After their appearance on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares catapulted them from being the cranky owners of a Scottsdale, AZ, restaurant to worldwide infamy, the owners of Amy’s Baking Company haven’t really been talking to the media, except to occasionally shout at the cameras that they can’t talk to the media. Then this morning Amy and husband Samy sat down for a local radio interview with another person who has Gordon to thank for her few minutes of fame. [More]
Owners Of Amy’s Baking Company Say Yelpers Are Endangering Their Lives
By May 20, 2013
How Not To React To Internet Criticism: The Epic Facebook Meltdown Of Amy’s Baking Company
By May 14, 2013
It appears that the owners of Amy’s Baking Company in Arizona expected an appearance on celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” program to vindicate them. They believed that they serve quality food, that they have been unfairly slandered by the entire Internet. Maybe they had never seen the reality program, which features last-ditch efforts to save failing restaurants run by people who are delusional or incompetent…and frequently both. [More]
Yelp Fights Against Outing Anonymous Reviewers In Lawsuit By Carpet Cleaner
By May 8, 2013
When you write a review on Yelp, you are supposed to feel assured in your ability to keep your identity from being made public. But a Virginia carpet cleaner is attempting to compel Yelp to reveal the names of seven people who posted reviews about the company. [More]
Prisoners Have Opinions Too, Turn To Yelp To Review Jail Conditions
By May 1, 2013
Just because you’re locked up for dealing blue meth cooked up by a mysterious chemist in a pork-pie hat doesn’t mean you don’t have an opinion on the quality of your current accommodations. And where else better to share these sentiments than on Yelp? [More]
Is Obnoxious Advertising A ‘Firsthand Customer Experience’ You Can Yelp About?
By March 7, 2013
A construction company coated Bryan’s neighborhood with leaflets, and he wasn’t happy about it. He tried to complain right to the company, and only got an answering service. So what’s a dissatisfied consumer to do? He turned to Yelp. Yelp, in turn, took down his review because it violates the site’s Content Guidelines for reviews, as it “doesn’t describe a firsthand customer experience.” Since when is having your neighborhood coated with flyers not a firsthand experience? [More]
Slumber Soundly In Vermin-Infested Hotels With This Bed Bug Sleeping Cocoon
By February 27, 2013
Most of us are about a kajillion percent sure, or we should be, that the pillow where we lay our heads each night isn’t crawling with vermin. But what if Yelp fails you, and you end up at a hotel where things might be a bit dicey? Perhaps you just don’t trust the look of that roadside flophouse or maybe you’re paranoid — in either case, SkyMall has just the thing for you. [More]
Even Bestselling Authors Aren’t Immune From Shoddy Home Depot Warranty Repair Work
By February 19, 2013
In spite of the completely nonexistent rumor that making the NY Times bestseller list grants an author access to a level of customer service reserved for elite celebrities, it turns out that no one is immune to a bad repair job that can ultimately result in $20,000 worth of damage. [More]
Make Sure That Local Florist You Found On Google Really Is Local
By February 11, 2013
Let’s say that you want to order some flowers for your aunt in Omaha. You remember the frequent warnings on this site to go directly to a local florist, so that’s what you do. You type “florist omaha” into Google, scroll past the paid listings and the ones Google has plotted on a map, and choose a shop with a nice-looking website. Perfect! Only this “local” florist isn’t so local. You tried to make the right choice, but are hurting the very neighborhood flower shop you were trying to patronize when you typed those words in Google. [More]
Amazon Deletes My Feedback About Questionable Marketplace Seller
By January 22, 2013
Consumerist reader Wade recently bought a new Alpine Car Stereo from a third-party marketplace seller on Amazon. Or at least he thought he had. [More]
Does Having An ID Card Saying You’re An Online Reviewer Make You A Savvy Consumer Or A Jerk?
By January 22, 2013
With the growing popularity of — and the culture’s growing reliance on — online review sites like Yelp, a small subset of reviewers have tried to dangle the sword of a negative review over the heads of business-owners in order to not just get good service, but get preferential treatment. [More]
Priceline Books Me In 3.5 Star Roach Motel, And There’s No Refunds
By January 22, 2013
The problem with Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” feature is that you don’t get to name your own hotel. That’s the point, of course. When Chris used it to book a 3.5 star hotel for his vacation, though, he looked up reviews for the place and saw that other customers’ experiences ranged from “no heat” to “dog poop in the closet” to “bedbugs.” That was not promising. So he tried to cancel, only to learn that Priceline has a strict policy against that. No matter how terrible the hotel you end up with might be. [More]
Yelp To Include Health Dept. Ratings For Restaurants In Some Cities
By January 17, 2013
While restaurant owners and customers quibble over the veracity and worth of reviews posted on Yelp, the site will soon be adding some information that is both helpful to consumers and harder to dispute — health department ratings. [More]
Landscaper Starts Website To Turn Tables On Bad Customers
By January 14, 2013
With the rising popularity of crowd-sourced review sites like Yelp and AngiesList, a number of business-owners feel like they are being unjustly slammed by a small number of very vocal, unsatisfied, customers. So one landscaper decided to turn things around with a site calls out problem clients. [More]
It’s Not A Good Idea To Tell Customers You Don’t Care If Their Food Was Inedible
By January 9, 2013
It’s no secret that Yelp can be frustrating to restaurant owners, and that some in the business have made their hatred for the online review site very clear, but it’s probably a bad idea to go on Yelp to tell a diner you don’t care about the quality of your food. [More]
Clean Bathrooms Are “Most Important Marketing Job” For Restaurants, Says Expert
By January 7, 2013
Anyone who has sat through marathons of shows like Kitchen Nightmares and Restaurant: Impossible is fully versed on all the disgusting things possibly lurking under dining room booths and every other nook and cranny. One food service expert says too many restaurant operators ignore the mop and bucket to the detriment of their businesses. [More]
Dramatic Readings Drastically Improve All Yelp Reviews
By January 4, 2013
Used carefully, Yelp can be a great resource to learn about the best local dining establishments and other businesses and keep up-to-date on new places that open. One thing has been lacking on the site for a long time, though: a sense of drama. Fortunately, the YouTube channel Real Actors Read Yelp is here to fix that gross oversight on Yelp’s part, hiring talented stage actors to get across the true agony of an improperly prepared sandwich. [More]
1-800-Flowers Promises Flowers, Refund, Coupons: Delivers None Of The Above
By January 4, 2013
Kyle had a LivingSocial voucher for 1-800-Flowers, and thought that he would put it to good use sending a lovely arrangement to his parents to show that he was thinking of them at Christmas. 1-800-Flowers didn’t really want to cooperate, though. They e-mailed him twice to let him know that the arrangement had been delivered…but it actually hadn’t. Silly Kyle, assuming that one of the messages had to reflect reality. They’ve since promised him a refund and a $20 coupon that have never come. [More]
Virginia Supreme Court: Businesses Can’t Censor Yelp Reviews Until They Prove Statements Are Libelous
By January 2, 2013
As we’ve covered numerous times, online review sites like Yelp can become a nasty battleground between unhappy consumers and business owners who take issue with what they claim are overly negative, sometimes malicious, comments. Last week, Virginia’s highest court ruled against one such business that had tried to squelch a customer’s reviews. [More]
