Yelp Official Blog

Don't Lose Your Cool

While not a common occurrence, several recent news stories highlighted situations where business owners used social media to lash out at dissatisfied customers. We won’t rehash those stories here, but it’s important to note that this approach often results in unwanted publicity for the business involved -- see Barbara Streisand.

We know that negative reviews can sting, especially after dealing with a difficult client or customer. But instead of unleashing your frustrations on the reviewer, take a step back, take a deep breath, and reflect on some other, more productive ways to respond.

Now more than ever, consumers are likely to share their experiences -- both good and bad -- with others online. With that in mind we’ve outlined five steps to success for managing your reputation:

1. Start with great customer service  Generally speaking, most successful businesses place an emphasis on making sure their customers feel great after they walk out the door. A recent Forbes article noted that with the popularity of social media, business owners should “treat their customers as if they were newspaper reporters.”
   
2. Stay cool  If you find yourself getting too emotional over your reviews, you may not be the best person to respond. Try appointing an office manager, or employee you trust as the point person to manage your online reviews. Also note that if you see a review written by someone with an “orange head” and no friends, it may not be worth losing sleep over. Consumers on Yelp naturally gravitate to reviewers who have an established presence, and that’s generally where your time is best spent, too.
   
3. Respond diplomatically  Use Yelp’s free review response tools to join the conversation about your business. You can respond privately or publicly, but always take the high road. If you feel like a review goes against our terms of service, you also have the option of flagging it for evaluation by our user support team.
4. Implement feedback  Online reviews can help savvy business owners figure out what they’re doing well, and what they can improve on. We’ve met with several business owners who go over Yelp reviews with their employees during staff meetings, and implement constructive feedback accordingly.
5. See step number one  Yelp is about connecting people with great local businesses. If you consistently put your best foot forward, people will notice!

How the Yelp "Burst" Came to Be

We are often asked how Yelp got its recognizable logo, or “Burst”. In 2004, around Yelp’s inception, I was hired as the company’s designer. At the time, Yelp had a cartoon-like speech bubble logo that had actually been designed by Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube. While no doubt an exceptional entrepreneur, we thought Chad should stick to video (heh) and decided to give the original logo a face lift. Thus, I was tasked with my first project: to give the brand and site a new look.

Our team wanted something fun that captured the spirit of writing reviews, something more unique than just a simple exclamation mark. I set out sketching about 100 different ideas for the logo. I expanded on speech balloons, abstract shapes and even a dog in attempt to "own" the yelping noise that a dog makes -- despite the fact yelping dogs really don’t have anything to do with where the name Yelp came from.

My ultimate inspiration came from comic strips, where often times a little asterisk would appear above a character's head in a moment of funny discovery. So I explored the more abstract exclamation direction and the Yelp Burst began to emerge.

At first it appeared too flower-like, so I pushed it into a softer asterisk-like shape. As I was finalizing the mark, I tried a few more last minute ideas that were even further abstractions on the idea, but the Burst ultimately won out with the team.


And for the typeface, for some reason I was obsessed with all caps and a lower-case 'e' and I even explored some slab serif treatments. But what emerged was a fun, rounded typeface called Mesmer, with the counters in the 'e' and 'p' offset to give it just a subtle touch of irreverence.

So, there you have it, the story of how the Yelp Burst came to be. And if you’re intrigued, we’re also hiring designers (just sayin!)

What Makes a Yelp(er) Elite?

Hard to believe 2012 marks the eighth year of our Yelp Elite Squad! It seems like just the other day we were asking ourselves whether this whole “meeting yelpers in-person” thing could really work. Fortunately, you know how the story goes -- it did! So whether this is year number eight, or your first run as a Yelp Elite, we wanted to take a moment to welcome and congratulate the newest members of the squad.
Oftentimes we get asked how folks become Yelp Elite and we have this handy Yelp Elite page you can always refer to. While there’s no set check list, overall we look for someone who is a stellar Yelp community member - both online and off - and role model to yelpers, new and old.

