0:01

Every business wants good customer reviews.

0:03

every customer wants a good

0:05

experience. So what happens when

0:07

both sides click? or in some

0:09

cases, This

0:13

is behind. Know. Me:

0:39

I'm. Emily Wash Kovac Yelp

0:41

Small Business Expert. Behind

0:43

the Review features conversations with

0:46

business owners and customers who

0:48

wrote one of their Yelp

0:50

reviews. In our discussions,

0:52

we talk about lessons they've learned that

0:54

can be used by other businesses. To

0:57

improve their own reviews. And

0:59

their bottom line. This

1:01

week I'm talking with Chris. Hohenstein,

1:03

the founder of City Tree

1:06

Delivery. A local business

1:08

dedicated to enhance the holiday

1:11

spirit by delivering trees directly

1:13

to customers stores. City

1:16

Tree specializes in a

1:18

hassle free holiday experience

1:20

for Chicago residents and

1:22

they've become synonymous with

1:24

reliability and quality. Embodying

1:27

the festive spirit of the city

1:29

during the winter season since they

1:31

first opened back in two thousand

1:33

in that. Will

1:35

also hear from reviewer Oh J

1:38

P. As a Yelp

1:40

elite, Oh just frequently uses

1:42

Yelp to explore local businesses

1:44

and share advice with other

1:46

customers. I have been using

1:48

out for a number of years As a

1:51

couple years ago my wife and I

1:53

decided that we wanted to toast Christmas

1:55

sort of like a okay, well we live

1:57

in the city of Chicago. We have

1:59

a small. how are we going

2:01

to get a tree? Like how's this going to work? And

2:04

so we started doing some research and

2:07

found actually there's this great company called

2:09

City Tree Delivery that actually will come

2:12

to your house, deliver the

2:14

tree, install it, clean up actually

2:16

have to tell, help give

2:18

you education on how you keep the tree alive.

2:20

And then once, once they're done, they'll actually pick

2:22

it up. And that was big for

2:25

us too, both from a convenience standpoint of like

2:27

why we have a small car, like we don't

2:29

want to transport it. And then to

2:31

you environmentally for us, like we wanted, we

2:33

looked into plastic trees and just like the

2:36

footprint is much higher because a tree

2:38

can be composted. So we're like, Oh, this is

2:40

amazing that they can just kind of like take

2:42

care of everything for us. Taking

2:44

on the holidays as a host can be

2:46

a lot of work. For

2:48

Ojas and his family, City Tree

2:51

Delivery was the perfect option to

2:53

alleviate the chaos of decorating their

2:55

home. Let's give

2:58

his review a listen. Hosted

3:00

our family for Christmas for the first time

3:02

and this worked perfectly. They were

3:04

able to deliver the tree, tree stand and

3:06

lights and then take them all back a

3:08

few weeks later. The only item we had

3:11

to buy was the tree mat, which wasn't

3:13

strictly necessary since the tree stand does a

3:15

good job of keeping water off your floor

3:17

and you need to sweep up every now

3:19

and then no matter what. The

3:21

tree is stored wrapped up. So it looks sad

3:23

at first, but opens up over

3:26

the next 48 hours and then looks great.

3:29

The delivery and pickups were both professional, masked

3:31

and on time. We got a

3:33

six to seven foot tree with three pairs of

3:35

lights, which worked well. Next year we'd like one

3:37

foot bigger. City Tree

3:39

really takes all the work out of getting

3:42

a Christmas tree for the holidays. I

3:45

personally grew up with real trees and remember how

3:47

fun it was to pick it out and

3:50

get it decorated. But I've never

3:52

had a real tree as an adult, partially

3:54

because it's so much work. When

3:57

you live in a big city like Chicago, the whole world is a

3:59

part of the community. work is quite a bit more complicated.

