Yelping
October 12, 2011
There's a really interesting article over at GOOD about the power that Yelp has on local businesses. It describes my behavior pretty accurately, and makes me realize just how crucial a tool Yelp has become in my own life; and also for the businesses I patronize.
(from roboppy on Flickr)
Of course, Yelp has been around since 2004, and the idea of rating and reviewing businesses is nothing new. What is new is that a significant number of people now have smart phones, iPads, and other devices that can access to Yelp whenever and wherever they want.
Recently I was thinking about the appeal of Starbucks. It's not a place I go very often for a cup of coffee, but I do visit occasionally. Imagine you're on a road-trip, and it's getting dark, so you decide to pull over at the next rest stop. Inside the food court there's a Starbucks and a place called Carl's Coffee. Which do you pick? This Carl might have the best coffee in America; but he also might serve some truly awful sludge. Starbucks, at least, is consistent and predictable. In other words, it's safe.
When I went to Virginia Beach in August, I was almost entirely unfamiliar with the city. Once at the hotel, I opened up Yelp on my phone and searched for nearby restaurants. I found a pho place within a mile that had great reviews. Once I was on the beach, I used my phone to locate a highly rated coffee shop behind the boardwalk and a seafood restaurant on Lake Rudee. If it weren't for Yelp, I might not have visited any of these places.
Today I logged into Yelp to look at my reviews, and noticed an interesting statistic in my profile. To-date, I've reviewed 127 businesses. My rating distribution skews positive. I've given a lot of positive reviews, some middle-of-the-road reviews, and just a couple of bad ones.
Maybe I'm just a generous guy and generally happy with the businesses I visit; but it also could be that I'm only going to businesses that I already know I'm going to like.
In that sense, Yelp has created a sort of selection bias. When I'm in a new city, I like to try new places, but I also want to minimize my risk. I don't pick restaurants at random, or rely on a hotel concierge, I choose them carefully based on popular opinion via Yelp.
This also demonstrates just how crucial maintaining a positive aggregate rating is to a local business. I ate pho in Virginia Beach because it had a positive consensus. If the reviews had been more mixed, I probably would have skipped it and ate elsewhere. Getting a lot of good reviews right off the bat can feed on itself. Getting some not-so-great reviews right away can put a business in an unfortunately downward spiral that's not easy to reverse.
(from roboppy on Flickr)Of course, Yelp has been around since 2004, and the idea of rating and reviewing businesses is nothing new. What is new is that a significant number of people now have smart phones, iPads, and other devices that can access to Yelp whenever and wherever they want.
Recently I was thinking about the appeal of Starbucks. It's not a place I go very often for a cup of coffee, but I do visit occasionally. Imagine you're on a road-trip, and it's getting dark, so you decide to pull over at the next rest stop. Inside the food court there's a Starbucks and a place called Carl's Coffee. Which do you pick? This Carl might have the best coffee in America; but he also might serve some truly awful sludge. Starbucks, at least, is consistent and predictable. In other words, it's safe.
When I went to Virginia Beach in August, I was almost entirely unfamiliar with the city. Once at the hotel, I opened up Yelp on my phone and searched for nearby restaurants. I found a pho place within a mile that had great reviews. Once I was on the beach, I used my phone to locate a highly rated coffee shop behind the boardwalk and a seafood restaurant on Lake Rudee. If it weren't for Yelp, I might not have visited any of these places.
Today I logged into Yelp to look at my reviews, and noticed an interesting statistic in my profile. To-date, I've reviewed 127 businesses. My rating distribution skews positive. I've given a lot of positive reviews, some middle-of-the-road reviews, and just a couple of bad ones.
Maybe I'm just a generous guy and generally happy with the businesses I visit; but it also could be that I'm only going to businesses that I already know I'm going to like.In that sense, Yelp has created a sort of selection bias. When I'm in a new city, I like to try new places, but I also want to minimize my risk. I don't pick restaurants at random, or rely on a hotel concierge, I choose them carefully based on popular opinion via Yelp.
This also demonstrates just how crucial maintaining a positive aggregate rating is to a local business. I ate pho in Virginia Beach because it had a positive consensus. If the reviews had been more mixed, I probably would have skipped it and ate elsewhere. Getting a lot of good reviews right off the bat can feed on itself. Getting some not-so-great reviews right away can put a business in an unfortunately downward spiral that's not easy to reverse.
