With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/526329
july 2015 BCBusiness 55 adam blasberg Yelp's FAQ section even helpfully offers the following question: "I'm not happy with what consumers are saying about me. Should I get my lawyers involved?" Yelp gently recommends you do not. They cite "the Streisand Effect" (the possibility that legal action will bring far more publi– city to the item you wish to suppress—named for the singer's 2003 attempt to remove an online photo of her Malibu, California, home that was subsequently downloaded thousands of times). Legal questions aside, there is also the question of Yelp's quality control. Everybody's got an opinion, and everybody's opinion is what makes up a restaurant's aggregate rating. Is that always fair? James Iranzad and Josh Pape are co-owners of the multiple- award-winning Wildebeest in Gastown. "It's not a typical res- taurant," Iranzad points out—the menu can include items like sweetbreads and bone marrow. "We are dedicated to using every part of the animal. It's not for everybody." But almost everybody is on Yelp. Customer opinions are equally weighted. It's democratic, but it can be the equivalent of reading opera, bluegrass and klezmer concert reviews all written by Bob Seger fans. "Probably the worst restaurant meal I have ever had," wrote Jill S. of Richmond of her Wildebeest experi- ence. "We started with the pork rinds... the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten." Narges A. of Vancouver compared it to "uncooked raw meet that was similar to Dog Food... I just feel i was rubbed." [sic] Iranzad feels other sites offer a more discriminating take. "Our Yelp rating is 3.5," Iranzad says, "whereas our rating at OpenTable.com is 4.2." Posteraro agrees that Yelp reviews can be unfair to those who aim higher. "I fought to give Vancouver a place that is not another pseudo-Italian restaurant," Posteraro says. "So how can I convince an American who is used to the Olive Garden and says, 'There's no lasagna, there's no garlic bread, what kind of Italian restaurant is this?'" Bad reviews are never pleasant, but Posteraro makes a distinction between online comments and reviews written by professional critics. "Because it's a journalist I will investigate, get to the NOT FOR EVERYONE Josh Pape's Wildebeest has received mostly rave reviews from professional critics, but some scathing ones on Yelp