4:02

This was one of the main

4:05

reasons CEO and owner Chris decided

4:07

to start City Tree but it

4:09

was also with the foundational principle

4:11

to combat tree waste. I

4:14

was working in a corporate job and I was

4:16

in public accounting and I always had to throw

4:18

my Christmas tree away in January because Chicago didn't

4:20

have a great recycling program and I just started

4:22

kind of talking to my alderman complained about the

4:25

process he told me how it worked and what

4:27

I needed to do and I

4:29

started working with the City of Chicago and the

4:31

Department of Environment under recycling program. I got

4:34

a grant from the City of Chicago to help

4:36

expand the recycling program and I worked with the

4:38

Department of Environment for that and I

4:40

just wanted to solve the problem like how can I

4:42

recycle my tree because it bothered me that

4:44

I had to throw my tree away and then the next year

4:46

I ended up as a KPMG and I got laid off during

4:49

the financial crisis in 2008 and I was at an environmental

4:53

pre activist and we were talking about a real

4:55

tree versus a fake tree and the benefits and

4:58

I just came to me I'm like well I had fun

5:00

recycling Christmas trees why don't I do the whole supply chain

5:02

so I just thought through the

5:04

process buying local getting

5:06

a quality product offering you know

5:08

good service and I just

5:10

kind of enjoyed it and grew it so the first

5:12

year I mean I didn't really know what I was

5:14

doing I kind of figured it out and then I

5:17

I got another full-time job a year or so later

5:19

and I didn't want to give

5:21

up what I was doing because I enjoyed it and I

5:23

just kind of grew with it and then over time it

5:25

took over and it didn't really make sense to try to

5:27

do both but I really enjoyed the entrepreneurship side with

5:30

a business like City Tree the

5:32

product and service are

5:35

obviously very important but

5:38

maybe more important is the technology

5:40

and systems Chris has put into

5:42

place over the years to

5:44

create that seamless ordering experience

5:47

online that's followed

5:49

up with delivery communications that

5:51

set expectations for the customer

5:54

and allowed the tree delivery team members

5:56

to focus on the customer so

5:59

customers Online and they pick the tree

6:01

size, what accessories and options they worth and

6:03

and check out. They'll take a delivery date

6:06

and then they get a window sill get

6:08

a window. it'll be in our first chefs

6:10

second cs which is usually during the week

6:12

it's before five pm and after five pm

6:15

and males of the acid to be flexible

6:17

and regardless we're going to give the customer

6:19

a three hour window and then call a

6:21

note hi the customer the day off and

6:24

say were three houses away will. Be.

6:26

There within the hour to so does. this

6:28

is like setting cause for expectations even if

6:31

you're earlier if you're late what's important is

6:33

communicating so the customer from go to run

6:35

to the grocery store walked the dog pick

6:37

up their tents and that's what was really

6:39

aim for says communication with that the entire

6:42

time and then was the trees will ever

6:44

be educate the customer. We have information where

6:46

they can scan the Qr code and and

6:48

learn about what see care tips they need

6:51

and our delivery guys always want to educate

6:53

the customer as well so we we the

6:55

same for a clear. And consistent process

6:57

the as I time. And.

7:00

Crysis work to create this simple

7:02

process has paid off. Oh,

7:06

just particularly appreciated City Tree

7:08

Deliveries thoughtfulness to cure rates

7:10

a personalized. Customer experience.

7:14

As someone who didn't really know

7:16

much about living Christmas trees, oh

7:18

gees, appreciated how easy it was

7:20

to navigate. The City Three laps. And

7:24

even know they've changed their. Order

7:26

Over the years the communication.

7:28

And transparency has made them

7:30

repeat customers. What?

7:33

We found said his delivery of were like

7:35

this is that within really do any competitive

7:37

evaluation and actually funny enough we've been living

7:39

in a Tree Delivery for a couple years

7:42

and last year this past year we ordered

7:44

a tree and a slightly cheaper and then

7:46

there's a delivered a more expensive trace of

7:48

the two options because I like are the

7:51

one thing they had for your to your

7:53

like now get south would just like upgrade

7:55

the without telling you what has happened that

7:57

affects we love that judgment and first size.

