Restaurateurs + Chefs- how much would you pay for a Yelp review?
Back in October, we talked about the importance of not Yelping under the influence, however recently I came across a new technique that a restaurant is using to win over their Yelp audience (click image to enlarge).
Mel’s Drive-In’s tag line is “Serving Since 1947,” but their social media marketing strategy is anything but as dated as their jukeboxes (for the record, I was grabbing a Milkshake before a movie at the next door cinema – I felt like I needed a Mel’s dining disclaimer).
As a PR and Marketing firm for restaurants, we strongly encourage the use of “4-Wall Marketing” by way of leveraging the 4-walls of your restaurant to market to your customer – but this technique is foreign even to us. For lack of a better term, we’re deeming this strategy a “virtual bribe.”
So, for all you Yelpers; would you compromise the integrity of your “yelp status” to save $1.00 ($1.49 if “USED TOMORROW”) on your next Milkshake to write a good review for Mel’s? Based on Mel’s current lousy 2.5 stars out of a possible 5 star rating, it doesn’t seem to be working.
*Note, this is for Mel’s Diner in San Francisco, on Mission Street.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
It doesn’t specify though – does it have to be a positive review in order to qualify for the discount? or can i bring in my negative review and still get 20% off? If it doesn’t matter, this doesn’t seem shady but rather clever on their part. I just don’t know as a customer if I would bring in a bad review to save a few bucks – they may try to get back at me some other way!
August 26th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I would never compromise the integrity of my Yelp status – it’s a great forum with a vibrant, trusting community of local businesses and food lovers. Although if I had their milkshake and that it was out of this world, I would not hesistate to bring in my positive review for the discount.
I would reword it so that it would say something along the lines of: “If you loved us enough to write a Yelp review expressing your enthusiasm, bring it in, let us continue sharing Mel’s with you at 20%!”..or something along that line.
Great point risen though.!
August 26th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Great article. I think the bigger point here is that local business owners are looking for ways to voice their perspective about their product. They want to have some influence over how their image/brand is perceived. Our view is that as review sites grow, the demand by owners to be able to have some input will grow exponentially. As far as this marketing campaign goes, whether it works or not, I think its smart and would most likely yield positive reviews without any ethical violations.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:58 am
[...] Rivera PR Blog | Virtual bribe? rivera-pr.com/blog/?p=206 – view page – cached Back in October, we talked about the importance of not Yelping under the influence, however recently I came across a new technique that a restaurant is using to win over their Yelp audience (click image to enlarge). — From the page [...]
August 28th, 2009 at 9:03 am
… the receipt says nothing about the yelp having to be of mel’s. i’m sure that’s what they intended, but …. i’m just saying.
and “got to yelp …” — does the four walls include spelling and grammar? gimme a break.
i’ll even save them some money … i’ll write a bad review and *not* collect my meal. how’s that for effective marketing?
August 28th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
You didn’t specify which Mel’s and two have next-door cinemas. The Van Ness location and the Lombard location both have spikes in their ratings that are visible if you click ‘Trend.’ The funny thing is that the spikes don’t seem to hold. It’s as if they discovered the idea of boosting their Yelp rating, but haven’t figured out how. Maybe Yelp is more honest than we expect.
August 29th, 2009 at 9:39 am
HELLO ALL,
I’M THE OWNER OF THE WALNUT CREEK ORIGINAL MELS DINER. THIS COUPON WAS NOT GIVEN BY MY RESTAURANT BUT BY THE SAN FRANCISCO CHAIN “MELS DRIVE-IN”. PLEASE DONT CONFUSE THE TWO CHAINS, THEY ARE NOT RELATED. THE CHRONICLE MADE A MISTAKE AND TOOK A PICTURE OF MY WALNUT CREEK LOCATION – WHICH IS ORIGINAL MELS, NOT MELS DRIVE-IN. THE CHRONICLE DID NOT VERIFY THEIR INFORMATION BEFORE WRITING THIS ARTICLE. DON’T CONFUSE THE TWO CHAINS!!! (AFTER FURTHER INVESTIGATION, ONLY THE MELS DRIVE-IN MISSION STREET LOCATION ACCEPTS THIS COUPON.)
TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR, ORIGINAL MEL’S WALNUT CREEK DOES REVIEW YELP COMMENTS TO IMPROVE OUR SERVICE AND FOOD QUALITY. BUT AT NO POINT HAVE WE EVER GIVEN COUPONS OR DISCOUNTS FOR YELP COMMENTS. AND WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF EVER DOING SO.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mbauer/detail?entry_id=46293&tsp=1#ixzz0PahDRNi5
August 31st, 2009 at 9:15 am
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August 31st, 2009 at 6:01 pm
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August 31st, 2009 at 6:10 pm
[...] this offer, originally blogged by San Francisco PR man Jared Rivera, doesn’t say you have to write a positive review on Yelp. Just any old review, of this [...]
August 31st, 2009 at 10:08 pm
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September 1st, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Great site…keep up the good work.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:45 am
We pray YELP goes bankrupt and sinks to the bottom of hell, and takes its MAFIA YELPERS with them. We pray that GOD shows no mercy for all the damage and EXTORTION they have inflicted upon business owners and the children they support. YELP is a den of snakes and deserve to BURN for the lies and slander they spread. PRAY PSALMS 140 FOR THEIR DESTRUCTION!
http://www.yelphelp.org
October 8th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
[...] say something nice. In August, a story broke where restaurants in San Francisco were offering a 20% discount in-exchange for being reviewed on the website yelp. On a totally different tack – if you think you have the ultimate kitchen check this out This week [...]