Who Are the
Yelp Elite? Some Yelpers have little “Elite” symbols next to their names. That means that Yelper has engaged with the community in a significant way — liking people’s reviews, writing prolifically themselves, friending and interacting with other Yelpers, and other signs of devoted Yelp use. “There’s no set criteria [for an Elite Yelper],” says Kayleigh Winslow, PR coordinator at Yelp. “It’s really something where you know it when you see it.”
SO WHO PICKS THE ELITES?
Otis “Mr. Whoever You Think You Are” M. (otism.yelp.com) Full Name: Otis Maxwell Age: that’s for him to know and us not to find out Job: professional writer (not about food) Favorite Review Quote: “I will get my pizza from one of the several places in the vicinity that do not include bile as a condiment.” Time Spent Yelping (per week): Probably 3 hours … too much!
Josh K.
Alison “Call me Ali Instead” V.
(buffsoulja.yelp.com)
(avdv.yelp.com)
Full Name: Josh K. (prefers to stay anonymous)
Full Name: Alison VanDerVolgen Age: 30
Age: (not provided) Job: teacher (college) Favorite Review Quote: “Kimchi Blues” Time Spent Yelping (per week): It usually takes me about an hour to write a Yelp review. I average about one review or update every 1-2 weeks. Josh K. prefers to remain a mystery, so no photo was taken.
declined to revise his review. That kind of misinformation can be frustrating for businesses, whose very livelihoods count on customer satisfaction. That’s why Maxwell says he is very careful about criticizing local venues. “I take very seriously that a bad review hurts the business,” he says. “These are real people who depend on the business for their livelihood. Don’t do it unless it’s true what you’re saying.” Christopher believes if a community values the small businesses that make their towns interesting, then the community has an obligation to support them, regardless of a negative experience. He says he wishes his unhappy customers would address
Job: Strategy Executive Partner Favorite Review Quote: “I chose The Haystack. It advertises itself as a grilled steak with cheese. And that’s what it was. A steak (not sliced or anything) topped with cheese on a bun. It was pretty good, though the steak was a little tough which made it hard to eat in sandwich form.” Time Spent Yelping (per week): Average time is tough. I probably spend about an hour a week if you count looking at reviews and writing them.
him directly, in person, so that he can deal with the problem, rather than reading about it later in a public forum. It’s a fair point, but one that probably can’t stick. Customers have always been fussy. And everyone has a right to express dissatisfaction about a business they paid for service. The democratic process can be brutal, though a good number of the negative reviews tend to be sockpuppet reviews — nefarious characters (read: rival business owners) pretending to be customers. It’s difficult to weed out the real from the fake. (Colleen even says a fake-review red flag is too much negativity.)
Community managers. And you’ll find community managers in 120 cities throughout 26 different countries, according to Kristen Whisenand, PR manager at Yelp. Yelpers nominate each other (or themselves) and the community manager decides who qualifies. Then the Elites get to go to Yelporganized events and parties with giveaways and drinks and food and all kinds of little perks. That’s great for big cities, but smaller Yelp communities — such as the Capital Region — have to appeal to a national “Elite council,” says Winslow, which decides who, in the global community, qualifies as Elite. (And they make that decision once a year.) Josh K., from Albany, has been Yelping since September 2010. He became Elite in 2013. “I would like to think [I was elected Elite] because they (someone at Yelp HQ in San Fran) recognized me as someone who writes passionately about local Capital Region restaurants and can positively represent the smaller Albany market, where we lack a paid community manager,” Josh says in an email. Without a community manager and formal, official events to attend, Yelpers here turn to each other and organize their own events.
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