8:00

The actually weren't sure if that was where we

8:02

get a visual like that and what feels right

8:04

and ordered one actually felt small. So the next

8:06

year actually that was part of the opera. like

8:08

wrote a yelp review and then that's how for

8:11

one of the reasons I write yelp reviews is

8:13

to be able to look back on like hey

8:15

do I want to do this again and nice

8:17

what would I do differently and so that was

8:20

like oh yeah loves anything delivery Five stars Do

8:22

it again but corner instead of adding me made

8:24

them six foot tree and said order the some

8:26

for tree Is that really cells are space better.

8:29

This isn't a trivial purchase, so the

8:32

fact that we could go online, order

8:34

it like see the carts. you know

8:36

exactly what we're buying haven't been purchased.

8:38

Get that confirmation receipt of this is

8:40

what you bought. All of that normal

8:43

ecommerce practice that you just assume these

8:45

days was was yeah, was is true

8:47

and so the telling you don't even

8:49

think about when. A summary. The.

8:51

Customer experience has been a

8:54

top priority for Crests and

8:56

City Three deliver. His

8:58

business model comes down to offering

9:00

a simplified solution to make the

9:02

holidays easier for costs. Especially

9:05

in such a hectic and

9:08

expensive. You

9:10

know we try to do the right thing

9:12

and simple minded Christmas experience desire process

9:14

comes down to you know making it

9:16

easy but the customer. at first I

9:18

thought it was a Christmas company when I

9:20

realized quickly that is more of a

9:22

convenience company and solving a problem is

9:24

one all Capaldi product of hard for customer

9:27

a seamless customer experience from start to

9:29

finish we want to set expectations. Were

9:31

not necessarily the cheapest place but I

9:33

feel like we're fairly priced for what we

9:35

offer and be smart because we're in

9:37

the same side as the customer. any

9:39

it's I. Want the same thing and if the

9:41

customer doesn't experienced that it's it's like new. Want

9:43

to make it right? And six? Chris

9:46

has been leveraging technology. Since

9:48

the early days of City Tree. He's

9:52

constantly evolving and simplify.

9:55

Or adding features he appreciates

9:57

when been a consumer himself.

10:00

I've always wanted to simplify the process

10:02

and find the best ways you know

10:04

any time. And when amazon has a

10:06

nice little track ability features us from

10:08

what I find so I dad just

10:11

ways to get feedback and. Community.

10:13

Quickly and like how can I bring that

10:15

to my own business and that's really replicating

10:18

and and and streamlining stuff on there. Have

10:20

never done a website before but I'm like

10:22

well this isn't getting.i need to figure it

10:24

out and without nice various building web sites

10:26

I just learned it in. Did.

10:28

The first race and and then I

10:31

switched to the For platform that had

10:33

a better customer experience. now I switched

10:35

over to Shopify. It's as gray from

10:37

by the small businesses that the technology

10:39

and the ability to integrate or work

10:42

really well. The. Touch the chat.

10:44

Software and mean that I did

10:46

that a couple years back and

10:48

it's is greatly reduce the call

10:50

volume. an email a. Customer.

10:53

Service: The Sara Lee I mean everyone hates

10:56

waiting on hold forever and like wondering in

10:58

it does, making it easy to ask a

11:00

question and just get a response in your

11:02

phone. I think that. Makes. It

11:04

easy for everyone. Technology.

11:06

Has allowed crests. To have

11:09

smooth communication with customers after

11:11

their purchases, To. We

11:13

do follow ups thou worthy of a

11:16

of of application allows you to tax

11:18

the customer after their experience or feedback

11:20

of us really helped get the back.

11:22

It also follow up as an egocentric

11:24

their tips that way as well as

11:27

make sure to set expectations and. With.

