Do you Yelp? Have you ever left a bad review?

[capt_noonie]

And has the business contacted you about it?

What would you do, and how would you feel? Let me give you guys some back story:

There is a pizza place in town, 20+ year in business, lots of great reviews, even a sticker on their door that says "people on yelp love us". I decided to give it a try, and it was terrible. So I left a one star review. The pizza was so soggy in the center, you couldn't even lift up a slice without it looking like a limp piece of spaghetti. The toppings were sparse, but the cheese was piled on so high it was practically an inch thick. Probably why id didn't get cooked all the way through. I ordered the "works" thinking that was their special and should be the best. We also got an order of 8 pc buffalo wings. The total? $35. Yes, $35. For a family of four, we ate 3 slices and 5 wings. No one wanted to eat more. Yes it was that terrible.

So I get a message from the business owner. They say sorry you weren't happy but we have been here for 20+ years, blah blah blah, basically saying I must be wrong, bc their food is great and everyone else says so. (I am not the only one who left a one star review, surprised at how bad it was.) I am a business owner myself, and I know that you can't make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time. I actually got kind of mad. Why didn't they ask me what they could do to improve instead of saying I was wrong. Should I respond to them?

This was not the first time I left a one star review and had the business contact me. The other two places also had a lot of 5 star reviews, but they were terrible! And no I am not one of those picky elitist foodies. What do you guys think?

[roseylovestosho]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

And has the business contacted you about it?

What would you do, and how would you feel? Let me give you guys some back story:

There is a pizza place in town, 20+ year in business, lots of great reviews, even a sticker on their door that says "people on yelp love us". I decided to give it a try, and it was terrible. So I left a one star review. The pizza was so soggy in the center, you couldn't even lift up a slice without it looking like a limp piece of spaghetti. The toppings were sparse, but the cheese was piled on so high it was practically an inch thick. Probably why id didn't get cooked all the way through. I ordered the "works" thinking that was their special and should be the best. We also got an order of 8 pc buffalo wings. The total? $35. Yes, $35. For a family of four, we ate 3 slices and 5 wings. No one wanted to eat more. Yes it was that terrible.

So I get a message from the business owner. They say sorry you weren't happy but we have been here for 20+ years, blah blah blah, basically saying I must be wrong, bc their food is great and everyone else says so. (I am not the only one who left a one star review, surprised at how bad it was.) I am a business owner myself, and I know that you can't make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time. I actually got kind of mad. Why didn't they ask me what they could do to improve instead of saying I was wrong. Should I respond to them?

This was not the first time I left a one star review and had the business contact me. The other two places also had a lot of 5 star reviews, but they were terrible! And no I am not one of those picky elitist foodies. What do you guys think?

Do you live in a small town? The only reason I ask is because everywhere I go here has really crappy food but because it is a small town you are limited in your options so people leave great reviews for restaurants that would go out of business in a larger city. That's my roundabout way of saying that if you're a food elite...then that makes me a food snob (lol).

Anyways regarding your review, I would definitely respond and make it pretty self-evident with your response that you are clearly annoyed that they questioned your review. Just because a business receives great reviews on average does not make it impossible for them to mess up someone's order or make sub par food. To discount your review simply because you are one of a few is absolutely ridiculous. Instead, like you mentioned, they should take into consideration what you have to say because it is very possible that you are a part of the market that they are not tapping into and should.

[QuickSilver]

I think negative reviews are very helpful, as long as they are specific and well written. On Amazon, if I'm interested in a book, I always read the NEGATIVE reviews. If I think the reviews make good points, I probably pass.

I have trouble with Yelp reviews, because so many times you have no context. There are just 100 people saying it's the best place ever and 25 saying they hate it.

I think it's only natural for people to get defensive when they receive criticism, but in business, you have to get over it. They should have said they were sorry you weren't happy and sent you a free pizza. It's a cheap way to buy goodwill.

[Nancy1999]

Perhaps they don't know, you are Yorkietalk's food critic and what you say goes! Can't believe a business reacted this way, and they should have apologized profusely and offered you a free pizza and wings. The staff may have negligent that night and an under baked pizza is not tasty. What was wrong with the wings, not cooked right or bad sauce? I think I would also write up what the management said about your critique, says so much about their views on customer service. Anyway can make a mistake, it's how they handle the mistake. This is the first I've heard of Yelp. I'm going to start reading it.

[capt_noonie]

I usually like to read negative reviews also. This place had only a few, and basically all said overhyped food. One time only when I was contacted after leaving a bad review was I offered a free meal and for me to re-review, however I did not take them up on the offer, as it was a sub-par "sushi" all you can eat place that left me feeling a bit sick.

