update - after doing some research online, I found I was able to just reply to the text message with “yes” and it confirmed the reservation.
My goodness, if a restaurant needed me to have a Yelp app to confirm my reservation I wouldn’t be eating at that restaurant.
You download the yelp app and leave a 1 star review. Restaurants will get the picture.
Leave one on Google Maps too so that Yelp can’t scrub it.
Yep! Huge red flag.
Yelp, huge red flag.
I would cancel and tell the restaurant why.
Businesses need to know why they lose customers, because if enough of them report the same reason, they might do something about it.
I would cancel and tell the restaurant why.
Oh, absolutely immediately.
In a perfect world, yes, but it’s not always easy to change plans at the last minute.
You call the restaurant and explain the reason, they would be super happy to mark as cancelled on Yelp, but still keep booked on their system: Yelp is not giving this service for free, but they charge a lot of money on each single reservation.
And hopefully realize to stop offering the service at all
You didn’t pay a deposit for the seat, and everyone on the planet is near their cell phone or someone else’s. We have two each, here. It’s NOT like the news of a venue change won’t reach everyone.
Their circle of friends may not be like yours.
I know plenty of people like what you are describing (always near at least one phone), but they are still impossible to reach quickly. Even when they expect a call, they can have their phone in Do Not Disturb mode. Or they ran out of battery, and didn’t think to turn it on after plugging it in. Most of the time I have no idea what the issue is.
Also, he might live in an area with few options. Specially on short notice. Maybe the closest alternative with a somewhat similar style is far away, so even if you can get a reservation , not everybody will be able to get there before dinner time.
Basically, when he says it’s hard for him, maybe just trust that he knows his life better than you do.
Thank you for this comment. I wanted to reply but didn’t want to add too many personal details, or get into a big argument about it.
Here are the trackers contained in Yelp’s app according to Exodus:
- Adjust (analytics)
- Braze (formerly Appboy) (analytics advertisement location)
- Brightcove
- Bugsnag (crash reporting)
- ComScore (analytics advertisement)
- Facebook Analytics (analytics)
- Facebook Login (identification)
- Google AdMob (advertisement)
- Google Firebase Analytics (analytics)
- Snowplow (analytics)
That’s a lot. They make money off of people having their app running on their phone. That’s why they push their app.
If I don’t give it any permissions, does it actually do anything though? They only run when the app is open I assume?
View desktop site, that gets past this bullshit 9 times out of 10.
Fuck 'em on principle though.
My first thought too, but it didn’t work in this case - even opening the link on my PC told me to install the app.
Luckily I found that just replying “yes” to the message worked.
Call them, gets past this bullshit 10 times out of 10.
Yelp is a scam. They call local businesses non stop
Wasn’t Yelp the one that was calling up businesses offering to remove bad reviews for the right price?
They had some reviews that said that, but I can’t seem to find them anymore…
How convenient
Funny
That’s definitely the business model of the ‘better business bureau’ as well.
Yes
I have to download an app to confirm the reservation?
<three sentences not containing the answer to the question>
Its posed as a question, and the answer doesnt definitively say yes or no. Therefore, totally legal, cool and normal
I just cancelled my gas station rewards program because they moved everything to a mandatory app. I will not use your app.
Bro please it’s just a little bit of data we promise we won’t price discriminate against you in the future you’ll never regret it come on
please bro just download one more app. please, your phone has so much space. we need more data come on bro please
Just pick up the phone and call them then
This is what it feels like to grow old.
I’ve had more than one place tell me “we only take reservations through the app” when calling. It’s not for lack of effort, for many.
“we only take reservations through the app”
“I’ll tell my friends to steer clear, then. Gnight!”
Dang.
In the case of a restaurant who hasn’t had a table sit empty in years, going app only is probably an easy sell. Solid little labor and hassle reducer.
Sigh…
voice call
Yeah, nah
They’re a mafia, so this would make sense.
Thanks for the heads up, I was gonna eat here again soon
Does calling them work?
Calling a restaurant, in this economy?
Yeah. I go in, in person. I do that for my doctor’s office too. Easier to get appointments.
