“84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation from a friend.” 

- Inc. Magazine

You’re running a great business. You know your restaurant inside and out. Your food is fantastic. Your service is first rate. Customers love coming back each week and every month. 

The problem: There’s a vocal minority. An extremely VOCAL group online... 

They don't like your food. They don’t like your servers. They don’t like your wait times. They don’t like the menu. They don’t like your space. 

They probably don’t like your dog, and they definitely don’t like you. 

And these haters? They have friends. They have followers on Yelp and friends on Facebook. 

They post Google Reviews. 

They hated their last meal from your restaurant, and they’re letting everyone know about it.

Has this scenario happened to you?

A customer stops in for lunch; you came by their table to say hello and make sure everything was up to your high standards. The customer greets you with a smile. 

They didn’t complain. 

They didn’t say anything. Only later did they share online that there was a disgusting fly in their water and your restaurant should burn to the ground (with you in it).*  

*Okay, maybe not that dramatic, but they were unhappy and they didn’t let you know in person. Instead they published their grievances to the entire online world. And it stings.

What’s a hardworking business owner to do? 

20 years ago these self-proclaimed critics, these expert foodies that love Olive Garden for their authentic Italian food, could complain by telling a few friends, writing a letter, or submitting a comment card. 

If they had a genuine concern, they might  talk to the manager or the owner, but that’s not the case today.

Today is different. 

Today an angry customer with a smartphone is a few clicks away from sharing a scathing review of your restaurant with the entire world. The internet is a vast, deep, interconnected resource of pain (and adorable puppy pictures). 

And it wouldn’t be a big deal if it wasn’t hurting your bottom line.

You’d like to think that people don’t believe everything they read on the internet. 

But then you read the news headlines, look at your social feeds, and you see what your friends share. 

AND even though the person complaining about the quality of your burgers has never even been to your restaurant--people are reading their posts and listening.

Or maybe they have been to your restaurant, and the kitchen had an off day, or their regular server was out sick. We want all our customers to have the best experiences and the best food, but sometimes mistakes happen. 

Where it hurts is when that mistake is AMPLIFIED by the power of a negative online review. 

You could dismiss the negative reviews. The customer might always be right except if they're an idiot. 

You can’t please everyone all the time, and especially not BurgerLovingBarry84, because he has an axe to grind. Sure he doesn’t like your food, but he definitely doesn’t like it that your server declined his romantic advances. 

But what are you, the good restaurateur, to do? Are you going to respond to his review by explaining to readers that BurgerLovingBarry84 hasn’t paid child support in three months and the only thing he can control in his sad little life is his Yelp profile? 

You could. 

And it might feel good for a few minutes, but it’s not going to help the books. And that’s not the kind of person your parents raised, and ultimately responding with more negativity is not going to sell more drinks and food. It only creates further negative feelings about your place.

And that’s not why you got into the business. 

Truth be told: You LOVE your customers. 

You love making people happy with food, with drink--you love that people come to your business to celebrate special occasions, that couples have fallen in love right at the end of your bar. 

For every minor complaint, you have a thousand positive stories of success and satisfied customers. But are those stories visible?

Negative reviews can torment you, and you think these Yelp experts are crazy. 

You think they’re not worth your time. You’ve got a business to run. If you chased down after every minor complaint that surfaced in a Facebook group, you’d have no time to focus on improving your business, training employees, and perfecting your recipes.

The problem is that your reputation, whether in the physical or digital space, is part of your business. It is the face of your business. In fact your personal reputation and the reputation of your restaurant may be the most important aspect that you can control. 

Are you in control?

For your business to grow and increase revenue month after month, you need to maintain and grow the reputation of the business. 

Whether we like it or not, customer acquisition and retention are directly tied to the Yelpers, Google Reviewers, and Facebook commenters. 

So how do you do it?

It’s not by dismissing every bad review as just some online nut that wants free stuff. 

Nope, most complaints stem from real concerns. Most negative reviews provide opportunity to reflect, improve, and attract more customers. 

There are proven systems and methods available to turn every negative review (and positive reviews!) into increased revenue.

It’s time to stop ignoring your critics and embrace the very reviewer platforms and social media channels they use. 

Hello, I’m Dan Hart. 

I’m a restaurant owner, consultant, and entrepreneur. 

I can teach you the methods and systems that I have developed over my 20 years in the food service industry. I’ve tried and tested the tools of reputation management with countless successful restaurants and businesses across the country. 

I’ll bring you behind-the-scenes of reputation management so you can learn all the tips and tricks that your competitors don’t know.

Oh, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes and learned from others’ failures so you don’t have to. 

I’ve spent years refining my approach to reputation management, and I’ve included them all in an easy-to-watch, educational, and entertaining video course. 

In this course, I’ll take you step-by-step through how to effectively manage Yelp, Google reviews, Facebook, TripAdvisor, and whatever the gods of venture capital decree as the next great review platform. 

No matter the space, I’ll give you the scripts, the templates, the strategy, the tactics, and the tried and tested solutions behind successful reputation management.

By designing, developing, and opening a restaurant you’ve already done more than most people will ever do in their professional lives. 

Most only dream of owning their own place--if you’re sweating the reviews and comments of your current and future customers, then you’re already an incredible success. 

Don’t let the internet trolls beat you down. Don’t let them take your money. Focus on the positive experiences and the customers that you love serving. 

But you’re too busy? 

You don’t have enough time for one more aspect of your restaurant to manage? 

Reputation management is the one area you should be prioritizing over everything. I trust that your food is good and service is friendly and reliable. If it’s not, then this course isn’t for you.  

If you’re already confident about the quality of your food and the day-to-day operation of your restaurant, then reputation management is the missing piece to long term success. 

Without proper, thoughtful reputation management you are never going to grow your customer base, and you can even start to lose existing customers. 

And I’ve heard all the excuses and dismissals from other restaurant owners, who put all the blame on their customers. 

99.9% of customers coming into your door want you to succeed. They want to have a great meal. They want to be able to tell their friends about the coolest new eatery in town. 

Don’t put the blame on your customers, focus on your reputation and what you can control.

Do me a favor and commit to change. Commit to improving your business. Commit to understanding the ins-and-outs of reputation management. 

This course can end the days of  stressing over daily and weekly sales.  

Reputation management opens you to paths of success that other restaurant owners only dream of. 

You’ll be thinking how you can delight your customers with new monthly specials or even where to open your next restaurant instead worrying about bills. 

Reputation management is the best investment you can make for yourself and your business. Using the strategies I share will result in transformational change to your business.

The next time a bad review comes to your attention, you’ll get excited, because you’ll know that it’s an opportunity to win more customers.