Lou MC Yelps a Lot

Did you know my Chinatown Crawl UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event) made one year? It started with a trial last May during Asian Heritage Month Celebration . The response and popularity were increasing on Yelp and Facebook. Managing guests list has been a chore using Yelp Events. I am experimenting a new system by posting my meetup on more event sites like Google and invited Google Local Guides to attend. Extended my invitation to Local Guides The hardest part of hosting a popular meetup event is attendance headcount. It has always been above my original expectation. But by how much? Finding a suitable restaurant with enough seating is important. When my count of 18 guests at December's Night Market UYE grew to 22. Sherry at Yummy Kitchen was able to find solution at the last minute. Again at February's Hotpot UYE , 12 guests became 16. I had to rely on restaurant to accommodate expandable crowd. Speaking of accommodation, creating a good relationship to restaurant owner ...

We love Six Ping Bakeries in Chinatown. I received a message from Yelper Que N. as she notice a Six Ping sign at Saigon Plaza. It is technically not inside of Chinatown on the east of Beltway. So, I went to investigate. Six Ping has 4 location in Houston Chinatown area On their website, there isn't any information about their 4th store at 10623 Bellaire Blvd Ste C120 (Next to Pho Dien & UT Medical). Then, I went to the Dun Huang Plaza bakery and asked about it. The store clerk said, it will open sometime early December. I went back to check daily. It finally opened on Saturday, 12/5/15. Then, I thought to write a blog to have a collection of the stores in one location: Bellaire Six Ping - 9384 Bellaire  yelp.com/biz/six-ping-houston Viet Hoa Plaza - 8388 W Sam Houston Parkway, Ste 184  yelp.com/biz/six-ping-houston-2 Dun Huang Plaza - 9889 Bellaire Blvd, Ste D246  yelp.com/biz/six-ping-houston-5 Saigon Plaza - 10623 Bellaire Blvd...

Orange is my trademark Benefit of writing a review on an UYE is that you can also write one on the business. Check out Austin J's review on UYE - 2B or Not 2B and Bombay Pizza Co . Looks like he did go back to the business after the UYE, but not the post date. As for UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event), there is no rule how to review it. But if you attended an Official Yelp Event (OYE) or Yelp Elite Event (YEE), your reviews must be posted on the specific YEE/OYE page, not on the biz page. Because the venue from the event is not open to general public. I captured an excerpt from our CM's email of 3/3/14 regarding writing reviews on any Yelp events: Important reminders regarding Yelp Events and reviews: Please remember that if you do choose to leave feedback for your CM and participating sponsors, do so in the event listing that is created for the Elite Event. DO NOT review the sponsors' official Yelp business pages until you go back for a legitimate customer experience ...

In case you didn't know, UYE stands for Unofficial Yelp Events. So you want to organize an UYE. Repeat after me: 1-2-cha-cha-cha. Let me show you some of my tips on how to turn a fun meet-up to a successful UYE. Here is how an UYE started Elements of Unofficial Yelp Events: Get your friends together to agree on the 5 W's (When,Where,Who, How and Why).  Must have a reason or purpose - themed parties are more fun. Identify the location. If you never been there, pay a special visit and take time to see the surroundings and parking situation. Must have a confirmed date/time. Moving target is a bad idea. Post it on the Yelp Event pages, share the event to your friends and announce it on Talks. Prepare a biz page and ask the guests to check in, post photos and write a review. Inform the location management of your party plan. So they will have enough food, space and staff. Best way to describe UYE to a manager/owner is "some friends just want to meet up for a sma...