Yelp, the popular review site has come under fire recently, with a lawsuit alleging that they extort money from local businesses, an idea vehemently denied by Yelp CEO, Jeremy Stoppelman. He’s written about here and here. Even Business Week interviewed him about it. The idea behind the controversy is that Yelp demands businesses pay them money in order to make bad reviews go away and keep good reviews up on the site.
As if that wasn’t enough attention, we had our own Yelp Gate here in the ATL. It all started when Yelper, Jeff D. wrote a not-so-favorable review of Lunacy Black Market which is owned by local chef, Paul Luna. Luna then retorted in a childish manner accusing Jeff D of being a “2-star reviewer” and personally attacking the reviewer instead of addressing the review itself.
The funny thing is, had Luna just let it go, most of us wouldn’t have even known about the bad review. But by making such a big deal about it, even briefly putting the review and picture of Jeff D. on his website, he drew a lot of negative attention his way. In the process he made himself look irrational and unprofessional. And for what? At the time of this post Luna’s restaurant has 4.5 stars out of 5.
Personally, I like Yelp and use it quite frequently. I like that I can search for nearby bars for after dinner, and I love that the good reviewers, the ones that really know their stuff and write well, can totally steer you in the right direction as far as entree selection. And some offer great tips on parking, best times to visit, etc.
Are there some people who don’t have a clue what they are talking about? Are there some people that just want to complain? Of course. Anyone can join and review businesses on the site.
But to me, I liken Yelp to shopping at a discount retailer. You have to weed through a lot of stuff to find something quality that you really like. As far as Jeff D., I read some of his reviews and find them to be well-written and for the most part, spot on. Thanks to him I know about the restaurant that no longer offers tap water (WTF??) and the earth-friendly restaurant that is using Styrofoam cups (even Mickey D’s doesn’t do that!!). But also good to know about the several great restaurants that serve breakfast all day (important to a late riser like me).
I’m sure restaurants view sites such as Yelp as a mixed bag. On one hand, restaurants have access to feedback for free and can learn very quickly what they need to improve. On the other hand, they must now contend with not only food critics, but forums, Yelpers and (gasp!) even bloggers. I’ve heard from some owners that after firing of bad employees they mysteriously get some bad reviews on Yelp shortly thereafter. And as no one qualifies reviewers, some could very well be competitors posting negative reviews.
Personally, I’ve never had any of my reviews, positive or negative removed. In fact, very recently, I posted a 2 star review. Within hours I was contacted by the restaurant owner, who was very apologetic, addressed all my concerns, and even offered to have me come in for another meal. Take note, Chef Luna, that’s how you handle a disappointed patron.
The bottom line is there will always be those who maliciously post false information with the intent to hurt a restaurant’s business. But most see right through these fake reviews. So restauranteurs need to just let it go and focus on great service and consistently good food and the good reviews and business will follow.
Happy Yelping!
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