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Any restaurateur knows the power of a bad online review. One critical comment about the temperature of the coffee, the slowness of the service or the quality of the food can send customers elsewhere in a hurry, leaving the owner with a case of agita as they wonder where it all went wrong. It is into the lives and businesses of these frazzled folks that the Yelp Elite Squad comes to show them the error of their ways and try to correct the problems in the new Food Network series "Help My Yelp." Airing Mondays, it features a team of frequent contributors to the restaurant review website Yelp answering the SOS call from restaurant owners seeking guidance in the hopes of improving their online reviews and, ultimately, business. "We're living in an age where consumer reviews aren't going anywhere," explains the show's host, Monti Carlo ("Cutthroat Kitchen"). "You can't do anything anymore without getting that email that says, 'Please talk about your experience.' " "The owners reach out to us and say, 'Yeah, things aren't going as we would like here. Help us.' So we set up hidden cameras and we have the Yelp Elite Squad come in unbeknownst to the restaurant owners or their staff, and they record their experience at the restaurant and talk about what they liked and what they didn't like. I come in and I review the footage. I check out the restaurant, I talk to the owners, I kind of get a feel for how the front of the house is running, how the back of the house is running, and then we review the footage and talk about what needs to change in order for them to give a better experience to the people who are walking in those doors ... ." The problems Carlo and the Squad find over the course of six episodes range from owners who either do too much or too little to inexperienced staff and attitude problems. Sometimes it's just a case of an outsider's perspective bringing light to a problem the owner is blind to. In other cases, it's convincing the owner that they're the problem. Taking criticism is never easy, nor is accepting change – even when it's warranted. "We were always able to convince them, 'Just for tonight, let us implement these changes and then we'll go from there.' " Carlo says. "And once they see how everything changes, it's such a difference when you have a smooth evening at a restaurant. It can really be one of the most beautiful things in the world when things are running smoothly. It's magic. So when that's happening and the energy is there, the service is on point, the food is on point, that's going to reflect immediately in the consumer reviews and the Yelp reviews. And when owners see that, it really spurs them to accept the change." Monti Carlo hosts "Help My Yelp" What book are you currently reading? "OK, I have a 7-year-old. I'm reading a couple of books, like grown-up books. I just finished '32 Yolks' by Eric Ripert and then I'm in the middle of 'Setting the Table' by Danny Meyer. But when I read every day with him, right now we're going through all the Shel Silverstein books and we're in the middle of 'Where the Sidewalk Ends.' " What did you have for dinner last night? "Danger, who's my son, and I made burgers. We love to make burgers. When he grows up he wants to be a chef and a ninja, so I'm trying to steer him toward the chef part (laughs). It just seems like there will be blood either way, but less blood as a chef." What is your next project? "I'm working on a book. I'm Puerto Rican and I love Puerto Rican food. There is a lot of Puerto Rican food out in the media and in the world and I want to talk about my experience and the experience of many Puerto Ricans growing up at their grandmother's table. ... I really want to put a book together of grandmothers on the island and their amazing recipes." BY GEORGE DICKIE Bad online reviews bring good advice for struggling restaurateurs on Food's 'Help My Yelp' Page 8 April 17 - 23, 2017 Game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. (N) 9:30 p.m. NBCSN NHL Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues. Game 4 of the West- ern Conference quarterfinal series. (N Subject to Black- out) 10:00 p.m. USA NHL Ana- heim Ducks at Calgary Flames. Game 4 of the Western Conference quar- terfinals. (N) THURSDAY 2:30 p.m. NBCSN Hock- ey 2017: Paralympic Ice Hockey Championships. (N Same-day Tape) 7:30 p.m. NBCSN NHL Conference Quarterfinal: Teams TBA. NHL playoff action from the conference quarterfinals. (N Subject to Blackout) 10:00 p.m. NBCSN NHL Conference Quarterfinal: Teams TBA. NHL playoff action from the conference quarterfinals. (N Subject to Blackout) FRIDAY 7:30 p.m. NBCSN NHL Conference Quarterfinal: Teams TBA. NHL playoff action from the conference quarterfinals. (N Subject to Blackout) 8:00 p.m. USA NHL Confer- ence Quarterfinal: Teams TBA. 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