The Road to the Your First Review

December 10, 2020 3 min read

Behind the Review host and Yelp’s Small Business Expert, Emily Washcovick, shares a look at this week’s episode of the podcast.

Honesty may seem like an obvious value for business owners to follow, but it’s not always a given. This week’s installment of Behind the Review brings us our first home services business: a heating and air conditioning company in a small North Carolina town. That’s not our only first, though.

Temp Rite Services is the epitome of a local business. They built their reputation on honest, hard work and “word of mouth” marketing. Enter, Sam. This week’s reviewer, Sam A., a self-described “meat and potatoes” guy, wrote the business’ very first Yelp review. In fact, prior to Sam, Temp Rite owner Scott Tyree said his only knowledge of Yelp was from when “Weird Al” Yankovic mentioned it in one of his parody songs.

So what makes Scott and his team a review-worthy business? It goes back to the fundamentals. First and foremost, communication is key. Scott prioritizes communication and always responds to his customers as quickly and honestly as possible. “I always tell customers, I’m not going to lie to you. I may not tell you what you want to hear, but I’m gonna tell you something. So that’s it. You just communicate. That’s all you gotta do. Communicate.” I may seem simple, but it’s difficult to consistently execute.

Scott’s 20 years in business has given him a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Some of the biggest takeaways from this episode include:

• Always prioritize—have a ranked list that you can use to help prioritize requests as soon as you get them.
• Give as much information as you can—be upfront with your customers. It’s important to share as much information as you can so they can make an educated decision.
• If you make a mistake, own it—while we all hope mistakes are few and far between (and in Scott’s case, they are), it’s important to own up to your mistakes and focus on fixing them.
• Be honest—being an honest business person always pays off in the long run.

All of these practices are why Scott has such a successful business and why Sam felt compelled to get Temp Rite on Yelp and write their first review. “Any time I come across a business that I just want to succeed, because they’re doing such a good job, the customer experience is there, the value is there, the service is there, I want to make sure they’re on Yelp,” said Sam. “I want other people to be able to go and find a company I liked.”

Listen to the episode below to hear directly from Sam and Scott, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday.