Have You Had Problems With Yelp?
Lots of people (including your customers) rely on Yelp for reviews of businesses to determine where they will (or will not) spend their money. I’m one. I’ve referred to Yelp multiple times—especially when I’m away from home—to find quality restaurants, in particular.
For example, several years ago, I was in El Paso, Texas, looking for an authentic Mexican restaurant for a quick lunch. I found one with outstanding reviews. Based on it, my husband and I went there for lunch before hopping on a plane home.
The restaurant wasn’t very good. Mediocre at best. We were very disappointed (though a couple of margaritas helped ease our letdown).
Suffice it to say that I’ve been rather wary of Yelp reviews ever since. And recently I became even more mistrustful after reading a blog in which the author described how Yelp, several years ago, faced a class-action lawsuit against assertions that it had it removed negative reviews in exchange for advertising. The suit was dismissed “with prejudice” in October 2011. (That means the company can’t be sued again with the same charge.) But since then, claims from small-business owners have continued to escalate. These individuals state that the company is filtering reviews and allowing either good or bad ones to dominate depending on whether the businesses purchase ads. You can even find a group on Facebook called “I Hate Yelp” in which business owners describe their problems, as well as comments on Reddit and in other blogs.
It led me to wonder whether any FlowerChatters have run into issues with Yelp.
Have you had issues with reviews of your shop or service being filtered? Did that filtering seem to change after you got a call about advertising?
I’d like to hope that whatever filtering algorithm Yelp is using is truly doing its job in removing fake reviews, whether good or bad. And I hope that overzealous sales reps for the company don’t have access to the system in which they can impact a business’s reputation if it declines to buy an ad.
So what say you, FlowerChatters? What’s been your experience with Yelp, good or bad? Do you even pay attention to it? Share your thoughts here.
And Don’t Forget…
Take our quick, 3-minute intro video tour here. Discover all the great resources FlowerChat offers before you head off to other areas of the Internet. (Plus check out the other great articles in our "Blooming Banter" section.)
Then, sign up for a FREE membership! You'll automatically get a 30-day trial as Pro-level member. No credit card required.
Pro-level members get you access to all areas of the site, including all the forums, the photo gallery, blogs, videos, webinars and downloadable resources.
At the end of 30 days, your membership will automatically convert to our Basic level unless you choose to remain a Pro member.
For the price of two fancy coffee drinks a month, it’s really hard to say no!
We look forward to seeing you in the forums!
Lots of people (including your customers) rely on Yelp for reviews of businesses to determine where they will (or will not) spend their money. I’m one. I’ve referred to Yelp multiple times—especially when I’m away from home—to find quality restaurants, in particular.
For example, several years ago, I was in El Paso, Texas, looking for an authentic Mexican restaurant for a quick lunch. I found one with outstanding reviews. Based on it, my husband and I went there for lunch before hopping on a plane home.
The restaurant wasn’t very good. Mediocre at best. We were very disappointed (though a couple of margaritas helped ease our letdown).
Suffice it to say that I’ve been rather wary of Yelp reviews ever since. And recently I became even more mistrustful after reading a blog in which the author described how Yelp, several years ago, faced a class-action lawsuit against assertions that it had it removed negative reviews in exchange for advertising. The suit was dismissed “with prejudice” in October 2011. (That means the company can’t be sued again with the same charge.) But since then, claims from small-business owners have continued to escalate. These individuals state that the company is filtering reviews and allowing either good or bad ones to dominate depending on whether the businesses purchase ads. You can even find a group on Facebook called “I Hate Yelp” in which business owners describe their problems, as well as comments on Reddit and in other blogs.
It led me to wonder whether any FlowerChatters have run into issues with Yelp.
Have you had issues with reviews of your shop or service being filtered? Did that filtering seem to change after you got a call about advertising?
I’d like to hope that whatever filtering algorithm Yelp is using is truly doing its job in removing fake reviews, whether good or bad. And I hope that overzealous sales reps for the company don’t have access to the system in which they can impact a business’s reputation if it declines to buy an ad.
So what say you, FlowerChatters? What’s been your experience with Yelp, good or bad? Do you even pay attention to it? Share your thoughts here.
And Don’t Forget…
Take our quick, 3-minute intro video tour here. Discover all the great resources FlowerChat offers before you head off to other areas of the Internet. (Plus check out the other great articles in our "Blooming Banter" section.)
Then, sign up for a FREE membership! You'll automatically get a 30-day trial as Pro-level member. No credit card required.
Pro-level members get you access to all areas of the site, including all the forums, the photo gallery, blogs, videos, webinars and downloadable resources.
At the end of 30 days, your membership will automatically convert to our Basic level unless you choose to remain a Pro member.
For the price of two fancy coffee drinks a month, it’s really hard to say no!
We look forward to seeing you in the forums!