The wings were tiny, the sauce was way too sour and not even hot. Not meaty at all. I have had better frozen wings from the supermarket. This is not something I would expect from a restaurant.

Rosey: I do not live in a small town. I live in the suburbs of LA, Orange county to be exact, which is not in LA county, but you get what I mean I hope. Still I don't understand how they've stayed in business 20+ years, esp if the food they gave me is the norm, plus they are in an out of the way plaza.

I think the thing that really still gets me was how much I paid. For $35 the four of us could have bought steaks from the butcher and had a great meal.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

I think negative reviews are very helpful, as long as they are specific and well written. On Amazon, if I'm interested in a book, I always read the NEGATIVE reviews. If I think the reviews make good points, I probably pass.

I have trouble with Yelp reviews, because so many times you have no context. There are just 100 people saying it's the best place ever and 25 saying they hate it.

I think it's only natural for people to get defensive when they receive criticism, but in business, you have to get over it. They should have said they were sorry you weren't happy and sent you a free pizza. It's a cheap way to buy goodwill.

I agree. Sometimes I'll see negative reviews that just don't have enough good points. It'll say "this place sucks!" or something stupid. But if I see a thorough well-thought out negative review, then I can assume the person really just did not have a good experience and were obviously upset enough to log online and take the time to write a review.

I will say, that sometimes things just happen. One of my favorite places to eat out is Outback Steakhouse. But I went one night and they must have had a different chef because the steak sucked, the cheesefries were soggy, even my sisters mac & cheese did not turn out right. If that had been my first time there, I certainly would have been disgusted. But, sometimes places just off nights, or bad employees, or whatever, so I always try to give a place a second chance. If it's STILL bad, well, then they've lost out on me as a customer.

I think that, also, people sometimes just enjoy the environment of a certain place over the food. We often go to this little hole-in-the-wall diner for breakfast and we certainly don't go for the food... it's mediocre, sometimes not even good at all, lol. But we've been going for years, we like the people, we like the vibe from the place. So all the good reviews are probably coming from the people who have been visiting this little pizza joint for 20 years and have turned a blind eye to the actual food quality. And new people who try it out hear a ton of hype and over-expect things from it, and then discover it's terrible, lol. That happens a lot too.

It's pretty crappy of them to just say you are wrong though. Hello, haven't they learned business 101? The customer is ALWAYS right!

[QuickSilver]

Yeah, for $35, I would expect the pizza to have solid gold toppings!

[roseylovestosho]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

I usually like to read negative reviews also. This place had only a few, and basically all said overhyped food. One time only when I was contacted after leaving a bad review was I offered a free meal and for me to re-review, however I did not take them up on the offer, as it was a sub-par "sushi" all you can eat place that left me feeling a bit sick.

The wings were tiny, the sauce was way too sour and not even hot. Not meaty at all. I have had better frozen wings from the supermarket. This is not something I would expect from a restaurant.

Rosey: I do not live in a small town. I live in the suburbs of LA, Orange county to be exact, which is not in LA county, but you get what I mean I hope. Still I don't understand how they've stayed in business 20+ years, esp if the food they gave me is the norm, plus they are in an out of the way plaza.

I think the thing that really still gets me was how much I paid. For $35 the four of us could have bought steaks from the butcher and had a great meal.

Well then, that just blew my mind!

I haven't had the best experiences finding a good pizza place where I live...but we've been charged like $20 for really crappy pizza so I can understand your pain.

[Britster]

Pizza is kind of CRAZY lately!! I have noticed it always seems, when ordering for a small group of people, we end up spending a lot. Ordered from Pizza Hut the other night and got a large plain cheese pizza, cheesy bread, two 2 liters of soda and it was like $26? I don't know even know how it got the bill that high... it just seems a lot, but maybe it's just me!

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by Britster

I agree. Sometimes I'll see negative reviews that just don't have enough good points. It'll say "this place sucks!" or something stupid. But if I see a thorough well-thought out negative review, then I can assume the person really just did not have a good experience and were obviously upset enough to log online and take the time to write a review.

I will say, that sometimes things just happen. One of my favorite places to eat out is Outback Steakhouse. But I went one night and they must have had a different chef because the steak sucked, the cheesefries were soggy, even my sisters mac & cheese did not turn out right. If that had been my first time there, I certainly would have been disgusted. But, sometimes places just off nights, or bad employees, or whatever, so I always try to give a place a second chance. If it's STILL bad, well, then they've lost out on me as a customer.

