Mel's Drive-In, a restaurant chain in California, made news this week when a PR firm uncovered the diner's "virtual bribe" — or a deal for Yelpers. Here's how it works: you write a Yelp review (it can be good or bad) of the eatery, bring in a copy, and receive a 20 percent discount on your bill. I've never been into Yelp, the website that lets everyone be a restaurant critic, so I won't be participating in Mel's discount any time soon. However, if it was a restaurant I frequented or was interested in checking out, I might be persuaded to give it some online publicity. How about you?
Is It OK to Write a Yelp Review For a Restaurant Discount?
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Wouldn't that violate yelp's terms of service?
1Yelp has deals like that all the time.
2Yeah. Certain Yelp sponsored businesses advertise specials to yelpers all the time.
However, if you're not yelp sponsored, Yelp usually busts that business on the dirty marketing.
3Offering coupons lures in a bevvy of people who LIKE the restaurant--after all, if you hate a place, why review to get a coupon you'll never use? It tips the scales in favor of a place. I think the reviews should have to be tagged that the customer receieved an incentive for their review.
4I am having trouble seeing anything especially wrong with this. Sure people who like the place will be more apt to post a favorful review, but it takes a special kind of drive to even take the time to post any kind of review. I would say if an experience somewhere was poor enough that one feels they need to express it on YELP.
5Party, why aren't you a yelp fan?
6I cut myself off lol.
7I would say if an experience somewhere was poor enough that one feels they need to express it on YELP, then there should still be a fair amount of opinions from both sides, discount or no discount.
this is just as bad as bloggers who accept offers from companies to blog about a free product they've received. dirty.
8It's o.k. but I like full disclosure. Like mentioning that the review was partially sponsored by the restaurant.
9I'd do it...If I've never heard of some restaurant, I'd try it if they offered me a discount for writing a review.
10I don't see why there's a problem with it. The restaurant wants to get their name out there- and they give 20% whether or not the review was good or bad (although not sure why bad reviewers would ever go back...). It's not like they're getting incentives for a positive review! Maybe I'm biased since I love Yelp!
11Although Mel's isn't really a big deal I would still do it for the discount!
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