Thank You, People That Say "Thank You"

Yelping is a fun expression and hobby of a few of my favorite things: writing and eating, but it's a total bonus when you hear from a business owner who thanks you for your patronage and honest review.

I was fortunate to get two of these this week.

The first:

Thanks Mike for the nice and cleverly written review. We are so happy that you enjoyed the food and service. Hope to see you and your wife again! Just last week we introduced 'smokeless hookah,' another touch of Middle Eastern culture that you might find as much fun as pronouncing our food! :)

The second:

Thank-you so much for your honest, complimentary review. You always hear the bad things so its nice to hear the opposite side once in a while. I printed your review up and posted it for all employees to read. Really appreciate everything you said about my bar. Hope to see you again soon....if you are..ask for Ryan. I'd like to meet ya! Cheers!

Now they're not always that nice. One business in particular was not very happy with my review of their terrible restaurant. They proceeded to tell me it was my fault that me and my colleagues did not like the food and terrible experience.

That one gave me a sleepless night. Was I wrong? Was I too tough? Should I remove my review? Edit it to be softer?

But then after considering the owner's obtuse and scathing rebuttal, I thought it best to leave my review just the way it was.

Use Yelp for Self-Help

Last week I authored my 100th Yelp review. It's rather a surprising and shocking number for something that started out so innocuously.

It all began by enjoying some place so much that I just had to tell others about it. Or, as the name would suggest: I had to YELP about it.

Having heard enough about Yelp by 2012, I figured this was the place to post my review. I can't recall what place inspired me so--I'm too lazy to look it up--but it must've been good. The desire to Yelp again might have ended right there if it wasn't for my requirement to travel a lot for my job. Soon I found myself in strange towns wondering where, besides another stinkin' Applebee's or gosh darn Chili's, I could find a good place to dine. Something unusual, somewhere a local would frequent. That's when I discovered Yelp's true power.

So I kept Yelping. My main focus is to highlight places that deserve to be highlighted. Or, in rare cases, warn where a fair warning is called for. My wife and I both really enjoy finding a place in Milwaukee that we'd love other Milwaukeeans to visit. 

One place that we both love and have written glowing reviews for is Oscar's on Pierce. Oscar's serves a seriously delicious burger and fries in a friendly environment with some good local beers. If you know anything about my wife and I, you can easily see that this is our type of place.

Well today I had a surprise. My company had visitors from a major US company. They flew in last night
from a variety of places: Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles; Wichita; and Cincinnati. Most of them stayed at hotels near the airport. While making small talk when they arrived at our offices this morning, I asked them where they dined last night. I was surprised to hear them say "Oscar's on Pierce. Great burgers!" 

What surprised me most is that Milwaukee locals still don't know about Oscar's, so my next question was, "How on earth did you find out about Oscar's?"

The reply (you should be able to guess) came back, "Yelp. We checked it out for places with good burgers and it seemed that everybody liked Oscar's, so we figured it was a can't miss!"

Wow. I wonder if my review was one of them they read? I don't know, but my favorable star rating definitely would have contributed to Oscar's 4.5-star rating after 200+ reviews.

So I think that's pretty cool. That this varied group of people rejected the comfort and familiarity of fast food and chain restaurants near their hotel and embarked on 10+ mile drive to a strange and "scary" part of Milwaukee on a frigid January Wisconsin night to dine at a place they read about on the Internet is a striking and true testament to Yelp's power.

I'm only a small player in the enormous Yelp community, but I'm glad to have seen the network work exactly the way it's supposed to.

I'm also wondering, if you live in Milwaukee and haven't yet been to Oscar's on Pierce, just what the heck you are waiting for?

;)

Yelp's Family Style Sunday with the Bartolotta Group

Prosciutto Appetizer

Zoinks. My first Yelp event. I was excited, but also a little bit apprehensive.

"What the heck? There's food, there's beer, there's wine. How bad can it be?" I asked myself. I like to challenge my insecurities so, with the assurance of the availability of liquid courage, away I went to the Yelp's Family Style Sunday with the Bartolotta Group.

Impressed more, I could not be.

Not only was it not bad, it was fantastic. I met some cool, forward-thinking Milwaukeeans who have a vested interest in pushing our cultural and culinary community forward and were recognized by Milwaukee's top restaurateur--Mr. Joe Bartolotta--as influential and important people.

Risotto - "Comfort in a bowl," said one Yelper

Joe could not have left a more positive indelible impression--he catered us with great food, drink and hospitality. He addressed his age and the awareness of Milwaukee's changing epicurean terrain and the options faced by the local diner. He gets it. He knows restaurant critique criteria has changed and recognizes the power of technology--with a few taps on a keyboard our reviews can greatly influence the future of a business--and his intent was not to buy us out, but to make us keenly aware of the challenges a restaurateur faces and ask to make those considerations before we (possibly) excoriate an establishment.

