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A Photo Gallery of the Things I am Grateful for This Year
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10 Random Albums To Be Thankful For
Fabio Viviani (Photo via Bravo TV)
Okay, so yadda yadda yadda, new place to eat, so what? All of this is par for the course with the launch of a new restaurant, but what's a bit out of place is that Firenze Osteria has already garnered a perfect 5-star review on Yelp. Even more questionable: The reviewer has actually never been there. So how does "Bryan W." know Viviani's new joint is the shiz? To quote:
this rating is totally based off the fact that I loved watching Chef Fabio Viviani on Top Chef. I'm considering going there opening night and was surprised I got to be the first one to yelp about the placeSurprised? In the same way one might be surprised to be the first person to remark how wonderful the year 2017 has been so far, or how fun it is to be one of the first people to ride on the new Downtown LA streetcar route? And let me take this opportunity to give props to George Clooney for being such a rock star in the sack. After all, I love to watch him on the big screen...
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You are literally making a newstory of a single bad yelp review. Wow.
You are literally commenting on the fact that I made a news story of a single bad yelp review. Wow.
PS ;) ...Couldn't resist!
Not sure if your post is meant to expose a schill or just rip on the Yelp, but since Bryan W. is my boyfriend this cracked me up. Bryan is crazy for yelping and crazy for Fabio, so when he heard of the new restaurant opening just down the street from our apartment he got a little excited. He innocently created the restaurant's entry to share the news with others and let neighbors know about the party. Yelp is for sharing after all. You neglected to mention he gave full disclosure that he hadn't yet dined at the restaurant, and I'm sure he plans to update his review when he does. I hope your blog post doesn't reflect badly on Fabio before he's even officially opened his new restaurant.
giving a star rating is not part of sharing info, it's rating the experience of dining there (in the context of restaurants). on yelp, exciting news about an event can be shared on the message boards or by listing an event in the event section.
the direct quote from the review fully discloses that he didn't dine there, so that was not "neglected."
You could have always flagged the review....
Erin-
If he just wanted to share the news on the event (and add his editorial excitement), he should have created an event within Yelp - that would have accomplished both. It doesn't seem fair or appropriate to me to give a restaurant stars (whether 1 or 5) without any direct experience with the place.
I really think this begs a larger question which is "is it right to review a restaurant based on things that have nothing to do with the restaurant?". For example, one might think Gordon Ramsay is a jerk, or that Hell's Kitchen is a bad show, but does that mean it's okay to give all of his restaurants a 1 star review without going to any of them? I think not.
There is a level of responsibility that comes with writing a review - it can affect the business of not just the restaurant reviewed, but of other restaurants - because by deciding to go to one restaurant someone is deciding not to go to another (call it review collateral damage). I doubt Bryan took all of this into consideration, but in my opinion he should have.
People on Yelp are...fanatical (and that's me being very nice). If you ever make the mistake of browsing through the "Talk" threads, you will see what I mean.
That nerd who jizzed his pants over Fabio is the prototypical Yelper. They can all be bought with a pretty face and some free food.
Fabio never impressed me on Top Chef but I was never planning to go to his restaurant anyway. This only confirms that instinct.
This isn't top scallop!
A classic Top Chef moment. :D
There's this new restaurant that serves feces but I gave it 5 stars because I know a waitress and she's really hott. You guys should check it out.
But have you eaten the feces? That's the important stuff.
Another problem with these types of reviews on Yelp is that they contribute to the loss of credibility of Yelp and Yelpers as a whole.
The review also doesn't mention whether he's even been to Vivani's other restaurant, but simply a fan of him on a competitive reality show.
That said, being a semi-celebrity chef will evoke the spectrum of excitement and skepticism to his restaurant already. Positive or negative, a preempted review will and as Erin mentioned that "[She] hope[s] [this] blog post doesn't reflect badly on Fabio before he's even officially opened his new restaurant," It's not the blog post that did it, it's the review. This article just points out the problem with reviews like his.
Reviews based on no first hand experience are actually a violation of the Yelp TOS and this one had already been flagged, so I'm sure it will be gone soon...
Sure, some yelpers get caught up in their enthusiasm over a hot new joint or chef coming soon, but that's why Yelp makes it easy to create a business listing for a new place even before they've opened without adding a review (just check the little box) and then you can start a Talk thread to spread the word or post something to the Events page if there's an opening planned.
And newp, writing a "coming soon" review that you intend to update doesn't count. Sorry folks.. :)
I can't wait to try the Monkey A$$ on Clam Shell.