I think that, also, people sometimes just enjoy the environment of a certain place over the food. We often go to this little hole-in-the-wall diner for breakfast and we certainly don't go for the food... it's mediocre, sometimes not even good at all, lol. But we've been going for years, we like the people, we like the vibe from the place. So all the good reviews are probably coming from the people who have been visiting this little pizza joint for 20 years and have turned a blind eye to the actual food quality. And new people who try it out hear a ton of hype and over-expect things from it, and then discover it's terrible, lol. That happens a lot too.

It's pretty crappy of them to just say you are wrong though. Hello, haven't they learned business 101? The customer is ALWAYS right!

I don't always agree with the customer is always right saying. It always reminds me of the line from Mallrats, "The customer is always an a$$hole" LOL Some time customers are being jerks just to be jerks, like let's see how much I can make them bend over backwards bc I am the customer. Anyway, I wouldn't give this place another chance bc of the prices. I'm not even sure if I would try is again if they offered me a free pizza. I think they're bribing me rewrite my review with free food. I think the offer of free food should just be a gesture not really to be taken. But I don't know maybe that's just me. Then I'd really feel bad about writing another bad review, and say, well they gave me free food, so they get 2 stars now, but food still sucks. Then I'd think I was being the jerk.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Yeah, for $35, I would expect the pizza to have solid gold toppings!

Or at least some toppings besides cheese!

I went and reread some of the bad reviews, and two posters said soggy pizza, almost watery!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

I don't always agree with the customer is always right saying. It always reminds me of the line from Mallrats, "The customer is always an a$" LOL Some time customers are being jerks just to be jerks, like let's see how much I can make them bend over backwards bc I am the customer. Anyway, I wouldn't give this place another chance bc of the prices. I'm not even sure if I would try is again if they offered me a free pizza. I think they're bribing me rewrite my review with free food. I think the offer of free food should just be a gesture not really to be taken. But I don't know maybe that's just me. Then I'd really feel bad about writing another bad review, and say, well they gave me free food, so they get 2 stars now, but food still sucks. Then I'd think I was being the jerk.

Lol, so true, customers can be big pain in the a$$es!! I guess you just can't make everyone happy, but yeah I do agree, it seems a little odd in their response.

[Princess10]

I went on a tangent after Princess got a reallly bad grooming & left my input every where, including on their website. I can't remember if I signed up with yelp at the time as I was probably too mad & impatient. They never contacted me & I was very surprised, sort of. It showed the kind of business owners they are. If I was looking them up & saw my review of how they handled their several screw ups it would turn me away. Not the fact that they screwed up to begin with. Had they contacted me there would've definitely been a follow up on every review.

As for the customer always being right, I believe they always are. Not in the literal sense, but I feel it's my job to make it right & exceed their expectations. I also work in hospitality, so, ya know, that's just what it is.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by Princess10

I went on a tangent after Princess got a reallly bad grooming & left my input every where, including on their website. I can't remember if I signed up with yelp at the time as I was probably too mad & impatient. They never contacted me & I was very surprised, sort of. It showed the kind of business owners they are. If I was looking them up & saw my review of how they handled their several screw ups it would turn me away. Not the fact that they screwed up to begin with. Had they contacted me there would've definitely been a follow up on every review.

As for the customer always being right, I believe they always are. Not in the literal sense, but I feel it's my job to make it right & exceed their expectations. I also work in hospitality, so, ya know, that's just what it is.

I think I remember your ordeal with Princess. With you putting that many reviews out there, I'm also surprised that the grooming shop didn't try to contact you. It does show what kind of business people they are.

The customer always right thing is something that I try to adhere to, but I have seen so many ridiculous things that sometimes I wonder if people are just yanking my chain so they can write about it on yelp later. LOL I remember reading on I think it was a Zagat blog, that a woman went into an Italian restaurant and demanded they serve her sushi. She said, well you have fish don't you? I want sushi! Why she didn't just go to a sushi joint I'll never know.

[roseylovestosho]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

i think i remember your ordeal with princess. With you putting that many reviews out there, i'm also surprised that the grooming shop didn't try to contact you. It does show what kind of business people they are.

The customer always right thing is something that i try to adhere to, but i have seen so many ridiculous things that sometimes i wonder if people are just yanking my chain so they can write about it on yelp later. Lol i remember reading on i think it was a zagat blog, that a woman went into an italian restaurant and demanded they serve her sushi. She said, well you have fish don't you? I want sushi! Why she didn't just go to a sushi joint i'll never know.

lmao.