Lou MC Yelps a Lot

I got ousted as Barons of Chinatown and Sharpstown within a week in May. I really don't care. My position is never changed since my blog post in 2016. Considered it as a term limit like for politicians, I am happy with my 3-year baronship Why do I don't check-in in Chinatown any more? I got a little disgusted after reading Food Inspection Reports on EveryBlock. This is one of the reasons I don't eat out after reading those restaurants with serious health violations. I learned how to enjoy cooking at home. Huzzah! As the Duke of the most businesses in Chinatown, you've got serious 'Good cred. May 13, 2018 was my last day as of Baron of Chinatown. Here are screen shots on my phone. Panel 1 and 2 were mine. Panel 3 was Fox E's. I checked my Baronship page every week. At 5 pm as panel 1 shows above, I had Chinatown. But I received a notification at 7:15 pm, mine was gone and it went to Fox. I called this a game over. Sometimes I don't check-in j...

Back in January, I wrote my first review as the review #300 to start year 2017 right. Less than a month I noticed my review number dropped, not little bit but a lot. Then, began to add serial number on all of my reviews. Real soon, I'm going to "audit" my reviews. I felt violated without any warning. I have been saving my reviews since 2015. I really hate it when I spent time to write and ended up disappearing from my audience without a trace or warning. I received an email from HQ today about a review got deleted because "did not appear to describe a firsthand customer experience" at Express Rolls . Heck, I went inside and talked to a lady who was clueless about poke but want to make me a poke. No thanks. What could be worse? Mention a clueless employee or just brushing off? Below was my 13th review on Express Rolls. What a bummer. I really want to give this place a try, even when I know poke won't meet competitions. Now, I'm sad that it...

After I upgraded my Samsung Note 4 to Android version 6.0 - Marshmallow, I noticed significant change on Yelp app. Whenever I want to get direction on Yelp, the only choice is to get to Google Maps. It used to have more choices. (See the image on  Send to car with Yelp  from last year.) Once I get there, Google Maps took the opportunity to capture my interest. The app kept hinting me to upload a photo or answer a few questions, because it knows I was there before. Eventually, it lured me to become a Local Guide. It was nice to know half million views on 9 photos I posted years ago. Just to be fair, I don't post same photo on Google Maps and Yelp. Since I don't know who is reading the reviews on Google Map, I don't share much details like on Yelp. I never find reviews are useful on Google Maps. Besides, it should stay as a map app.

Wait. What is this? Is it a math problem for me to solve? No way, who put this thing in the middle of my profile? This is a new feature for app users only - Last 90 Days. No worry. This is a new tool to show how your Yelp contribution being viewed. It's like a website counter for each element: reviews, photos and profile. So, I captured the images from iPhone and Android to share with you. It appears the website has same info. Woohoo! I captured some Q&A from my Beta App Group: It updates once a day. Only shows other users' views, none from me. Everyone can see it. Yes, everyone. Here is how the number crunches: Someone looked at your profile multiple times within the 90 day period counts. But someone looked at your content repeatedly in a short time won't count. HQ has a blog to share  http://officialblog.yelp.com/2016/01/how-many-views-do-your-reviews-get-find-out-now.html So far, I only find one news helpful. I think we are going to hear more about i...

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 ...

Oh, hello? You want to be my friend? Read on... I only befriend with real people have real activities. That means I will screen your profile on app - looking for tips, bookmarks and photos. If you are an Elite or I met you in person at Yelp functions (such as UYE), you're automatically in. However, I don't friend anyone who lives outside of Houston, never visit Houston, areas I never been to or I had no plan of visiting. Because it will crowd my feeds and I can't filter them out. I only friend with people think like me. I'll unfriend you, if... You use the app and you possess dukes or duchesses crowns without any check-in feeds. You attacked a biz without properly expressed interests for improvement. You wrote dishonest reviews or contradicting reviews. My rules on strangers: 20% valid reviews - if I clicked on "Link to this review", and it's not pointing to you, it counts one minus. If you have more than 20% invalids, you're denied. R...