Yelp Wants Users to Be Friendlier With Their Restaurant Reviews

It’s been a rough time for restaurants since the coronavirus pandemic started and one company is asking people to sympathize.

Business review site Yelp has asked diners to be more empathetic with their restaurant reviews as restaurateurs say it’s impossible to live up to a five-star review during a global pandemic.

Yelp urges users to stop leaving bad reviews about things that are out of their control such as times for tables and delivery with limited seating and staff, and having to change up menu items due to supply chain issues.

“At this moment with the closures, protesters, and other hurdles many businesses have faced, it’s not the right thing for people to do,” Salil Mehta, a New York City-based chef and owner of Laut and Laut Singapura said to FOX Business, adding: “Businesses are just looking to get by.”

“We’re reminding our users to remain empathetic and patient with businesses during this time,” a Yelp spokesperson said.

Customers can still leave reviews and rate restaurants on a scale of one to five stars on Yelp’s website. The spokesperson said users can share important health and safety updates like whether or not a business is enforcing social distancing or mask requirements.

Lydia Chang, who heads business development for her family’s restaurants Mama Chang’s in Fairfax, Virginia, and Q by Peter Chang in Bethesda, Maryland said, “We have had some reviews that came that have said that the to-go version doesn’t look like the promo photo, leading to a refund.”

Since March, a staggering 23,981 restaurants listed on Yelp closed down at some point during the pandemic, and 53 percent of those went out of business for good, according to a Yelp data.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) and have not been compensated for this article.