Among the food and drink businesses someone searching in Thousand Oaks, CA is shown, a bar with a large listing and a bakery with a modest one both answered every one of their last 10 reviews. BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse answered 10 of 10 on a listing of 1,281 reviews. Agoura Village Bakery answered 10 of 10 on a listing of 155.
Among the coffee shops we could measure, Little Calf Creamery and Cafe answered the most of its recent reviews: 9 of 10, on a listing of 885, which is also the most-reviewed coffee shop we read. HIBYE COFFEE answered 7 of 10 on 368 reviews, and Starbucks 4 of 10 on 366. The median coffee shop we read carries 155.5 reviews and a 4.65 rating.
Restaurants read differently. Among the restaurants we could measure, D'Amore's Pizza answered the most of its recent reviews: 5 of 10, on a listing of 653. Crawford's Social answered 2 of 10 on 780 reviews, and Mouthful Eatery 1 of 10 on 758. The median restaurant we read carries 216 reviews and a 4.6 rating; the most-reviewed carries 1,246. D'Amore's Pizza and Mouthful Eatery appear among both the restaurants and the cafés named here, and Crawford's Social among both the restaurants and the food trucks, where it is the one name we can give, at 2 of 10.
Among the six trades in this section, bars have the highest median review count: the median bar we read carries 355.5 reviews and the most-reviewed carries 1,767. Among the bakeries, Emil's Bake House answered 3 of 10 on 159 reviews, beside Agoura Village Bakery's 10 of 10; the median bakery we read carries 108 reviews. The benchmark measured here is 63% of recent reviews answered by a typical business, across 52 businesses and all trades together, not food and drink alone. We can't see how the other businesses we read handled their recent reviews.
What to do about it
Open your listing and count how many of your last 10 reviews carry a reply. That is the same measure behind every reply figure above, so you can set your own number beside Agoura Village Bakery's 10 of 10 or Little Calf Creamery and Cafe's 9 of 10, and beside the 63% benchmark measured here.
If your count is low, the fix is a habit rather than a project: answer each new review as it comes in, the short five-star ones as well as the long ones. Name the dish, the drink or the visit the customer mentioned, thank them in your own words, and sign it. The review is the customer's; the reply is the part you write. BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse reached 10 of 10 on a listing of 1,281 and Agoura Village Bakery did on 155, two listings of very different sizes at the same figure.
Restaurants
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D'Amore's Pizza | 5 of 10 | 653 | 4.8 |
| 2 | Crawford's Social | 2 of 10 | 780 | 4.5 |
| 3 | Mouthful Eatery | 1 of 10 | 758 | 4.7 |
Cafés
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D'Amore's Pizza | 5 of 10 | 653 | 4.8 |
| 2 | Mouthful Eatery | 1 of 10 | 758 | 4.7 |
Coffee shops
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Calf Creamery and Cafe | 9 of 10 | 885 | 4.6 |
| 2 | HIBYE COFFEE | 7 of 10 | 368 | 4.8 |
| 3 | Starbucks | 4 of 10 | 366 | 4.5 |
Bars
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse | 10 of 10 | 1281 | 4.1 |
| 2 | The Mighty Axe | 1 of 10 | 1767 | 5 |
Bakeries
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agoura Village Bakery | 10 of 10 | 155 | 4.7 |
| 2 | Emil's Bake House | 3 of 10 | 159 | 4.7 |
Food trucks
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crawford's Social | 2 of 10 | 780 | 4.5 |