Internet reviews are great, but can attract the idiots
Yelp is a great resource, and most of us on staff are frequent users, but every now and then we come across a review that makes someone look like a total tool, often staging idiot reviews to be picked up by Reddit or Tumblr. Typically, we collectively roll our eyes and move on, but a recent idiot on Yelp pushed one business owner to action.
In Portland, the EastBurn reacted to one such out of line reviewer differently after “Lee M.” wrote:
“My friend and I picked up some hot girls here, but he got his pregnant. But she was Canadian so she went home and got a free abortion so it’s all cool now. You can get grilled cheeses here for $5.”
Owner Mike Bender retorted:
“5 stars to you Lee M. for making an example of how this kind of disrespect toward women is shameful and not at all funny… As a thank you for spotlighting this kind of behavior, all proceeds through August from the sale of EastBurn’s Grilled Cheeses will go to the Portland Women’s Crisis Line.”
When life gives you lemons, grab some tequila and salt
Bender says they already do benefits, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give back, telling the Oregonian that disrespect towards women is “especially pervasive in the restaurant industry and it’s not cool.”
What a great way to turn lemons into lemonade. If your brand ever runs into any of these tools on Yelp, get creative instead of just calling them stupid and moving on. Bender went above and beyond what other businesses have done, using it as an opportunity to give back.
Other brands have mocked negative reviews by putting them on shirts and having employees wear them, added them to their websites, or even recorded an audio version and played them in their bathrooms. Seriously. But Bender thought beyond that and did a good deed – how will you respond if someone posts something rude or ridiculous about your brand online?
