chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/busi … xpands.htm
Taiwan really needs some version of yelp for restaurant reviews. iPeen has a terrible interface and unhelpful ranking system. Any chance this will ever take off?
It is taking off. I’ve downloaded the app and was amazed to see that almost every restaurant for the area in which I live had already received several reviews from other people on Yelp. Even the local nightmarket stalls have ratings! It’s a great app if your out and about and want to get an idea about a new place. It also feels empowering to have the ability to do something about overpriced crappy food (cough TJB cough), whilst rewarding good establishments with good reviews so they can flourish. They do more than just restaurants though, they do cafes, bars, department stores and pharmacies. It’s new my play thing at the moment.
I have a vague recollection, possibly at urban myth level, of people who leave bad reviews facing lawsuits - and hence there’s a chilling effect on any kind of genuine restaurant review system. Am I just imagining that?
Me too. I think I remember a news report on it a couple of years ago.
Nope, it’s happened and people had to pay compensation. I just looked through the yelp app, it’s very handy but some reviewers are outrageous giving 4-5 stars to practically everything.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve read that as long as you remain factual and do not get personal, then it’s OK to give bad reviews. I’ve also read that people who have been staying at hotels and have given them bad reviews at the time have gotten into trouble.
headhonchoII - perhaps people seem to be giving lots of good reviews because they are only reviewing places that they like. Perhaps they are worried about getting into trouble for writing bad reviews, and as you mention - have to pay compensation.
yes there will be positive user bias I guess along with fears of legal recriminations. I’ve read a few reviews of places I know and they totally mislead the reader, you’d want to check out the places first yourself , some of them are a bit better than hovels but it doesn’t even get mentioned in the reviews！
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve only really checked out the places in my local Daan area. The places I seem to like tend to have good reviews, and some of the places I don’t like tend to have no reviews or negative reviews. I’ve gave a few bad reviews myself - from what you’ve said I’m now a bit worried about what the places in question might do. But I have tried to remain factual and not personal. I think ratings are pretty personal as well. I gave a night market stall five stars (in the context of what a night market stall could get), as I’ve been going there for about 10 years, I love their stuff, and there’s the entertainment factor of watching them skillfully prepare the food. As it’s a night market stall, I doubt it’s going to have the same hygiene considerations or decor as a Michelin-starred restaurant. Is that what you meant by hovels? Night market stalls and street food - or did just mean places with really bad food?
[quote=“headhonchoII”]Nope, it’s happened and people had to pay compensation. I just looked through the yelp app, it’s very handy but some reviewers are outrageous giving 4-5 stars to practically everything.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/quote]
The lining-up says enough about choices made (for food) in Taiwan.
You mean queuing up round the block to watch some guy cut up sugar?
I’m talking about very humble looking places or dodgy sanitation getting 4 and 5 star reviews. Now it might be that the food is really good (in comparison to similar fare in Taiwan) but what if you wanted to bring a date there or visitors from overseas?
It should have some ability to add for what purpose you recommend., maybe it does?
This is just one example, look at the bars… Hoydea pub? 4 stars by the reviewers. Then just look at the pictures…jeez.
Green hornet…5 stars?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ah -.just looked at that Hoydea thing. It only had one rating. I think you need a good few reviews before you get a good idea about anywhere. Hah, they still has Christmas decorations up… OK, I’d agree with hovel for that. Some of my friends who visit Taiwan are as interested in the good street food, as they are anything else. But that’s probably because I go on about it.
Doing reviews in Taiwan… I’d only leave positive reviews for places that I love (kind of like Michelin Guide style), and forget about the rest. What’s the point in giving a bad review of a place… I’d rather share places I recommend than tell you to avoid a place! At least, no one can sue you for NOT publishing a review.
We stayed at a guest house recently where the hotelier talked the talk, but in the end we found out that it was just all-talk. The rooms were good & spacious; but the food/service was poor… why would I want to tell you about that place… life’s too short!
