Cambridge Restaurant Owner Shames Yelpers Who Berated Staff
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) - Turning the tables on negative reviews. One restaurant owner is saying enough is enough when it comes to Yelpers who, he says, abuse the system. Now he's firing back after he says he was threatened with bad reviews by two troublesome customers.
Michael Scelfo owns Alden & Harlow in Harvard Square. He posted a photo of the customers on Instagram, writing, "Shout out to these 2 winners for seating themselves with no reservations, insulting and berating our staff, refusing to leave and all the while yelping away in front of us as a means of threat."
Georgios Zerfas is a Boston University marketing professor who studies the effects of online reviews. "Most people do not walk in and threaten restaurants with a bad review," he says. Zervas says businesses will often respond to criticism, but not like this. "I think it's more rare to use social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, to name and shame customers," he says.
But that's exactly what the restaurant owner did, responding to what he perceived to be a form of blackmail; customers saying seat us and serve us or we clobber you online.
"The threat can be substantial. Online reviews are a major component of the consumer decision making process, and because of that they can affect the financial performance of businesses," says Prof. Zervas.
Whether the chef's tactic is effective or will backfire is yet to be seen, but he says he's drawing a line and fighting against customers who he says feel entitled. We tried to talk to him today, but he declined.