That's pretty respectable in my opinion. Joe wasn't talking only about his joints--he was talking about his competitor's establishments too.

As far as the event went, it was wonderful. We started out at Pizzeria Piccola and then had a sit-down at the quaint and authentic Ristorante Bartolotta. Beer, wine, pizza, prosciutto, Caesar salad, risotto, pasta, and desserts (flourless chocolate cake and tiramisu) were presented in, mostly, that order.

All glasses, emptied ;)

All delicious. Every entree, every bite. Not only that, but we were served with the same level of excellence the normal patron should expect.

I don't know if all Yelp Elite events are this good--this was my first--but if they are, count me in. Bartolotta's put on a wonderful event that has set the Yelp event bar very high for me. I look forward to future events and visits at Bartolotta's restaurants--they've never disappointed before and certainly did not tonight.

Thanks for wonderful afternoon, Ristorante Bartolotta. And thanks, too, for welcoming us with genuine hospitality. Every bite and sip was most certainly appreciated! :)

Joe talks openly and passionately about his restaurants.

Yelper Skelter

I've become a Yelper and I never saw it coming.

The reason probably has to do with having a particularly enjoyable experience at a restaurant a few years ago and feeling the need to, um, "Yelp" about it. It's a "Boy, this place is really great. I'd love everybody to know how fantastic this place is and give them their support so it stays around for me to enjoy many, many more times." And we all know how tough the restaurant business is so, if I can put my love of food, writing and Milwaukee to good use to support a worthy proprietor, I'm happy to do it.

I love writing about places that are 4 and 5-star worthy. They charmed me with a good experience and I usually can't wait to return to my laptop and write a review that heaps some praise upon them. If I do it well, it will be an entertaining read too.

Three star places? Two star places? Meh. They don't motivate to write. What am I gonna say? "Their Wonder bread with Kraft american cheese grilled sandwich was divine! A must-have!! Just like Mom used to make!!" Nah. In most cases a 2 or 3-star joint provided me with sustenance and they'll likely do the same for you.

But then there's those places that really disappoint. They take your money and, in return, give you much less than you expect and deserve. You leave feeling upset and taken advantage of. In fact, you're even a little bit angry.

Now these places ... these places inspire. Much like the 5-star joint stimulates my critiquing Jones, a 1-star does the same. I want potential customers to be wary.  Caveat emptor, people, but at least we've got Yelp on our side. If you go in, at least you've been warned. Don't say it's my fault.

Recently I had a very poor experience at a popular Milwaukee restaurant. So poor that I gave it one star. Despite the crummy one-out-of-a-potential-five rating, my review was nothing more than a factual account of my visit. I documented stale product, tasteless food, slow service and poor value -- all the makings of a classic 1-star worthy review. To my surprise, one of the proprietors sent me the following message:

While I would usually start thanking any customer for their feedback, it is hard to do in this instance because Im not sure from your review if you gave us any chance to accommodate you.  Our staff works very hard to read our customers and anticipate needs.  If you and your guests would have alerted us to your desire for spicier salsa or displeasure with your choice of entree, we would surely have addressed it.  We are the heart of the latin quarter but understand people's preferences for our neighbors too.  We are all here to serve you but from your estimation, we fell short.  That I regret and truly would address would you be open to the possibility. If you consider yourself a foodie, you would find we are using  only fresh ingredients,  many local purveyors and making every dish to order.  We allow our guests to salt and add more spice to their choosing because these are relative tastes.  All i would ask is that you rethink your harsh review by reviewing your own actions too.  I cant revisit your concerns because you left. If I can at some future time, I welcome you to contact me. Nothing would give me more pkeasure than to turn your frown upside down. Our previous manager is still on site as are we 2 very committed owners.  Call or write me Mike. We love people who arent afraid to reason.

Apparently it's my fault that my experience at their restaurant sucked. "Rethink your harsh review by reviewing your own actions too"?! You GD right I'm reviewing my actions -- I should have never dined at your crappy restaurant in the first place!!

Dang that comment made me angry. I spent too much for sub-par food, poor service in an area when most businesses deliver a satisfactory experience at three-quarters the price and you ask me to rethink my review?!

No way. Ain't happening. Not now; not ever. In fact, it's too bad I can't give zero stars, 'cause you just might be my first.

And to think, I didn't even mention the flat sodas in my review either.

Pfft.