Welcome to the Wiki, business owner! Because you're part of the Chico community, we'd love to have you become a part of the wiki community. You also might want to read the general welcome. The Chico Wiki is organized with an Alphabetical Business Directory, and a Classified Business Directory. Please add your business to both if possible.

A few things to keep in mind; it is a lot to read but if you understand and generally abide by what is below you'll have a good experience on the wiki:

1. You can use the wiki to engage your customers in a productive dialog that will demonstrate your customer service to everyone who reads the page about your business. See Crepe House Uni at Davis Wiki to see how well this can work! Sagat is the business owner and conducted herself very well despite negativity. It has paid off.

2. Please read the page on the Importance of using your RealName. You should not edit as BusinessName, or FakeName. Using your RealName adds credibility to your edits and your business.

3. You can add plenty of useful content to your business' page, but it is edited by the entire wiki community. That includes, but is not limited to, you.

4. Since WikiSpot (our host) is a 501(c)3 non-profit, businesses cannot advertise (such as sales) or post prices. Wiki editors are pretty quick to keep the site in accordance with IRS set non-profit requirements. This wiki is to help educate the community; it is not the Yellow Pages.

5. People will leave negative reviews. Don't worry too much about this; look at the pages for other businesses. Take a deep breath — customers sometimes forget that business owners have feelings, and write things that are much harsher than they would be willing to say in person. One thing that can be done is to include the following code right before the [[Comments]] macro: [[Include(AboutReviews)]]. Another macro that has been developed is the HIPAA Restrictions macro that is placed on any business listing for a medical professional that explains why HIPAA restricts how a doctor or medical professional can comment on who their patients are.

6. The wiki is a great place to explain policies that customers may not be familiar with. For example, unwritten pages such as restaurant guide and tipping could illustrate a few policies from an industry standpoint. Businesses can always take the opportunity to respond to comments and in doing so clear up any misconceptions about standard business practices. They can educate not only those who left comments, but all who read their responses.

7. Both you and your customers have important things to say, so don't remove their comments. The customs are being established now for archiving old comments from business pages so that past performance will not outweigh recent changes. The wiki isn't anti-business, but we are pro-consumer and need your input to help us achieve a good balance. Also, all edits remain in the page history, so simply removing them will appear to be an attempt to cover up problems. Try addressing the problem directly - it looks good when you leave a (friendly) reply explaining or offering to resolve any problems that patrons have noted on your page.

8. Sometimes people will add untrue stories or facts. This has nothing to do with the wiki... these people walk through Chico all day long and are saying the same things about your business: you just never had a chance to hear them. Instead of these stories being whispered behind your back, you now have an opportunity to address any rumors, bizarre anecdotes or out and out lies floating around Chico. Keep in mind that simply trying to delete the stories from the wiki won't remove them the casual sidewalk and workplace conversations that spread such rumors, and sometimes makes it look like they may be true and you are trying to "hide" things. While it can be frustrating to read incorrect information, patiently addressing your customer's comment or clarifying what happened in a misrepresented incident gives you an opportunity to respond to the things people are saying about your business on the streets of Chico.

That being said, use the wiki! The traffic generated by the wiki makes it the ideal place to get the word out about what you offer. Do you sell a unique product? Do you offer hard to find services? Let people know! Also, if you need to update prices, contact info, or store hours, doing it on the wiki is by far the most efficient way to inform customers. Above all else, don't shy away from adding to the content of your page because you feel obligated to first respond to specific user comments. Your role on the wiki is whatever you want it to be and it will reflect on your business.

Just keep in mind that it is an effort by the community to document itself: the profile of the Mayor is written by a group of people...just like it would be by Chico ER... but unlike in a newspaper article the records are open: there is no such thing as a "staff article" or "staff review". Each individual editor is tracked, and as a result, each individual line can be accounted for. As a result, the process is more open and auditable (click the "Info" icon on any entry, and you can see the entire history of exactly who wrote what). In addition, businesses have the ability to respond directly, as opposed to a newspaper review. If the Chico News and Review gives your business a negative review, you have no real recourse. Here on the wiki, you can address a negative review and answer the individual directly and publicly. It is sometimes a bit alarming to realize that there are people saying negative things about your business, but the people who are saying those things are already complaining to their friends and peers, often on various websites and their private internet blogs. The wiki gives you an equal and open forum to address their complaints... and most businesses find that their happy tenants and customers step up to defend them as well. Fundamentally, when it comes to content on the wiki, everybody in the community is equal. That means that the tenants/customer/clients have a say, but unlike a newspaper article or traditional website, so does the business owner. The entire community has an opportunity to have input equally, including you. Please respect that.