Lessons from Yelp on Taco Catering

Two things indicate how completely popular taco catering has become in southern California. One is just how many there are – dozens of purveyors from Orange to Ventura counties keep diners happy with all iterations of this Mexican standard and all its many, creative variations. Another is online reviews – Yelp in particular.

And while thousands of reviews by consumers in Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, San Bernardino, Santa Monica and Pasadena indicate strong satisfaction with their tacos-on-wheels purveyors, there are those who express dissatisfaction. Sometimes Yelp and other online review sites are heavily gamed – company A pays people to write nasty things about competitor company B, then of course company B catches on and has their minions to retaliate against company A. It’s Spy vs. Spy in 21st century marketing.

But real value can nonetheless be derived from reviews. First, try to ignore the outliers – those who rate something at either zero or all five stars. Absolute negativity and unbridled praise rarely inform us. It’s the reviews in between, those two-, three- and four-star ratings and comments that tell us more about the things taco caterers do right, the things they do wrong and the things that might set them apart from the competition.

Some examples:

Two star reviews: 1. Caterer arrived at the start of the event time, needed 20 minutes to set up. 2. Wait staff took time to eat their own meals while service to party guests was ongoing (and there were lines at several of the stations). 3. Fish tacos were much too salty – does everyone else like it this way?

Three star reviews: 1. The line moved fast, so I didn’t mind waiting just a bit. 2. I ordered the spicy but it wasn’t nearly as spicy as I like. 3. I prefer the carnitas cooked a little more crispy. 4. The setup leads you to believe it’s made to order but everything is in a warming tray.

Four star reviews: 1. Nice find – the food was fresh and tasty. 2. The red sauce is spicy and smokey, their green sauce is more sour and fresh tasting. 3. The meat is perfectly seasoned and tender. 4. They have vegan and vegetarian options and their regular options seem pretty healthfully prepared.

So it seems as if tasty offerings, the preparation methods, freshness, made-to-order and prompt, efficient service are what wins favor with diners.

As gourmet mobile taco carts are used for business taco catering events, weddings, children’s parties and film productions, the caterers themselves know the stakes are high for providing great food and efficient service. Each of these occasions call for professional quality catering as no event organizer wants to get bad reviews the day after.