And yes! if you give a review here, you can and perhaps will be sued for compensation. It doesn’t matter if it’s justified or not… somethings cannot be photographed (like the server’s sour faced attitude to one group of people or another)…
I mostly use Yelp for the pictures and some basic facts about a place like menu, price, and most popular dishes. The ratings themselves are not all that useful unless there are a ton of them. The pictures are even more important for Chinese food since dishes have a tendency to turn out differently than what you’d expect based on the name. Yelp in Taiwan will be great for people who aren’t fluent enough in Mandarin to use some of the homegrown websites.
While I do find Yelp useful, there have been lots of stories of how shady the company is. In some cases, it sounds a bit like an extortion scam against business owners.
[quote=“ilikecoffee”]Doing reviews in Taiwan… I’d only leave positive reviews for places that I love (kind of like Michelin Guide style), and forget about the rest. What’s the point in giving a bad review of a place… I’d rather share places I recommend than tell you to avoid a place! At least, no one can sue you for NOT publishing a review.
We stayed at a guest house recently where the hotelier talked the talk, but in the end we found out that it was just all-talk. The rooms were good & spacious; but the food/service was poor… why would I want to tell you about that place… life’s too short!
And yes! if you give a review here, you can and perhaps will be sued for compensation. It doesn’t matter if it’s justified or not… somethings cannot be photographed (like the server’s sour faced attitude to one group of people or another)…[/quote]
The whole point is to get a balanced understanding, if everybody only writes about the experiences they enjoy, then there will be a false impression created.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
[quote]The case filed by China’s biggest restaurant operator comes as the government intensifies a campaign to clean up rumors on social media.
Internet marketers have been convicted of trying to manipulate online sentiment on behalf of clients by posting false information about competitors or deleting critical posts.[/quote]
We know! :ohreally:
I’m so glad that Yelp has finally made it to Taiwan. Finally can try to get my Elite back that I had 4 years ago when I left the states.
It’s useful because there’s reviews in both English and Chinese from both locals and foreigners. I’ve seen people give two star reviews and end up not really bashing the restaurant, but because everything was mediocre, it only deserved 2 stars.
Let’s see if Yelp is able to out duel the Pixnet food blogs.
Hey everyone! I’m the community manager (CM) of Taipei! Right now there is only one Yelp staff in the country but feel free to ask me anything! I’m here to answer and questions and/or concerns you may have!
[quote=“Dr Jellyfish”]I’ve read that as long as you remain factual and do not get personal, then it’s OK to give bad reviews. I’ve also read that people who have been staying at hotels and have given them bad reviews at the time have gotten into trouble.
headhonchoII - perhaps people seem to be giving lots of good reviews because they are only reviewing places that they like. Perhaps they are worried about getting into trouble for writing bad reviews, and as you mention - have to pay compensation.[/quote]
Yelp values real reviews. This means that as long as it is not hearsay (i.e. my sister was at ABCXYZ restaurant the other night and saw a server pick up a fork from the floor and set the table with it) then it’s alright. Also, in terms of “getting into trouble” it’s usually when some reviewers get personal with remarks like “fat lady with a star tattoo” results in a lawsuit. Pretty straightforward stuff, huh? 
[quote=“headhonchoII”]I’m talking about very humble looking places or dodgy sanitation getting 4 and 5 star reviews. Now it might be that the food is really good (in comparison to similar fare in Taiwan) but what if you wanted to bring a date there or visitors from overseas?
It should have some ability to add for what purpose you recommend., maybe it does?[/quote]
Great question! Yelp breaks down the star rating this way:
5 stars: Woohoo! As good as it gets!
4 stars: Yay! I’m a fan.
3 stars: A-OK
2 stars: Meh. I’ve experienced better.
1 star: Eek! Methinks not.
In my reviews, I always factor in the service (attitude) and CP index as well. While individual reviews cannot be rated with half stars, the site does average it out
I hope this helps!
This thread started over a year ago. I’m wondering if any more of you are using Yelp? I use Yelp personally and advertise on it in Austin. It has been well worth the $$. Is it catching hold there? Do your friends use it? Would you say it is both expats and natives using it? I just returned from Taipei and the quantity of reviews seemed low, but if it is growing, then that is less of an issue. I’m considering advertising in Taipei too but want more input. thanks,
Interesting comments about Yelp, could be total BS fake news, but something to think about.
I get no use from Yelp anyway.
1 Like