Eat at Jumbo's joins lawsuit against Yelp

[ron_newman]

Today's Globe g section has a long feature article about online restaurant-review sites. It includes a full-page photo of Grover Taylor, the owner of Eat at Jumbo's in Ball Square. He's suing Yelp:

Grover Taylor, owner of Eat at Jumbo’s in Somerville, says his ratings dropped sharply last year when he declined to advertise on the site. “They called every week, telling me I needed to pay $500 a month to advertise. When I said no, a lot of one-star reviews started appearing on top. And then the phone would ring. Hi, this is Art from Yelp. We can make them disappear.’’ Taylor says the calls slowed and changed tone when he told the Yelp agent he was joining the class action suit. “Art stopped calling. A new guy from Yelp is calling now.’’

(For those interested, here is Eat at Jumbo's Yelp page)

Comments

[ron_newman]

Looks like this was also reported six weeks ago, but in a Florida newspaper, of all places:

Across country, in Somerville, Massachusetts, Grover Taylor first ran afoul of Yelp early last year, soon after he opened Eat at Jumbo's, an eatery catering to MIT [sic] students.

The Vermont native began receiving phone calls from a sales rep named "Art," who promised he could remove bad reviews for a $500 membership fee. Taylor responded that Jumbo's ran on word of mouth, so he couldn't afford it. Art threatened that bad reviews would be highlighted and good ones would disappear. That's exactly what happened.

"They're the modern-day Mafia. Maybe they're not holding a gun to my head, but they're playing the same game," says Taylor, who is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. "It's too late for policy changes to help out. I just hope all this negative publicity finally tarnishes the company."

[turil.livejournal.com]

What's the "sic" for? MIT is spelled right. Or is this commentary on the fact that it's not really near enough to MIT to officially be intended to cater to MIT folks?

[trtls.livejournal.com]

WTF - drop the bad reviews???!! So much for my use of Yelp.

[blackdove24.livejournal.com]

"of all places"? Ouch, Ron. And it's not like there's not a guy from Miami involved in the suit too.

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Same thing happened to a friend of mine who has a muscular therapy business. They also deleted a bunch of the good reviews after he declined to advertise.

[moria923.livejournal.com]

What kind of restaurant is Eat At Jumbo's? thorbol and I had never heard of it, but we'd certainly like to try it out after this.

[ron_newman]

I have not been there yet, but here's their website: Eat At Jumbo's. Unfortunately the menus are not posted in an accessible format.

And here is their Yelp page.

[craigindaville.livejournal.com]

Pizza, burgers, wings (which they are most noted for), sandwiches, that sort of thing. They also offer a version of poutine (can't do the real thing, since the USDA doesn't allow cheese curd I believe).

They have their own online ordering service that we use (similar to GrubHub) and we generally like their stuff. Worth a try, at least!

What kind? I'll tell you what kind!

[wombatbanana.livejournal.com]

The kind with delicious tofu tenders. Like buffalo wings, and available in the same flavors, but tofu.

Also, garlic knots.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

They also have a whole-wheat pizza crust that I love. FYI.

[t-stop.livejournal.com]

I've eaten there numbers of times and talked to the owner more than once.

Food-wise:

They have a HUGE menu. The owner explained to me when if first opened (I had to have been one of his first dozen customers) that his goal was to have a restaurant where the whole family could get what they wanted. Wings, sandwiches, mac and cheese, Pizza, pasta, something for everyone.

Their prime business seems to Pizza and Ben and Jerry's ice cream (which they can deliver in pints). Personally I like their sandwiches and their french fries and haven't tried either of those yet.

It's in my normal rotation of "stop by on the way home" restaurants these days.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

It's basically a glorified (and I mean that in the nicest way) sandwich shop -- I have also had their pasta entrees but never yet their pizza, somehow. However, having read over this thread and the linked articles, I am now DYING for CHILI CHEESE FRIES OM NOM NOM!

Anyway, it's in Ball Sq. a couple blocks from my house. I'll go with you guys sometime, I am sure you would like it!

[dougo.livejournal.com]

This is not really what you asked, but it's in the same location that Urban Gourmet used to be.

