Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Shebar.
Alex, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story is a wild one. I went to Syracuse University for journalism and then got a job at The Cincinnati Enquirer when I’d never actually been to Ohio before. While working there, I really came to love Cincinnati as a city with some serious heart and wanted to give something back.
So I started to Watch This! We screened the 100 greatest films of all time, publicly, for the entire year all over the city. It was fantastic.
At the same time, Yelp saw what I was doing and was looking for their first community manager in Cincinnati. I was hired and then worked my way up to Senior Community Director, moving to London to run Yelp there and then back home to Chicago.
Now, I’ve recently moved on and am running my own Reputation Management service. I work with businesses all over the world to make sure their Yelp pages and other review pages are optimized. I don’t want any business to lose money because they have bad reviews and I work hard to make sure they respond correctly to every review, photo and check-in. You can check out more at BetterQualityReviews.com.
In my spare time, I blog at EatPlayPixels.com and run the Instagram account: Instagram.com/AlexShebar!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh, it has not been a smooth road. I was actually let go from my first job as a reporter during the recession, which made me feel like I would never get another job again. But it actually opened up so many doors to try new things and now I run my own business, having lived all over the world. It’s very exciting.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Better Quality Reviews / Eat Play Pixels – what should we know?
Here are some interesting facts you might not know:
– 68% of millennials trust online reviews, which compared to only 34% who now trust television advertising
– Good reviews produce an average of 18% uplift in sales.
– Bad reviews can cost a business about 30 customers a month.
– Getting a star rating up on Yelp produces an average of 9% profits for your next year.*
These are all fact-checked and fascinating facts for businesses, and yet, too many spots ignore their online reviews or don’t respond in an appropriate way because they don’t know how too.
I want to make sure that all businesses know someone is watching their reviews, make sure complaints have listened too and fans are thanked. This is what I do for businesses for only $130 a month, which is way cheaper than other services.
Also, I never automate it. The responses always come from me, the former Senior Director of Yelp, so I know exactly how to make an angry customer happy and keep a happy customer coming back.
I love when I help a business with their bad reviews and turn around someone who had a bad experience enough that they actually come back to give it another shot. That’s something I can do for everyone.
Sources: Harvard Business Review, Neilson. PEW
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I’ve always been a fan of people. I understand, especially online, that people are often treated as numbers or sales figured or just blank faces.
Nobody wants that. Everyone wants to be treated like a real person. I want to make sure that people’s reviews and complaints are heard by businesses and businesses respond in an authentic kind of way.
No one wants to be yelled at and everyone wants to be heart. I feel like I listen to people really well!
Pricing:
- $130 a month if you purchase for the year
- $170 a month if you purchase for 6 months
- $250 a month if you purchase month by month
Contact Info:
- Website: BetterQualityReviews.com
- Phone: 312-619-2612
- Email: Alexshebar@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/AlexShebar
- Twitter: Twitter.com/AlexShebar
- Yelp: http://alexshebar.yelp.com/
- Other: Bitly.com/ShebarPortfolio
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