If those actions listed don’t already get you or someone who you think is deserving noticed, you can always nominate yourself or your peers during the course of the year. Just check out the Yelp Elite page to see which cities currently have a Yelp Elite Squad, then send an email to your city (eg. miami@yelp.com) with a link to your Yelp profile page and the reason why that Yelp Elite Badge belongs on your profile. Our National Elite Squad Council will review your nomination to see if you have what it takes!

So what comes with being Yelp Elite? Aside from a sparkly badge that you get to rock with pride on your Yelp profile page, you’ll get the opportunity to attend exclusive events, meet yelpers from your community in-person, and discover a variety of local businesses you may not have previously tried. What kind of events, you ask? Check out our Yelp Community Blog for some of the amazing soirees, bashes, dinner parties, even weddings that are taking place throughout our communities near and far. Hey, you may also snag a free Yelpstick. SYOY!

Top 10 US Yelp Restaurants of 2011!

Whoa, did 2011 go by quickly or was it just us? With a New Year comes many things, including those pesky resolutions: eat well, work out, manage stress, drink less. You know, the usual good-for-you type promises that last less than a week (or maybe that’s just us...). Well, what better way to get on top of “Eating Well” than by resolving to visit our top 10 list of most popular* US restaurants in 2011 according to yelpers!

You may remember our list from 2010 and while there are some familiar faces, there are also some upsets as well as new additions. Namely, the numero uno spot. East Coast may have reigned in 2010, but now it’s West Coast’s time to shine with -- of all places -- a pizza joint taking the crown!

Los Angeles’s Bottega Louie jumped two spots to take the title of the most popular restaurant in 2011 according to yelpers. With their mouth-watering and colorful assortment of macarons, selection of Italian favorites like their margherita pizza and yelpers’ all time favorite dish -- portobello fries -- no wonder Bottega Louie has over 3,519 reviews and counting!

Taste the rainbow! (Photo Credit: Smitcha B.)

The rest of the US Top 10 for 2011 boasts some strong contenders, as well, and we have a feeling that our resolution for “Eating Well” is one we’ll definitely be keeping for longer than a week:

1. Bottega Louie, Los Angeles
2. Bruxie, Orange County
3. Ippudo NY, New York
4. Wurstküche, Los Angeles
5. Bi-Rite Creamery, San Francisco
6. Daikokuya, Los Angeles
7. Phil's BBQ, San Diego
8. Ike's Place, San Francisco
9. Griddle Cafe, Los Angeles
10. Animal, Los Angeles

*How’d we do it? Rank was determined by how many people in the Yelp community have bookmarked the business in 2011, as well as combined with average star rating, total review count, and total check-ins.

Day in the Life of a Yelp Product Manager

Just because 2011 is coming to a close doesn’t mean we’re not still hiring -- in fact, anything but! Next up in our “Day in the Life” series is Cliff Curry, Yelp Product Manager by day and, well, we’re not sure what he gets up to at night, but that’s OK. Cliff talks about what brought him to Yelp, what his day-to-day work is like and what he cranks on with his colleagues during our quarterly Hackathons! Read his story below and if you like what you see, don’t be shy, check out some of our many job openings via our Careers Page!



What did you do before coming to Yelp?
My past experience includes work as a designer/developer at MySpace in Los Angeles, where I crafted interfaces for Celebrity, Fashion and Comedy content channels. Over the nearly three years I was there I also built over a hundred advertiser integrations and takeovers with partners like Toyota, Coke and Warner Bros. Following MySpace I did a brief stint at Break Media where I redesigned three of their eight editorial websites before moving to the Bay Area to come to Yelp!

How did you first hear about Yelp and the job opening?
As a bit of a foodie I had been relying on Yelp to find great restaurants in LA for quite some time. As a designer, I had seen Yelp event art and s[ch]wag on design blogs and appreciated the company’s bold, colorful, irreverent aesthetic. As a tech-enthusiast I knew that I wanted to eventually work in the Bay Area and had started asking around my network. A recruiter connected the dots and got my resume in front of the yelpers I now call coworkers.

