Yelp!

Do you know where to go for your birthday or other special occasions? How do you know where to find a good restaurant? Do you look at newspapers or the Internet? Since we live in an era with advanced technology, most people surf the web to find good restaurants to eat. People may use Bing to search, but the most common website is Yelp, an online review of restaurants, dentists, shopping malls, and other service-oriented businesses.

I used Yelp to search for popular restaurants, such as Hard Rock Café, and it was really helpful to me. The reviews for Hard Rock Café were all positive about the services, but there were mixed reviews about the foods. When I went to Hard Rock Café at Fisherman's Wharf for lunch, I ordered a cheeseburger with French fries. The burger was not what I expected; it tasted a little burnt. Service was great because the server knew what I wanted before I called him, such as refilling drinks. I thought it was worth my time like some reviewers wrote because I enjoyed the friendly atmosphere.

New York Times

After customers leave the restaurants, they are sometimes afraid to share their experiences with the restaurants about their foods and services. Yelp is a good way for previous customers to communicate with other people online. These reviews are posted and read by many people from all over the world. These reviews also can be about how they feel, whether or not the foods are good, and how the employees in the restaurants treat the customers.

When restaurants have a problem and do not know what it is, they often ask customers to fill out a survey. Other times they give customers their contact information, so customers can mail or email their experience or concerns. Both of these methods are good, but they are a waste of money, time, papers, and resources. How many people are willing to take the time to do the survey, and mail or email their feedbacks? Yelp is a better method because it is easy to use and people feel more comfortable by sharing their experience with others online.

Since Yelp is open to the public, restaurants should use it to their advantage. It is easily accessible online and provides customers’ comments. By reading the comments, restaurants can try to make changes, such as training their employees, improving management team, keeping sanitation in and out of the kitchen, and creating improved policies based on the problems.

I recommend everyone to use Yelp to find a good restaurant to eat. If customers do not directly give feedbacks about their experience, it does not mean that there is no problem. I also recommend restaurants to read comments about them, so they may understand what customers are thinking and try to make changes to solve the problems if necessary.