Why you shouldn't care about what Yelp says.

There's really no worse, or lower human being than an elite Yelper.  Just browse some of their reviews, and you'll see they are the picture of entitled and unhappy with everything.  They don't like waiting, they don't like the temperature of their coffee, and they certainly don't like being called out when they are rude customers.

Last year we had our first negative review from a dick named Brad, who is a school teacher in Los Angeles.  We knew from the beginning this guy was going to be a problem, but we still decided to work on his motorcycle.

The story is simple.  After ten emails, he finally decided to bring in his vintage motorcycle, simply explaining he needed the clutch set correctly because he couldn't do it and handed us a box of parts.  We set out to repair the clutch and get the motorcycle operating correctly.  We did so rather quickly and called him to pick it up.

When he arrived, we warmly greeted him, and the first thing he says is "we have a big problem" to which we asked "what?" puzzled because he hadn't even ridden the motorcycle and he says "you didn't put the battery box on" to which we replied, "you didn't ask us to do that."

His reply was, " well, I guess I needed to give you step by step instructions."  Talking to us like we are some sort of crayon eating idiot.

Now usually this is where a business owner might apologize for the misunderstanding, but in this situation, we were very clear on the work he wanted to be done and nothing more.

So instead of apologizing, I told him that nobody talks to us like that and to get the fuck out of the shop. He looked at me like I was kidding, but we told him we were serious and to take his motorcycle and go.

A short time later, we get a call claiming we stole his battery even though we returned everything he gave us and then proceeded to leave us a review on Yelp and Google.

The funny part in all of this is that we ate a $450.00 invoice just to get a negative review.  No winning with this guy even after explaining why would we steal a used battery when we can buy them at cost?

When I tried to leave a response to his review, Yelp said it didn't comply with their policies. ( what they really mean is that I don't pay for advertising!)  Then for weeks after, we received numerous sales calls from Yelp trying to get us to advertise.  Interesting how that occurred only after we tried to dispute the review.

Here is a copy of our response.

Yes!!! Finally, our first negative review. Thanks Brad! Seeing as this is our first and only negative review, this says more about reviewer being petty and feckless than it does about a business which, by all the positive reviews, provides exceptional service. Companies don't need to tolerate a disrespectful customer and the negativity he brought into the shop, and thankfully for us, he has been the only customer we have had a problem with. You received what amounts to free work on your motorcycle, and yet you still complain and accused us only after you left of keeping a battery that you never gave us, even though we returned a box full of parts that you did provide. One only needs to look no further than your prolific negative review campaign against other businesses on multiple sites to see the only joy you find in life is by leaving negative reviews. And yes, you are right; attorneys are useful against slanderous slime that hide behind posting negative reviews. We have zero-tolerance for slander and will protect our exceptional reputation by whatever means necessary. Businesses need to stand up to this type of customer and these bogus reviews

Apparently, when you treat people like they treat you, they get upset.

So our advice when it comes to Yelp is to set the phone down and try having your own personal experience then make a choice.  Many times a phone call or in-person visit will tell you all you need to know.  Also, don't forget to check the hidden reviews because we have found many of those are the actual real reviews.  Those are the people who don't leave reviews and decide that one time it met with their expectations and actually took the time to leave a review.

Our advice to the negative reviewer is when you leave more 1-star reviews, then 5-star reviews, it might be time to reevaluate your life choices, Brad. 

https/www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=EUP9iObXx1POfYmIscKrxQ