11:29

The use of links and Qr codes and

11:31

of like that, I think that's gone a

11:34

long way to help with the the, followed

11:36

the customer follow. We. Always ask our

11:38

employees the as low as in a toss

11:40

the customer try to understand get any kind

11:42

of feedback and communication with them during that

11:45

time and anything we get we're obviously going

11:47

to work with and and try to go

11:49

forward and work on or proverbs it know

11:51

I sat on their. And

11:54

you don't have to just use

11:56

technology to talk to existing customers.

11:58

Sometimes technologies such as. expectations

12:01

before someone even becomes a customer, like

12:03

on your website. We try to simplify

12:06

the website so it's a seamless

12:08

experience and they pick a product and they

12:11

can get educated on it and if they

12:13

have questions, we have a text to chat

12:15

option, they can always pick up the phone

12:17

and call just for communication on there. We

12:20

outline what to expect, how to

12:22

expect it, and we just try to follow

12:24

through on that. Anytime someone gives us feedback,

12:27

we always want to respond. We

12:29

want to make sure that expectations are aligned

12:31

with reality. A lot of the time some

12:33

of our smaller trees that people get,

12:35

people are expecting something much bigger

12:37

so we're trying to set expectations

12:39

by putting a shadow, a silhouette

12:41

next to the sample tree to

12:44

set expectations. Sometimes people order a

12:46

five to six foot tree and they're expecting it to be

12:49

much bigger than it really is and just necessarily

12:51

like the width and the girth of a tree

12:54

when it's growing. In

12:56

order to get the correct shape, the shape

12:58

and the size that everyone is expecting, they

13:01

have to grow each year and that's also

13:03

dependent on things like mother nature. The weather

13:06

conditions can impact the whole

13:08

industry. I mean it's not unique to our business so

13:10

one thing I do to set expectations is I'll go

13:12

out and look, once the trees are delivered, I'll go

13:14

out and look at the other trees in Chicago just

13:16

to make sure that what we're

13:19

offering is comparable to what other

13:21

people have as well. Beyond the

13:23

quality of trees, Chris Sors is, he

13:26

knows that the ways team treats customers

13:28

and their homes is equally

13:31

important. And Ojas

13:33

noticed those extra steps too. Plus

13:36

the delivery team who brought his tree

13:38

made sure he wasn't let down with

13:41

how the tree initially looked, knowing

13:43

that it would definitely fill out. We

13:46

could go on a website, we could order a

13:48

tree, a real tree, have that tree be delivered

13:51

to our place in this kind

13:53

of low friction, easy way and then

13:56

once they're done they'll pick it up. The things

13:58

that they did that we didn't expect. that were nice

14:00

delight moments was just like the service level

14:03

where they came and they were very thoughtful about

14:05

where they were wearing shoes or not and if

14:07

we minded that in our home and once they

14:09

put in the tree warning us like yeah no

14:12

this looks sad but it'll open up it's okay

14:14

so like setting that expectation and then telling us

14:16

like okay here's the watering instructions of how often

14:18

you should water the tree to keep it alive

14:21

and maximize it's kind of okay yeah

14:24

like today is whatever the 20th and

14:26

so your event is on the 26th

14:28

so maybe it'll actually be great by

14:30

that date and so make sure to keep watering it so

14:33

it stays in good shape and then we're

14:35

gonna come pick it up at the end so I

14:37

think they just were very clear and professional throughout so

14:39

honestly there was no real change year over

14:42

year but there didn't need to be. The

14:45

communication doesn't stop there though with

14:48

any kind of conflict or

14:50

issue involving customers or even

14:52

employees Chris prioritizes

14:55

communication before during

14:57

and after the entire order

15:00

process. I think caring

15:02

and doing the right thing I think that's what

15:05

separates a good business from just any

15:07

business if you truly care and you

15:09

show you care and you're

