It’s been a while since I’ve seen my daughter and I wanted to do something fun prior to the school year starting. We decided to take a day trip and explore a new area. At the end of the day I suggested dinner and asked if she had any requests.
She ran through a list of choices with the caveat that we’ve never been and don’t know what’s available. She’s always been swift on her feet. I suggested we simply drive and eat at the first place that looks good; but, I was reminded of the spoiled coleslaw incident.
Without missing a beat my daughter yanked my phone from me and fired up Yelp. With a few clicks and taps she narrowed our selection to three places each within five miles. A local pizza shop rated near excellent but customers reported longer than expected waits. A Chinese restaurant also topped the charts but was carryout only. Finally we settled on American fare.
Reviews of the restaurant suggested against outdoor dining and to avoid shrimp. We heeded both suggestions and opted to sit inside. Our meals were outstanding; she ordered a chicken dish and I ordered the prime rib. After dinner, she decided to leave a review on Yelp, updating both the service and quality.
Yelp is just one of many online review websites and mobile apps. Google, Bing, YP, Angie’s List, and many more offer methods of rating vendors. Ratings can be based on an overall score or can be broken down into sub-scores. Some websites, like Yelp, offer the ability for users to pencil in comments.
Online reviews can be beneficial to consumers researching how they’re going to spend money. As a consumer I rely heavily on others’ history. Years ago we used to rely on hearsay; review sites open us up to opinions from many.
On the other hand, online reviews can kill a small business. Several poor reviews, or a history of negative reviews can be the kiss of death. One of my friends received too many poor reviews just prior to fixing his problems. His reputation online was too hard to overcome and he failed.
As a business owner it’s a good idea to critically evaluate your online reviews. Once they’re posted there’s not much that can be done to remove them. Most sites, however, offer the ability to follow up the comment or reply. Some sites will allow the original poster to remove any negative comments and most sites will not allow scandalous reviews to be posted.
Adding a business is fairly easy. As an avid Yelp user, I’ve added a restaurant or two as well as my three store locations. Adding a new location is fairly straightforward. Business owners who aren’t already listed online should consider maintaining their location(s) which allows the ability to follow up and be notified when reviews are posted.
Online ratings have changed the way many consumers choose where do to business. I’ve picked many restaurants and other service businesses based on how others rated their experiences. Catastrophes can happen anywhere, using online reviews helps limit poor choices.
As an interesting aside, most notable rating sites like Yelp and YP were initially created to be search engines. Because Google and Bing dominated the search market, the other websites evolved into review websites. From personal experience, I’ve found Yelp to have more reviews than Google or Bing.
Half way through our meal a patron of the restaurant came in from outside complaining of pigeons in the eaves. As their meals were delivered, my daughter pointed to their plate and whispered, “they didn’t use Yelp.” Both customers received and were unhappy with the shrimp scampi.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can text him directly at (978) 413-2840 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)