YELP

[Midtownkid]

I'm addicted.  This ratings site is really great.  It's fun to see what others think of places you like and it's fun to rate places you love and hate.  Check it out sometime.  It's especially interesting to see what outsiders think of our favorite spots in KC like the plaza (mid level rating) and the Nelson (super high rating).  It's also fun to search key word 'Kansas City' in other cities.  Usually talk about steak and BBQ places comes up, but sometimes it's really random stuff like this from a bar in NYC

" *****A BIG "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" to the lame-o upstairs neighbors who complained constantly about the noise from their live shows. People like that are responsible for ruining NYC. You want quiet? Stay in Greenwich, CT, or Kansas City people, DO NOT move to LOWER MANHATTAN.  It's the City that never sleeps, right? Well that's because it's so dang NOISY, what did you expect?????  A punch in the lunch is in order!*****"

Anyone else a Yelper?  Warning it is addictive!!

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=&n ... City%2C+MO

[Tosspot]

"You want quiet? Stay in Greenwich, CT, or Kansas City people, DO NOT move to LOWER MANHATTAN." 
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=&n ... City%2C+MO

Well, as we can see this dumbfuck just emerged from his own primordial soup. Out of curiosity I looked up Greenwich CT and see it's a place of about 60,000, and this speech impediment is acting like this and KC are the same.

Sorry, people just fucking piss me off.

[Beermo]

Well, as we can see this dumbfuck just emerged from his own primordial soup. Out of curiosity I looked up Greenwich CT and see it's a place of about 60,000, and this speech impediment is acting like this and KC are the same.

Sorry, people just fucking piss me off.

hey toss? it would really make it easier on all of us if you would just list the people that don't piss you off.

[KCLofts]

I'm not a Yelper, but Mrs. Lofts is.  One of the top reviewers for KC.

I've got the Yelp app on my iphone and use it all the time while traveling.  It's great.

[mean]

Well, as we can see this dumbfuck just emerged from his own primordial soup. Out of curiosity I looked up Greenwich CT and see it's a place of about 60,000, and this speech impediment is acting like this and KC are the same.

Sorry, people just fucking piss me off.

Greenwich is actually kind of a favorable comparison. Spent some time there in September. It seemed to be full of yuppie transplants from NYC. Lots of super nice old houses, immaculate parks, and plenty of dense urban shopping and entertainment. It's not huge, but it's definitely hip.

[Midtownkid]

So i have had some free time on my hands today and have been Yelpin.  I was searching some message boards in various cities looking for any comments about "Kansas City."  (Yes, I'm a nerd and had lots of free time today.)  Anyway, I found a ton on steak and bbq, with the occasional comments about 'looks like it belongs in KC' or 'Fat tourists from the midwest, like KC' etc.  Upsetting, but ignorant...whatever.  Anyway, I found a NY topic about 'where it would suck to visit'.  Lots of blanketed 'anywhere in the Midwest' comments so I did my part...


"The whole midwest doesn't suck at all.  I can see where most other American cities can seem boring or slow next to NYC, but if you get over thinking that any other city will feel like NYC, than maybe you can enjoy them for what they are.  Kansas City is really cool if you know where to go.  They have a huge art scene (one of the top three in the country, after NYC of course).  They also have some cool boutiques and some beautiful buildings.  They also have a really charming shopping district in an old suburb called the country club plaza...it's kind of like a 1920s, more elegant Beverly Hills around there.  It's set up like LA for most of the city, but the downtown and art district area is more dense.  They also have a really good culinary scene and lots of good independent restaurants.  Oh, and everything is really cheap if you are used to NYC.  If you are interested...

If you get there and don't know where to go and don't have a car...it could be depressing...

http://www.crossroadsc.../
http://www.countryclub.../
http://www.visitkc.com..."


Then I noticed a topic in the Phoenix section about how people put down Phoenix...(Sounds like KC).  They started the topic with 'If you were from KC you might be impressed with our art scene, but not if you were from SF or NY.'  HA!  We have one of the US's top art scenes.  I replied:

"This topic has been dead for a while, but I wanted to comment that Kansas City actually has a better art scene than Phoenix and a comparable culinary scene.  KC's art scene is one of the top 3 outside of NYC (along with Philly).  We have a real art district w/ over 60 galleries and design shops.   Don't try to put down another city to try and build yours up.  I like Phoenix, too BTW.  "

http://www.yelp.com/topic/phoenix-offic ... ies-thread

People responded pretty well. 

Not that anyone cares...but I'm just doing my part to correct misconceptions at least for a few people.  Beats playing solitaire.  Join the fight, if you are bored!

[trailerkid]

i just wanted to bump this thread after reading the comments in the tarantino's thread. one of the BEST ways to get the word out about your favorite, struggling hole-in-the-wall is yelp. people from other cities often peruse the site religiously when visiting here and often choose businesses solely based on these ratings (i used it in chicago and yelpers never led me astray there). i would say yelp ratings can really generate a lot of business for places like tarantino's if they're positive (right now tarantino's doesn't even have the correct address on yelp). i use yelp on iphone pretty consistenly which is more helpful when traveling in bigger cities than KC, but still useful here for phone numbers, hours, reviews, directions.

as some may know...midtownkid "outed" me as a yelp user on some other thread. it was his revenge for my negative opinion on first fridays.  :lol:

anyways...pretty cool site and any urban boosters would do well to make sure his/her favorite spots are represented for others to enjoy. with kc being so "under the radar" it's nice to have something like yelp to direct people to some of its charms. 

