In a post at the Brains of Fire blog, Spike Jones tells the story of Pizzeria Delfina, a San Francisco establishment that chose not to ignore its one-star reviews at Yelp. Instead, the restaurant printed up employee T-shirts with gems like "This place sucks" and "The pizza was soooo greasy. I am assuming this was in part due to the pig fat."
Is this restaurant crazy, or crazy like a fox? Feedback to the blog post is mixed, but includes thoughts from a Pizzeria Delfina regular. "I have to say," she says, "knowing how good their pizza is, and knowing what their employees are like (pleasantly truculent), this t-shirt idea is brilliant. It reinforces the feeling that their REAL customers are special. It makes us (REAL customers) feel like we alone are capable of appreciating truly great pizza."
Another commenter worries, though, that idea might inspire others to create fake reviews: "Now people will write negative reviews on Yelp in the hope they too can be featured on a t-shirt."
Jones offers this Marketing Inspiration. "Embrace the fact that some people hate you," he says. "It's so great to know that not every one is drinking your Kool-Aid or sitting in your camp. It's what makes the world go 'round. And by embracing the negative, it will make you better. It will show that you're listening. And you'll soon find out that the haters make the lovers love you even more."
More Inspiration:
Leigh Duncan-Durst: 10 Tips for Twitter Un-Marketing
Elaine Fogel: Is Negative Optioning Still a Viable Marketing/Billing Tactic?
Len Kendall: What Companies Can Learn from the President
by Christina "CK" Kerley
Comments
by Mark Green Mon Apr 20, 2009
There's more to the Delfina story here: http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/03/20/04. Maybe this was the original source?