So I proceed silently to 'unfollow'! With all due respect, GK, you have converted from a man to machine!

Thanks for your comment. I appreciate that you took the time to read my post and that you included me in your own.

To respond, speaking from a purely branding and marketing STRATEGY position, by creating T-shirts of the negative Yelp comments, the restaurant owner disrespected his unhappy customers, and communicated a lack of respect for anyone who ever has a negative experience in his establishment. Whether he intends to or not.

The take-away: Publicly belittling customers’ reviews communicates a negative attitude towards them. This applies whether the reviews are legitimate or not. Or even whether he has made positive changes due to the negative comments or not. When you say I miss the point, I believe you’re assuming I think the Yelps have merit, or (as you mentioned on my blog) that he didn’t take any of the given advice. Not necessarily.

My article doesn’t make judgments about the quality of Yelps or whether they hurt business establishments, but points out the negative underlying message communicated, and the branding misstep that business owners make when they choose to react with negativity or hostility to negative customer reviews.

Ultimately, you and I are blogging about two entirely different issues. You’re questioning the value of online reviews and highlighting the damage they can cause, while my article addresses the branding damage that results from reacting to those reviews.

But I do appreciate your passionate stance on the issue.

I read your blog after seeing your comment on OTM’s site. I had a different take on this than you. You probably won’t be too interested in reading the post (it’s far longer than most on my site), but I did quote you in it, so I wanted to let you know.

http://verbalcupcake.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/my-rep/

The problem with a lot of Yelp reviews (good and bad) is that so many of them are too myopic to provide useful feedback for restaurateurs (“*I* wanted more vegetarian options;” “*I* don’t like thin-crust pizza.”). A good reviewer of anything–be it restaurants, albums, or movies–presents his or her assessment of the quality of the subject in question by evaluating the product according to _what it is trying to be_, not what his or her own personal preferences are. Thus, if a pizzeria is known for its thin crust, it is ridiculous for someone to review it by saying he or she prefers deep dish. Likewise, if an establishment specializes in roasted meats and the like, it makes no sense to insist that the place should add more vegetarian options. In a sense, expecting such establishments to do these kinds of things would be akin to judging an orthopedic surgeon as not being very good because he or she doesn’t also specialize in internal medicine.

Some Yelp reviews are thorough and useful for customers and business owners alike. But many are just awful–poorly-written, vague, and lacking in any connection between the “stars” assigned and the information contained in the review. Add that to their outdated search engine, and Yelp is more hype than help.

A last thought: Craig Stoll (Delfina’s owner) did note in the piece that he HAS taken feedback from Yelp reviews to improve service and other aspects of his restaurants, so I think your assessment of his response was a little unfair. The lines that made their way onto shirts were ones so vague that no one could utilize them as learning tools. Further, he concluded the interview by admitting that Yelp is overall a good thing for the dining community.

My 2 cents and then some…

-Sarah F.