[WSPanic]

as some may know...midtownkid "outed" me as a yelp user on some other thread. it was his revenge for my negative opinion on first fridays.  :lol:

It was probably triggered by that - but I took it as more of a "Lifetime Achievement Award" for your overall body of work.

[trailerkid]

It was probably triggered by that - but I took it as more of a "Lifetime Achievement Award" for your overall body of work.

the only places in kc that i spoke very poorly of are foo's custard, union station, and first fridays. they all deserve it IMHO. but that's not the point i'm getting across...

yelp is the rotten tomatoes of the real world.

[Midtownkid]

It was probably triggered by that - but I took it as more of a "Lifetime Achievement Award" for your overall body of work.

Pretty much.  I find your reviews seem to have a negative overtone toward KC in general.  Funny you see it as a way to 'promote' KC.

[trailerkid]

Pretty much.  I find your reviews seem to have a negative overtone toward KC in general.  Funny you see it as a way to 'promote' KC.

i'm not really going to do this again, but i'm going to be honest if someone asks me. i think you are the same way, but we have different ways of thinking about place, experiences, people around us. i am generally skeptical-- i guess you see it that I'm ripping KC and some of the places you see as quintessential KC. i wouldn't live here or contribute to this forum if my ultimate goal was to hate on KC. should we agree on everything?

the places that i've given 5 stars in kc deserve it in my mind (LC's, AB's, KC Rep, the Nelson, C Wither's, Andre's) and there are A LOT of others that I feel just don't.

the point is there are a lot of people from outside (and inside) the metro that use the site to find out what is cool, happening, good, interesting about KC. anyone that wants to influence this sort of dialogue can chime in and add to this discussion of everything KC. it's a good tool for anyone to evangelize about KC (like you do).

[Midtownkid]

No, I don't want to fight about our reviews.  haha.  But, yeah...everyone should join Yelp and make it an even better resource for outside visitors.

[trailerkid]

No, I don't want to fight about our reviews.  haha.  But, yeah...everyone should join Yelp and make it an even better resource for outside visitors.

you put it better than i could.

it really is a resource-- more like an interactive phone book crossed with rotten tomatoes. the benefits to local businesses, as well as the overall kc psyche, have a ton of potential.

[trailerkid]

Just a heads up...

Yelp is going full steam ahead in KC if you haven't heard. They've hired a local Community Manager who is AWESOME (Joi). She's originally from NYC area now living in Lawrence, but is pretty committed to promoting KC/Lawrence scene. Yelp skews very urban in terms of reviews as well as yelpers which is something KC needs to develop-- stronger urban culture. There is now an events tab, review of the day, etc. as well as elite events coming soon for those that qualify. Joi is holding a Yelp office hours on March 19 @ K City Coffee if anyone wants to swing by:
http://www.yelp.com/topic/kansas-city-c ... o-fri-3-19

Covering the urban core with Yelp listings (especially the urban core) is one of the coolest things you can do to influence outsiders to support awesome kc/mo businesses. When you google a businesss...yelp is often in the top 5 results now. I wish some of you would share your awesome insights found in the KC scene forum with a larger audience. There are parts of yelp that turn me off, but overall it's pretty fun and useful. Kinda like the KC scene (now the best part of this forum) transferred into a large local database.

here's joi's yelp twitter:
http://twitter.com/yelpKC

as well as

http://www.yelp.com/kansas-city-mo

[lock+load]

Not sure how much I trust Yelp lately after reading about their "advertising" practices.

http://consumerist.com/2009/03/more-bus ... rtion.html

[mlind]

Not sure how much I trust Yelp lately after reading about their "advertising" practices.

http://consumerist.com/2009/03/more-bus ... rtion.html

Read this:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_ ... ayarea.com

[mean]

Just a heads up...

Funny, I actually started yelping months ago, after I read a few of what I am pretty sure are your reviews... heh heh. Had my first ROTD not long ago. It was like being a Yelp rockstar for a day.

[coreyo]

what up elite twentyten.

[mlind]

More complaints

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 232D66.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/tec ... y_id=59334

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 8042C7.DTL

[loftguy]

The business model that YELP appears to be pursuing is disturbingly common.  

A friend was recently contacted by the Better Business Bureau, with a sales pitch that said "for just a few dollars a month, we can insure that you will have a positive rating on our service".  She told them to roll it up and stick it.

I was contacted last year by Dunn & Bradstreet, whose rep told me that they saw that my rating had recently fallen (which it had) and that for a $1,200 or $1,400 "consulting" fee (forgot which), they would be able to bring my rating back up.  I told him that I couldn't believe that they are selling their rankings, to which he tap danced around before I hung up.

Guess I'm a bit naive, but I was really surprised and hugely disappointed by these institutional breakdowns.  Leaves me wondering just what is real.