15:11

willing to rectify the situation within reason

15:13

I think that kind of separates

15:15

a good business from any business and

15:18

there's plenty of great businesses but I'm just

15:20

not willing to take a shortcut just for

15:22

the sake of taking the shortcut and a

15:24

lot of the time that's one challenge is

15:26

you're managing people and I know

15:29

what to do I know how to do

15:31

it and I want to educate and get

15:33

everyone to be in the same page and

15:35

it's creating that culture in the atmosphere empowering

15:37

the employee to do that and making sure

15:39

that's done and it's really frustrating when for

15:42

example employees are running behind so they're rushing

15:44

something and they take a shortcut and they

15:46

leave a trail of needles in the hallway

15:48

because the bag leaked a little bit when

15:50

they're hauling the three-way it's frustrating because I

15:52

mean that's a simple solution and it should

15:54

have never happened it's predictable it's planable and

15:56

you know you can call a customer and

15:58

say I'm running late. And again, if

16:00

you're communicating it's not a big deal. They don't

16:03

care, They care when you're already late and many

16:05

call to say you're going to be later as

16:07

you're running late and you community you know the

16:09

beginning of the day for behind schedule said a

16:11

week told you three to six but it's probably

16:14

going to be more like four to seven are.

16:16

At communicating the entire time changes

16:18

everything. when you call at six

16:21

o'clock or even five thirty and

16:23

say I'm running late. They've.

16:25

Already been sitting around waiting for you for three

16:27

hours big so up and and they're not happy

16:29

about that. If you tell a month before your

16:31

window that you're running late, guess what they can

16:34

the water dog. They can do whatever they want

16:36

and they're not upset. As communicating

16:38

after the fact that this a problem is

16:40

so like it's frustrating when this of his

16:42

shield I'm like why did that ever happened

16:45

to begin with and you can solve it

16:47

is frustrating to have those kind of complaints

16:49

dislike he want to control it but you're

16:51

limited to the power of what other people

16:54

are doing so I think it messes Raisins

16:56

best as his foster an environment where. Is

16:59

this simplify the process and my they

17:01

don't need to call me and asked.

17:03

What? Should I do? I mean the question is,

17:05

what should we do for the customer to make

17:07

a right and mean that's the answer? If I'm

17:09

going to give them, that's the answer. They should

17:12

give a power enough employee the make that decision.

17:14

Was. The thought of the customer within

17:16

reason and is that the customer's always

17:18

right, but the customer's always the focus.

17:22

We're. Going to be right but after a quick

17:24

to praise. You are growing.

17:26

Best S Which means you

17:28

need every spare our you

17:30

can. That's why the most

17:33

successful growing businesses are working

17:35

together in. His

17:38

were work happy with all

17:40

your feet, All data and

17:43

information in one hour. I

17:45

power plants certicom instantly and

17:48

huddles and debts cumbersome calendar.

17:50

And. Or failed.

17:52

And automation with work flow

17:55

builder to take regime tasks

17:57

off your plate no coding

17:59

require. Oh your business is.

18:02

This is flat.coms tickets.

18:06

One. Of the reasons why City Tree

18:08

has become a local favorite is because

18:10

of Chris his original mission. Sustainability

18:13

and less waste.

18:16

Wonder what's really award thus to supply chains? We

18:18

try to do zero waste and use everything we

18:20

saw. I'll take the branches the clipping two years

18:22

we make rates and garland out of it will

18:25

com posted free cutting. so whenever I take them

18:27

home and put in my backyard these men are

18:29

fire pit at the end of the year we

18:31

do carbon offsets and work of other communities on

18:33

there but what I saw that one vendor I

18:35

want to try a lot of matter what you

18:38

do what you left over silica would put take

18:40

a back island, put him in a dumpster. saw

18:42

this Jefferson. Being a good. Steward.

