Quit Yer Yelping

I recently read an “I, Anonymous” in the Stranger that I could really relate to. It is about people who “Yelp” about restaurants. I may offend some of you, because I do know many yelpers and I will say that not all use Yelp for evil. However, this article (which I will not post here due to a lot of inappropriate language – but you can link to it here) is right on.

“Service slow? Order wrong? Waitperson’s shoes too ugly? Would you like these things changed? Probably best to semi-anonymously post nasty things online that we’ll read, like, four days later, right? Wrong….If you come to our restaurants and something goes wrong, and you tell us TO OUR FACES, we’ll either fix the problem or give you free stuff.”

i AGREE with this article. I have read Yelps that are SO nit-picky and so obviously written by someone who doesn’t know how to behave in a restaurant. So your drinks took 6 minutes when you thought they should take 5. The server forgot to bring you an extra lemon. Does the general public really need to know about these things? If you are upset about something that happens, don’t go slam them behind their backs – give them the opportunity to fix it right away. Sometimes there is a miscommunication, a misunderstanding, or the server is so busy that it might have momentarily slipped their minds. Generally, any problem at a restaurant can be fixed quickly and easily. Most managers are more than happy to help an honest customer in need.


Before you Yelp, please stop and think – was this just a personal experience or would it REALLY benefit others to know? Also, this is the way I balance my life, but if I vocalize a negative experience, I will also vocalize a positive one. If you slam a restaurant on Yelp, why not write your next review on somewhere you love and deserves some good publicity?