What's your title at Yelp and how long have you been with the company?
I have been at Yelp a little over 6 months. Job title: Product Manager

What comprises a typical day for you?
Because my projects are quite varied and include national business products, brand advertiser products, some marketing initiatives and basic site enhancements (that's the nice way of saying bugs), no day is ever the same. I start the day responding to a lot of requests from various teams and prioritize the most important actions I can take for my projects that day. The mornings always contain a stand-up meeting that allows me to sync-up with the engineers working on my projects. I keep my afternoons focused on testing products currently in the pipeline and designing specs and researching forthcoming projects.

What's the BEST part of working for Yelp?
Working with passionate coworkers on a product that is used by millions of loyal users is nothing short of fantastic.

What is your favorite perk at Yelp?
Honest Tea. (I'm guessing the fridge on my floor needs restocking right now).
And Darwin.

What has been your favorite memory at Yelp?
During our most recent quarterly Hackathon, where anyone at Yelp can work on anything they’re interested in pursuing, my team chose to display Yelp review activity in a novel way. I designed a visualization of the review activity coming out of our European sites. Four engineers (and two interns) worked into the night to bring it to life. I was thrilled by the team's dedication to the project and attention to detail. By the compliments we received, other folks were impressed as well. We're making some tweaks and will be putting it in the SF lobby soon -- so if you’re coming in for an interview, don’t forget to check it out!

What separates Yelp from other places you've worked?
When in LA, I worked mostly on sites that were more entertaining than useful. Yelp provides me the opportunity to work on an actual tool that helps connect people to fantastic businesses and, in turn, helps those businesses grow.

Finally, what would be your one piece of advice for someone interested in your role?
Read Tufte: Powerpoint is not a design tool.

Yelping in the Ultimate Driving Machine

We are excited to share that beginning today, BMW will be enhancing their in-car infotainment system known as BMW Online, with Yelp. BMW made a recent update to BMW Online that allows them to add new features (aka, applications) and we’re proud to say that Yelp is one of the first to be integrated!

No matter where you are, you will no longer have to settle for the second best café or a mediocre rest stop, Yelp reviews will be right there within your reach to help guide you.

Here are a couple of screenshots of what it will look like:

This is currently available in the US only. BMW Online is available to Convenience Plan subscribers on BMW Assist with on-board Navigation system on the following models:

• 2009 and later Z4, 1, 3 and 7 Series
• 2010 and later 5 and 6 Series
• 2010 and later X5 and X6
• 2011 and later X3.

Now, who wants to let me borrow their 7 Series for the weekend so I can test this new feature out? 

[Crickets]

Hmm. OK. Well, in that case be sure to report back and let us know what you think of this integration!

Hackathon VI

Hello and welcome back to another Hackathon recap. For those of you just joining us, Hackathons are a periodic opportunity for our engineers to take a break, scratch an itch, and demonstrate their creativity. So, while you’re probably not going to see any of these projects on the site, we are still going to show off a few of our favorites.

Universally hailed as “the best Hackathon ever” by anonymous sources, it was an exciting couple of days! Regular viewers will expect to be dazzled by the array of software wizardry with projects including improvements to MRJob so impressive they were dubbed MRGod, an IRC bot that can look up asciified cat pictures while pushing code and a computer that freestyles dub step to the beat of mobile contributions. 

Folks that needed to step up their coding energy a beat taking a DDR break.

Beyond pure software virtuosity, hardware played a larger role than in any previous Hackathon. One team (Nuclear Khaos) decided plain dice were just not random enough: they hooked into a Geiger counter and unleashed the power of true hardware randomness. Don’t worry, their depleted uranium is just enough to test the geiger counter and can’t hurt anyone.

Nuclear Khaos: Harnessing the twin powers of atomic energy and raw style.

Other hardware hackery included a mechanical computer, physical switches that can push code (lets face it, just hitting Enter doesn’t feel momentous enough when you launch a new continent), and a sound & fireproofed box to keep our MakerBot quiet while it prints during the day.

But enough of my yapping, you should see for yourself.  We’ve brought a few of the projects out in a special episode of Yelp Roadshow:

 

If you think any of this might be up your alley then you probably should take a gander at our job site, we would love to have you join us for the next one!