18:44

of business customers and supplies and I think

18:46

goes a long way and one thing that

18:49

separates us from other people and as I

18:51

guess consistency of being fair I think that

18:53

place or a big part of the business

18:55

so it's to success and I used to

18:57

think well why does every do this right

18:59

or takes a lot of people care enough

19:01

to to follow through and and see it

19:03

through and had existed or it's been a

19:05

successful business of a business which are less

19:07

staggers or starters are closes down would offer.

19:10

Customers like oh just have noticed

19:12

this and and want to support

19:15

businesses that are mindful and aware

19:17

of the impact they care. No

19:20

matter how small or local, they. Just

19:23

as human as Hidden Twenty Twenty Four it's

19:25

a world of not from a clamp prospective

19:27

an ideal place in south As and wanting

19:29

to be a godsend is it to be

19:31

like what of our role here and soldier

19:33

trying to be my fault if are flying

19:36

I do we really need to fly for

19:38

buying. selling too early to buy it or

19:40

if we do want to buy it was

19:42

the right way to do it for us.

19:44

And so yeah this treaty was just another

19:46

of those examples. but just physically a little

19:48

of are jerks where we wanted to. Make.

19:50

A purchase in a way that honor

19:52

our family and family's listen while doing

19:54

it kind of mindful about be environmental

19:56

impact. And that sustainability

19:59

plays a role in not just

20:01

the tree, but also accessories to

20:03

the tree. Chris explains

20:05

how add ons work in his

20:08

business. And. The be

20:10

getting these to offer multiple different types.

20:12

Allies said multiple The for skews it.

20:14

I learned it's simpler he is what

20:16

offer when. Quality: Multicolor option One quality

20:19

right option I mean this so much

20:21

and of paralysis and having too many

20:23

options As far as the rental place

20:26

working with the theater company that was

20:28

in town for the holidays they wanted

20:30

to get freeze them off her of

20:32

holidays various further staff and I realize

20:35

they work at a Be Here and

20:37

I didn't want him. Despite the product.

20:39

And throw it away or I wanted to

20:41

find some the worked in a this came

20:43

up with. I have went on a does

20:45

he not deliver a few in and pick

20:47

it up afterwards and it seem like a

20:50

win win for everyone and and works great

20:52

for people in apartments and condos, People whose

20:54

don't want to deal storing stuff and mean

20:56

we all have limited space specially in the

20:58

city and it's a perfect often as I

21:00

mean I'd rather rent. didn't take it back

21:02

especially if they don't even bother going to

21:04

have a tree the following year. They make

21:06

it easy and convenient than offer Adams man

21:08

but not using Islam. Thrown away and or by that

21:10

are on When I needed. That. I what

21:12

is right, Solutions have the disposable society. I

21:15

was surprised to hear that not only would they

21:17

supply the trees but that we won lights of

21:19

course that decorate the tree and saw that the

21:22

fact that they were lying around us. That was

21:24

just like a really nice little addition our in

21:26

terms of the thing we want to keep doing

21:28

so the ability for us to rent it have

21:30

them he said and then for us to give

21:33

her back let somebody else either Down the route

21:35

of it was a great and really nice convenience

21:37

for us. I mean,

21:39

it makes sense. No one wants to

21:42

store hundreds of lights and a tree

21:44

in a packed house or apartment in

21:46

the city. But

21:48

the holidays aren't complete without

21:51

the sparkle and colorful lights.

21:53

So. That's been a hit for. City Tree Delivery.

21:57

Press helps his customers. To

21:59

be more sustained. while also

22:01

providing convenience. And.

22:03

Making some extra money on the transaction,

22:07

It's a win win. Win. Win.

22:09

I. As Chris about owning a seasonal

22:12

basis and how he and his family

22:14

function when the holidays are over. The.

