None of the 20 coffee shops we read had answered any of their recent reviews. Not one. The files behind that silence are not thin either: the median review count across those 20 is 256.5, and the three most-reviewed listings hold 955, 802 and 776. Worth separating the two windows there — the review counts are whole listings, while the reply counts are drawn from each business's most recent reviews.
Food trucks carry the thinnest median of the six food and drink trades we read around Wayzata, at 89 reviews, and the top of that trade reads differently. Nautical Bowls answered 9 of its last 10, on a listing of 885 reviews. My Burger - Wayzata answered 6 of its last 10, with 759. Luce Line Brewing answered 5 of its last 10, with 510. Among the bakeries we read, Ben & Jerry's answered 6 of its last 10, on 537 reviews, against a trade median of 154.
Bars hold the deepest median of the six at 702 reviews, with the three most-reviewed listings at 2,639, 2,579 and 1,908. Northern Taphouse- Plymouth answered 8 of its last 10, on a file of 1,519. Restaurants sit at a median of 455, their three biggest listings at 2,638, 2,578 and 1,039, and McCormick's Pub and Restaurant answered 3 of its last 10 on 767 reviews. Among the cafes we read, Belle & Grey answered 1 of its last 10, on 660. We name only the businesses answering the most, so the rest of the twenty we read in each trade are not described here one way or the other.
We measured 50 of the businesses someone searching in Wayzata is shown; a typical one answered 81% of its recent reviews. The median rating is 4.55 for restaurants, 4.5 for cafes, coffee shops and bars, 4.65 for bakeries and 4.75 for food trucks. A median is one figure for a whole trade; it does not tell you which listing is which, and nothing here is ordered by stars.
What to do about it
If you pour coffee for a living around Wayzata, the fact to act on is that among the 20 coffee shops we read, with a median of 256.5 reviews behind them, not one had answered any of its recent reviews. Taking that lane costs nothing but the writing.
Start at the newest review on your own listing and work backwards, because the most recent ones are where our counts come from and where a gap is easiest to close. Answer the warm ones as well as the awkward ones; a customer who wrote three sentences about a pastry is owed a reply as much as anyone. Write them yourself, in the words you would use across the counter — on a file the size of the ones in this group, identical replies stack up visibly. And treat it as a habit rather than a clearing-out: catching up once leaves you exactly where you started a month later.
Restaurants
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McCormick's Pub and Restaurant | 3 of 10 | 767 | 4.6 |
Cafés
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belle & Grey | 1 of 10 | 660 | 4.1 |
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 | Northern Taphouse- Plymouth | 8 of 10 | 1519 | 4.7 |
| 2 | Pink Ivy Kitchen and Bar | 2 of 10 | 1908 | 4.9 |
Bakeries
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben & Jerry’s | 6 of 10 | 537 | 4.5 |
Food trucks
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nautical Bowls | 9 of 10 | 885 | 4.7 |
| 2 | My Burger - Wayzata | 6 of 10 | 759 | 4.6 |
| 3 | Luce Line Brewing | 5 of 10 | 510 | 4.6 |