Monitoring and Responding to Internet Feedback about Your Motel

http://voices.realestate.co.nz/motels/2008/08/28/monitoring-and-responding-to-internet-feedback-about-your-motel/

Action Plan for Monitoring Internet Chatter about Your Motel

It is important to respond to reviews and comments as you are made aware of them, so you can immediately address any issues and act appropriately (both negative and positive).

Here are some quick tips for responding to customer reviews:

• Thank the customer for taking the time to write a review
• Apologize profusely if the customer is right on target with their negative review
• Provide a simple, short explanation of what really happened (if such an explanation is possible)
• Assure the reviewer and motel guests in general that every possible step has been taken to address the problem or service in question
• Offer a direct line of communication between you and the reviewer (via email, direct phone line, etc.) in order to rectify the situation
• To conclude the response, use any elements of the customer’s comments that are constructive (e.g. great location, comfortable rooms, etc) to put a positive spin on a negative review.

Conclusion

Moteliers need to work hard to nurture happy customers and avoid negative postings. They must monitor reviews on review sites, TripAdvisor in particular, and react immediately if an extremely positive or negative review is posted.

but negative feedback can get you heading in the right direction

The other day, I asked Mona, the president of The Rich Dad Company, what she thought of the rough draft of my new book, which is due out this fall. She took a deep breath and said, “I am disappointed in it; it lacks punch and leaves me wanting more.”

Her words cut like a knife. I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart. I didn’t respond. But once I got over my initial reaction, I was able to appreciate Mona’s candor—and her courage. I asked her what was missing and what we could do to improve the book. (And I’m happy to say that revisions are well under way.)

Unpleasant feedback is never easy to take, nor is it easy to give. We would all rather give or hear only positive feedback. Yet feedback, both positive and negative, is essential for personal growth, character building and business stamina.

The world is one big feedback loop. For example, when your CPA hands you your financial statement, he’s giving you feedback on how smart (or stupid) you are as an entrepreneur. When you step on your bathroom scale, you’re also looking for feedback. Many people don’t step on a scale or look at their financials for the same reason: They don’t want the feedback. They want to pretend everything is just fine.

In business, if your ads don’t increase sales, that’s feedback. If a customer walks into your store and walks out without buying anything, that, too, is feedback. Blogs are feedback.  My rich dad often told me, “There are two types of feedback: to your face or behind your back.” He frowned on the businesspeople who surrounded themselves with yes men. He said, “Yes men are dangerous people. Yes men are nice to your face but often stab you in the back.”

See Full Story http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/small-business-entrepreneurs/2008/08/27/hear-this.html

Restaurant Video Feedback

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/bestbites/feedback/index.html

The site above has a list of DC restaurant Video Feedback ..

See One Video below

http://www.viddler.com/explore/washingtonian/videos/47/

Business Owners ‘Yelp’ About Internet Ratings Site

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― “This is like you coming out here and trying to accomplish something, and someone is saying something horrible about you, and it’s painful,” said Selena Kellinger.

Kellinger has been “Yelped!” by a website getting up to 10 million users a month. Reviews here can help or hurt a business. “A lady posted a really horrible review,” said Selena.

So, Kellinger, whose business Razzberry Lips does makeover parties for little girls, called Yelp because she says the posting was slanderous. “We kind of felt that it was saying that we were doing something illegal,” said Kellinger.

But Yelp’s policy is not to remove negative postings. “Instead they removed some positive postings. They refused to remove the bad posting, and then they called me to solicit a business account,” said Kellinger.

A business account called a “Sponsorship Program” allows businesses to bring a favorite review to the top, provide a photo slideshow, and a message from the business owner.

Kellinger said Yelp told her they would move the negative posting to the bottom of her page. Kellinger refused to pay. “I felt like that was really unfair, and that they were holding me hostage,” said Kellinger.

Mary Seaton of the Sofa Outlet was also Yelped! “A customer had written a negative review. … So, about a week after that Yelp contacted us, and said, ‘We noticed that you had some negative reviews, and we would like to help you with that. … If you pay $350 a month’,” said Seaton.

So she paid for five months, a total of $1750. Seaton said some of her negative reviews were moved to the bottom. But, Seaton said, “All of a sudden some more negative reviews got posted, but there were no favorable or positive reviews.”

So she canceled. “I feel like they are extorting money and preying basically on business owners,” said Seaton.

See full Story 

http://cbs5.com/wrapper_consumer/seenon/Yelp.Internet.ratings.2.787400.html

Also See

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/04/BUFU11IP6J.DTL

Yelp ‘pay to play’ pitch makes shops scream for help

Over the last year, five San Francisco Bay Area businesses have told The Register that the company has offered to “push bad reviews to the bottom” of their Yelp pages if they paid to advertise on the site.

One restaurant owner was contacted “five or six” times, and each time, the Yelp sales rep insisted that if he forked over $6,000 a year for “sponsored link” status, the site would suppress user posts that put his restaurant in a less-than-positive light.

“They told me I had 60 reviews on my [Yelp] page,” said the owner, who requested anonymity, fearing repercussions from Yelp’s famously outspoken users. “They told me ‘No one is going to read all 60. They’re only going to read the first few.’”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/13/yelp_sales_pitch/print.html

Restaurants get Facebook to face with fans

Tristano agreed that networking groups may be a way to gauge your customers’ interests and can provide useful information about what works and what does not.

 

“It could be a good feedback system for restaurants,” he said.

 

However, since these groups are not created proactively or designed by restaurant chains, they might not provide the sort of marketing or demographic feedback a company wants.

 

Einstein’s Spaulding said the chain doesn’t believe social networking sites connect them to their primary customer. However, as technology evolves, Einstein’s approach may change.

 

“All of this is driven by technology. Who knows what is on the horizon,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, Sinelli said connecting with customers on a one-to-one basis is working for Which Wich.

 

“It shows a little edge to our company, that we’re in tune with our customers and in that we’re in tune with technology,” he said.

 

http://www.fastcasual.com/article.php?id=11564&na=1

Track what your customers say about you

The Web empowers customers to praise – or pummel – your business. Be prepared.

(Fortune Small Business) — In his new book, web analyst Pete Blackshaw hails the rising influence of customer-opinion Web sites and blogs, and argues that small-business owners can profit from joining the online discussion.

Blackshaw, an executive at Nielsen Online in Cincinnati, is the author of Consumer-generatedmedia.com, named one of the top 100 marketing blogs by Advertising Age magazine. His book Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000 (Doubleday, $21.95) will be published in July. Blackshaw spoke with contributing editor John J. Curran.

How do you define consumer-generated media?

There are probably over 100 million blogs in the U.S. alone. Then you’ve got tens of millions of MySpace sites and Facebook pages. About 60% of Americans are putting content on the web, and it can affect how your product or service is perceived in the marketplace. Consumers trust each other more than they trust advertisers or businesses. The question is, How do you turn it to your advantage?

See Whole Story

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/15/smallbusiness/what_are_they_saying.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2008081109

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other – By Frank Bruni

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other/#comment-130831

Congratulations to Chef Didier Pawlicki for his answers to the patrons of his restaurant on Citysearch. In this era of ‘I write a food blog – everyone’s a food critic’ he chooses not to be cynical by acually taking the time to address those that take their time write a review: be it good or bad. A Chef who makes a conscious effort to communicate with his patrons; be it for a good review or bad one; certainly cares. I am sure we would all prefer to spend our money in a place where we know we are walking into a restaurant where the Chef cares what he prepares and is willing to pay heed to our comments. Who can ask for more than entering an establishment where the Chef truly cares that you are sitting at one of his tables.

— Posted by blondee47