22:17

Cease to be purpose seconds or like I

22:19

was working fulltime job or doing this in

22:21

the sides and I realize it was too

22:23

hard to do like I was going to

22:25

school of you were having a baby as

22:27

working have a job at a real as

22:29

you can't do a million things and and

22:31

Zola wealth and it has made sense to

22:33

focus on but I really enjoyed the word

22:35

favour. I'm really busy for a few months

22:37

of the and nurse the or I have

22:39

a balanced us take her to her things

22:41

around the house speaker the kids work wouldn't

22:43

have to focus my family and other priorities

22:45

really helps. My wife had a full job.

22:47

So that kind of lots of barricades

22:49

and other things. Are you around far

22:51

from an aspirin or perspective? I mean

22:53

I've thought of developing other products. I've

22:55

looked at other service offerings and other

22:57

complimentary businesses. I knew what I'm really

22:59

selling a chameleon so a tall he

23:01

could mean as and reliability of with

23:03

Christmas is lot of different other offerings

23:06

that he could off includes rest of

23:08

the air at the same customer base.

23:10

Oh, just understands the struggles of a

23:13

small local. best. Especially.

23:15

One like press were customer

23:18

support builds momentum and drive

23:20

set. So

23:22

he writes reviews to show that support.

23:25

Support. A love of in as as

23:27

is important because this. Being

23:29

a small business being a restaurant a

23:32

failure at a really high and saw

23:34

as you have a good experience has

23:36

to so exciting and motivating to be

23:38

able to get more to celebrate what

23:40

they've done and give them that bomb

23:42

in a pride because I know all

23:45

businesses check their it a real for

23:47

of use all the reviews to be

23:49

what am I don't want to give

23:51

them a positive feedback to celebrate and

23:53

but also to help other people discover

23:55

them i read or the primarily restaurants

23:58

but now increasingly other options. as well that

24:00

provide value to me. The reason

24:03

I review mostly is for my future

24:05

self. I want to know,

24:07

one, should I come back here? And

24:10

two, if I do come back, like what should

24:12

I do? What did I do last time? Do

24:14

I like it? Do it again? What do I

24:16

want to do differently? I do

24:18

appreciate when it's helpful to other people as well,

24:20

like a member of the community. Like I

24:22

appreciate seeing all these reviews, so the only

24:24

way those happen is if someone's doing the

24:27

work. So again, like what's my role? I

24:29

think there's times where I review really well

24:31

and give like five stars, things

24:33

that are pretty good, four stars, and then yeah

24:35

when things are bad I am very willing to

24:37

give lower scores too, give

24:40

that feedback so the business can improve. When

24:43

Ojas writes his reviews, he

24:45

keeps other customers in mind. He

24:48

likes to think about common concerns

24:50

and questions to give honest

24:52

and tangible advice. I guess

24:55

I think from a customer, because of the product

24:57

manager, I think about the customer journey and so

24:59

it's like when are you gonna look

25:02

at Yelp reviews? And it's probably like, oh I'm

25:04

in the discovery evaluation stage, like should I do

25:06

this? So is it good? And did you have

25:08

a good experience? And then I think for other

25:10

times it's like when I get stuck, so

25:12

it's like for example, hey I bought a protein pattern

25:14

and I couldn't figure out how to open it. So

25:17

then I was looking at reviews for like, what

25:19

do people do? So I think knowing somebody probably

25:22

will look for a CD3 delivery when they're thinking

25:24

about buying a tree or renting a tree, but

25:26

also when they're, oh no, like my tree looks

25:28

really sad and if the delivery person was in

25:31

a rush and didn't say that, they might be

25:33

like, oh wait are these like, why are the

25:35

reviews so good if my tree looks so bad?