Until next time, Hack on!

Questions on Yelp Deals? We Have Answers.

We launched Yelp Deals to give businesses an easy way to capture new customers on a real-time basis through our website and mobile app. Millions of people turn to Yelp each month to learn about local businesses where they may spend money -- so it only made sense to give yelpers the option to “buy now.”

Several thousand business owners have already posted a deal on their Yelp page and we caught up with a few who’ve had success. Check out the video below to hear their stories:

 

Interested in learning more? You’re in luck! We’re hosting a free webinar on Friday, December 16th at 10AM PST / 1PM EST. The presentation will last 30 minutes and we’ll reserve another half-hour for Q & A. Click here to RSVP.

You can also check out our FAQ at any time for more information on Yelp Deals, as well as our free business owner tools at biz.yelp.com.

 

Making the Excuse to Shop Local

With many things in life, it’s easy to make excuses: Another glass of wine? I’ll just not drink tomorrow (Sure). Gym after work? Oh, I’ll totally get up at 6am and go then (I made myself laugh with that one). In the case of shopping at locally owned stores during the holiday season, we’ve also heard a few:

“I won’t be able to find things for everyone on my list.”
“It’s too expensive.”
“I don’t have time to go to that many stores.”
“Return policies aren’t as flexible.”

As Chelsea P., a Tuscon yelper put it: “I know the benefits of shopping local. That said, I haven't always followed my own rule. Importantly, Yelp’s Shops Local Pledge reminded me of what is out there and renewed my dedication to buying local this holiday season.”

With the help of yelpers who have taken the Yelp Shops Local Pledge and participating shop owners, we thought we’d take a few minutes to help dispel some of these misconceptions, as well as share some additional surprises they’ve learned while shopping local!

"Actually, shopping local has been surprisingly affordable. But aside from the prices, the customer service has been absolutely wonderful! I've had several 5 or 10 minute conversations with the shop workers and have learned some neat things about their shops and about the areas I was shopping in. I really enjoy getting that personal connection while buying gifts for friends, family, or myself." - Monika N., Cincinnati Yelper
       
“I support local because these business owners are our neighbors and for many of them they are working their dream. We keep $.68 to the $1 if spent local compared to big business, it builds community... and it just feels good. Win, win.” - Faith D., Charlotte Yelper   

"Our customers have filled out the Yelp Shops Local Pledge without hesitation! Many have asked what other businesses are participating so I have referred them to Yelp to find out. Even taking the pledge to do a portion of your shopping with local businesses can have impact." - Jen Radler of Pop-Cycle

“There are a lot of misconceptions I've heard that deter people from shopping local. This is an old school way of thinking, as technology allows small business to offer the same conveniences as big box stores. Remember, by shopping local, if you need an exchange or have problems with a product, you can speak with the store owner first hand. Chances are, they'll be more than accommodating as they appreciate happy, repeat customers.” - Paige M., Cincinnati Yelper

Interested in how you can take part? Check your local Yelp listing for events going on in your neck of the woods, our 2011 Weekly Yelp Gift Guides or just challenge yourself to support one local business this holiday season -- whether it be a place to grab gifts, a warm meal or something to treat yo’ self!

Yelp iPhone: Making it Easier to Edit & Share Business Information

Our team is always hard at work to improve your experience on Yelp.com and our mobile apps -- and today is no exception! You asked for it and we’re happy to introduce several new features in our iPhone 5.5 update.

This release allows users to:
• Update a business' hours, address, categories, and more from your phone.
• Snap and instantly share a business photo with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
• Add new businesses to Yelp with just a few taps. 

It’s important to note that while yelpers can edit and add this information on the go, it still goes through the same vetting process that happens on Yelp.com. Once our team reviews and verifies your changes, it will go live. This is to ensure that we’re always pointing you and other yelpers to the most useful and accurate information and not somewhere that’s not a real business, like your Aunt Sally’s kitchen (even if the apple pie is killer).

And if you own a local business and would like to update your hours of operation, add information about yourself and more -- unlock your Yelp page for free via biz.yelp.com.