None of the 20 cafes we read had answered any of their recent reviews, and none of the 20 coffee shops had either. These are not thin listings. The median cafe in that set carries 475 Google reviews and the median coffee shop 315.5, and the three most-reviewed listings someone searching around Shakopee is shown in each of those trades hold 2329, 1966 and 1623.
Restaurants carry the deepest median of the six food and drink trades we read, at 979.5 reviews, with the three biggest listings at 3096, 2326 and 1966. McCoys Copper Pint, which holds 1873 reviews, answered 9 of its last 10. The same name appears among the bars answering the most of their recent reviews, next to Applebee's Grill + Bar, which holds 2100 reviews and answered 9 of its last 10. The median bar in the 20 we read carries 257 reviews.
Food trucks have the thinnest median of the six at 71 reviews, though the three most-reviewed listings in that set hold 1892, 1583 and 878. Cousins Maine Lobster Minneapolis, with 354 reviews, answered 10 of its last 10, and Mi Tierra Taqueria Food Truck, with 282, answered 9 of its last 10. Among the 20 bakeries we read, the median listing carries 134 reviews, and the bakery answering the most of its recent reviews, Shakopee Brewhall, answered 1 of its last 10.
Star ratings sort almost nothing here. The median rating in the bars we read is 4.5 and in the bakeries 4.75, and a trade median is a single figure for a whole set: it does not tell you which listing is which or what sits underneath it. The reply counts are the part that moves. Among the 48 businesses we measured for someone searching in Shakopee, the typical one had answered 78% of its recent reviews.
What to do about it
Two numbers on any of these listings come from different places. The review count is the whole file, going back as far as it goes. The answered count is drawn only from the most recent reviews, which means a listing holding 2329 reviews and one holding 71 are measured on the same short window. That window is the one you can actually change.
So work backwards from the newest review rather than trying to catch up on the whole file, and treat it as something that recurs rather than a one-off sweep, because next month the window will hold different reviews. Answer the positive ones as well as the difficult ones. Write the reply in the same voice you would use across the counter, naming the dish or the visit, so that anyone reading down the page is reading a person rather than the same three sentences repeated. If a reply could be pasted under any review on any listing, it is doing none of that work.
Restaurants
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McCoys Copper Pint | 9 of 10 | 1873 | 4.4 |
Cafés
We read 20 cafés businesses here and not one had answered a single one of its ten most recent reviews. The first owner here who replies is the only one doing it.
Coffee shops
We read 20 coffee shops businesses here and not one had answered a single one of its ten most recent reviews. The first owner here who replies is the only one doing it.
Bars
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Applebee's Grill + Bar | 9 of 10 | 2100 | 4.2 |
| 2 | McCoys Copper Pint | 9 of 10 | 1873 | 4.4 |
Bakeries
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shakopee Brewhall - Brewery & Coffee House | 1 of 10 | 375 | 4.7 |
Food trucks
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cousins Maine Lobster Minneapolis (Food Truck) | 10 of 10 | 354 | 4.7 |
| 2 | Mi Tierra Taqueria Food Truck | 9 of 10 | 282 | 4.8 |
| 3 | Med Box Grill | 2 of 10 | 878 | 4.8 |