25:37

And so then hopefully my review saying like it

25:40

looks sad, like alleviates

25:42

that concern for them. Of

25:45

course every business is bound to

25:47

face some critical reviews. For

25:50

Chris though, criticism can lead to

25:52

improvement. I think all reviews

25:54

are really important. It's really helpful to get the customer's

25:57

perspective. Some of the ones I find the most fun

25:59

and the most challenging or when you

26:01

take a negative experience and turn a

26:03

positive and sometimes it's

26:05

setting customer expectation sometimes it's we

26:08

messed up and owning it and

26:10

making it right. We're not perfect

26:12

if someone notifies us this a

26:14

problem we're gonna within reason respond

26:17

to that. If someone's disrespectful and

26:19

rude and they're just not wanting

26:21

to interact I mean there's not

26:23

much you can really do but if you

26:25

make this mistake own it and if there's

26:27

a reason why something happened explaining

26:30

it comes out of education with that.

26:32

One customer this year they got

26:34

a tree they wrote this nasty email

26:36

like you know I spent this on

26:38

this and I can't believe you know

26:40

this is terrible I don't know where

26:42

your reviews are coming from and

26:45

I looked at their order and you

26:47

know they bought a small tree and

26:49

to the point earlier certain trees don't

26:51

fill out like a Fraser

26:53

fir doesn't grow it's a slow growing tree

26:55

so if you get a five to six foot Fraser

26:58

fir it's not gonna be a

27:00

good you know single-family home room

27:02

filler it's just the expectation is

27:04

hard there so I emailed a customer right away

27:06

and I'm like I'm sorry about your experience let

27:08

me see what we can do I'd love to

27:10

offer you a tree. We always

27:12

work with the customer if they're willing to

27:15

work with this we'll do a tree swap

27:17

I'm not necessarily gonna refund it but I'm

27:19

gonna educate someone and one of the things

27:21

I also learned is being responsive I always

27:23

have a million things going on and I

27:25

didn't always respond live and one thing I've

27:28

really taken to a consideration is responding to

27:30

every review at this point I try not

27:32

to do a generic like thanks I

27:34

mean I try to read the review

27:36

and respond relating to that review

27:39

if that makes sense. Customers

27:42

like Ojas like to hear

27:44

from businesses because it's

27:46

a direct response to acknowledge their

27:48

things. It is quite common

27:50

for businesses to reach out to me I

27:53

think often if it's a five-star experience they just

27:55

say thanks and so let's cut to the end

27:57

it's like great I'm glad it. When

28:00

I give a lower rating, I definitely get

28:02

feedback of like, hey, we'd love to know

28:04

how we can improve. Responding

28:07

to reviews can show a happy customer

28:09

you're grateful for their feedback, and

28:12

a critical customer that you care about

28:15

their experience and want to improve. But

28:18

most importantly, responding to reviews

28:20

allows you to reflect your

28:22

customer service practices for

28:24

all future consumers to see. And

28:27

that's why you want to respond publicly

28:29

in a professional manner. And

28:32

that concludes our episode. I hope

28:35

you enjoyed it and were able to take a thing or

28:37

two away to implement in your own life. Whether

28:39

it's a new idea that you can bring back to your business,

28:42

or a fresh perspective on how to be

28:44

a positive influence as a consumer, we

28:47

share these stories to inspire and create

28:49

more meaningful connections in our

28:52

local community. This

29:18

episode featured a conversation

29:20

with Chris Hoenstein, the

29:22

founder of City Tree Delivery. And

29:25

Ojus P, a Yelp elite

29:27

living in Chicago. Special

29:30

thanks to Charlotte Che, who

29:32

helped write this episode. To

29:34

learn more about the story,

29:36

head to yelp.com/behind the review.

29:39

And check out the guest details and

29:42

episode takeaways. And

29:44

don't forget to subscribe to the

29:46

show on your favorite listening platform, so

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you get an alert each Thursday that we drop

29:51

a new episode. To claim

29:53

your own Yelp business page and start

29:56

engaging with consumers, visit

29:58

business.yelp.com. Our

30:01

theme song is performed by

30:03

Alley Shorts and produced by

30:05

Rob Eg of Nasser. All set.