Over the past decade, Yelp has been the leader as the review site for local businesses. I’m writing this blog post to not bash Yelp like many local companies do although I have my fair share of complaints. I’m shedding light today on how to act and how not to behave on Yelp for customers.
With my computer repair service company in NYC, Yelp certainly is being used by customers to influence their company selection. They need to fix a computer and first-hand experiences of customers will sway their decision-making abilities. Most customers fall in the white-hat category. This is the way to act on Yelp.
Here is how to use Yelp as a customer for computer repair service or for any company for that matter:
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Obviously first view the reviews of a company and determine if this is the company for you.
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Use any check-in or offer discounts. Why not? They are there to take advantage of.
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Yelp can be mentioned when walking into the establishment as the reason for your visit. “Yelp brought me here.” “You have glowing reviews. That’s why I came.” That’s perfectly acceptable. Business owners like knowing where customers came from.
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Had a good experience. Write your review by all means. Had a bad experience. I think it’s always good faith to bring your gripes up first to the company. Give them a chance to correct any mistakes. Then, you can feel free to review based on the full experience.
Okay, so this is what you’ve been waiting for. How not to be have on Yelp. This is the black-hat experience and I’m sharing personal experiences that still have me fuming to this day. This is how not to act, but flies under the radar of the glorious Yelp filter system.
How not to use Yelp as a computer repair customer:
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“I’ve seen all your great Yelp reviews. You better treat me right or else I’ll be sure to share also.” Yes, we have had variants of this one. Not sure if this is online bullying or a threat of some sort, but that is not appreciated in the least.
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“If you don’t fix my computer on the spot…If you don’t fix my computer by Saturday…If you don’t take care of me well.., I’ll write a bad review.” I think that qualifies as extortion in most states. This is downright disgusting as we get this kind of trash mouth from time to time.
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We have also seen customers writing a bad review to start even before coming in or while walking in. The hope is to have us throw free stuff in to upgrade the rating. Nope, don’t fall for that as a company owner or manager. It’s like paying the ransom to a criminal who has put a CryptoLocker virus on a computer. Don’t give into such idiocy. Stand strong and reply ferociously back!
The point here is you, as a customer, should behave in a good faith manner towards computer repair shops and all businesses. It will only hurt you in the end if you game the system and will only benefit all if you treat all fairly. Let this be a lesson to all. Karma is real people!
