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In the hospitality business, there's probably no bigger arbiter than the online review site TripAdvisor.
And in Southwest Florida, Todd Brooks is a pro at scoring high TripAdvisor marks. For the second year in a row, TripAdvisor named Brooks Gourmet Burgers & Dogs in Naples one of the top 10 best burger restaurants in the nation. Brooks Gourmet Burgers appears alongside meat palaces such as Billy Bob Dairyland in Branson, Mo., and Stock and Barrel in Knoxville, Tenn.
Brooks acquired the Lindburgers Restaurant on U.S. 41 near Fifth Avenue South in Naples in 2010. He transformed the 56-seat eatery into a destination for burger lovers. One of the highlights of the menu is the donut burger: a hamburger patty with bacon and American cheese between two glazed donuts.
But what really sets Brooks apart is he is a master at gathering positive online reviews. Through July 7 Brooks Burgers had 889 reviews on TripAdvisor. Of those, 801 reviews rated the place excellent or very good.
Brooks says his strategy is simple: He shakes hands with customers, encouraging each one to write a review on TripAdvisor. Cards on all the tables remind customers their comments are welcome on the independent website. Brooks also tells employees that it is their mission to never fall out of the top 10 on TripAdvisor.
There's a good reason for this. All the free publicity drives sales, accounting for about 40% of the restaurant's traffic, Brooks estimated.
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