[lac.livejournal.com]

Their food really is yummy. I love their fries and I have a little problem with fries (I can stop anytime I want to...really) so I always love someplace I can stop and get fries easily. And Grover is really a super nice guy.

Yelp can bite it.

[arrowintwolakes.livejournal.com]

It's on my running route and they're always advertising heavily for their wings. Seeing as how I am still looking for good wings nearby, I am simply flabbergasted I haven't tried them yet. So close and convenient, too!

[afty.livejournal.com]

Yelp is facing a class-action lawsuit for doing this kind of thing:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/02/yelp-facing-class-action-suit-over-extortive-ad-sales.ars

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Yeah, maybe Ron can clarify the post title, because that's the lawsuit Eat at Jumbo's is joining--it's not a lawsuit they are filing on their own. Horse of a different color.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

I am going to "Eat at Jumbo's" now that I have seen this! go get em Grover

[beatniktea.livejournal.com]

I really like Eat at Jumbos! They are tasty! I hate those rating sites anyway. Good for Mr Taylor suing them. I hope he wins.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

i have to say this is not the first time i've read about yelp doing things like this and i'm very disturbed by it all.

i've been a member of yelp for a number of years now and "elite" for a few of those (i'm just lazy now and really don't get to writing reviews like i should). they have never seemed to favor one place over another, and always kept the good reviews along with the bad.

but the more stories like this that come up, the more i don't like the sound of it at all. i have seen the owner (of EAJ) post here before, and i have had nothing but great service from them. (once they forgot a side i asked/paid for, but it wasn't even a big enough deal for me to call - plus, i'd been told ordering through their site was better but i used foodler anyway (the points!) so i figured my bad.)

i'm also noticing many of the low reviews for them come from profiles with no picture/friends/few other reviews/etc which is very suspicious. yelp used to be something i trusted and was a part of but now i'm just not sure. if even one of these cases is true it's a terrible thing, and i see no reason why EAJ would lie about this. they're super friendly and down to earth and seem pretty committed to providing great food and service from my experience.

[belladonna.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of you and perich as I read this and hoped one or both of you would chime in.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

also: LONG LIVE FRIED GREEN BEANS

[etana.livejournal.com]

win +1

[spatch]

"Sure is a nice restaurant you got here. Good kitchen. Nice menu. It'd be a shame if someone... said something bad about it. On the Internet."

"NO NOT THAT, ANYTHING BUT THAT, I AM BUT A POOR LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER, HOW WILL I STAY IN BUSINESS WITH ONE-STAR REVIEWS? HERE, HERE, TAKE A CUT. PLEASE. JUST DON'T ONE-STAR US."

"You truly are a supporter of the online community. I'm sure customers in the future won't feel so... aggressively self-entitled."

Rock on, Grover. Eat at Jumbo's is fighting the good fight by joining this suit. Plus their poutine fries are incredible.

[ritcey.livejournal.com]

EAJ is my go-to place for delivery pizza - good stuff and good for them for standing up to Yelp's sleazy tactics. Yet another reason for me to go to Chowhound for food reviews.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

i prefer city slicker cafe

[sunshineyellow.livejournal.com]

I have personally experienced Eat at Jumbo's bad/extremely slow service and have written more than a few 1 star Yelp reviews in my time. Some places just suck and they can't blame Yelp for that. I do think Yelp might be using some sleazy and unethical tactics, but I don't believe that they write the 1 star reviews, just target those businesses who aren't doing so well for their shakedowns. Just as terrible, but I'm not crying for the businesses either.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Me too, I had a couple nasty experiences with them and don't feel like going back. I think I probably posted about it on Yelp. they were real.

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

I applaud the owner for fighting what seems like a shakedown, but I can't stand the food there. Low quality ingredients abound. They haven't ruined the Ben and Jerry's, though.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

I agree. Also, it takes a painfully long time to get your food there regardless of whether you order in or call for delivery. On the Broadway across the street is generally cheaper and of higher quality in all regards other than interior decor.

[dilllll.livejournal.com]

jwz sums up my feelings on Yelp as well:

http://jwz.livejournal.com/1002269.html