One Dallas diner’s journey to becoming a professional Yelper, whatever that is.
By Brooklyn Rodgers | April 17, 2024 | 10:41 am
You know Yelp from its ever-insistent presence in your search results, its ominous rating tagging along in your research of new restaurants and bars. For restaurant owners, Yelp may sometimes feel like a place where common decency goes to die, where faceless First Name, Last Initial commenters go to ream local businesses with as much fervor and entitlement as a Michelin critic, and often with a less than impressive pedigree..
For me, Yelp has become the bane of my existence. Recently, I have been bringing up Yelp.com in conversation with my friends and family on a daily if not hourly basis. For the past month, I have been on a fevered quest to join the (not so) secret society that is the Yelp Elite Squad.
Now what is the Yelp Elite Squad, and why should anyone care about it? Well, I’m so glad you asked.
According to the Yelp Support Center, a resource for the afflicted such as myself, the Yelp Elite Squad is a way of “recognizing people who are active in the Yelp community and role models on and off the Yelp site.” What this boils down to, of course, is a shiny badge, and the invitation to attend “exclusive events with other locals in the community.”
How does one prove themselves worthy of such a treasure as a shiny Yelp Elite badge? Once again, according to Yelp, “Elite-worthiness is based on a number of things, including well-written reviews, high-quality photos, a detailed personal profile, and a history of playing well with others.”
For more context, see the automated message I received from the Dallas Yelp Elite Squad community manager, Semhar M., after nominating myself for the group:
I have always been a casual user of Yelp; I’ve rarely posted reviews until now, good or bad. Having worked in restaurants, I always felt that if you have something negative to say, a largely inconsequential public forum is not the place to say it.
My Yelp usage went from casual to obsessive when I found out about the Yelp Elite Squad. In the past two weeks, I have reviewed close to 30 spots and posted over 60 photos and videos. While this required me to go into my archive to locate images of recent meals past, I also found myself pushed to try new spots in the interest of harvesting a new Yelp review.
See my stats below. And maybe, add me on Yelp?
This is all to say, that I recommend Yelp wholeheartedly. It is refreshingly fun to keep a personal diary of visits to restaurants with friends and family, what you all ate and drank, and how the experience was.
I still won’t post a wholly negative review, for the aforementioned reasons.
As for my journey to make the squad, I feel I’m getting close. Updates will undoubtedly be published.
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