Yelp

12/3/2014

I feel like Yelp Filters real reviews! I think it's hurting business as well as helping paying business.

12/9/2014 Updated review

Biggest scam! If companies don't pay yelp, they won't show the good comments! Or they say "it's not propitiate" why can't you guys just post every single comment? You guys are making some good businesses look bad! Yelp is trying to charge people for good comments! BIGGEST SCAM!!!

8/27/2014

Ok I like Yelp but I have to wonder why so many REAL reviews get filtered off and whats there motive for removing bad reviews for some business and not others.

Ive heard talk of some business punished for not paying yelp and im not sure if this is true or not but I do know that something fishy is going on with how they choose which reviews to be filtered...

I have real reviews that they have filtered and when I Email yelp to ask why my review was filtered I have NEVER got a response back infact I have never got a real response back from yelp about anything and Ive come to the conclusion they just don't reply back to emails they have a "contact us" link but im pretty sure your email goes to no one....

They ONLY time I have ever got a reply back was when I was sending an email in regards to a business that I was the manager of and even then they only replyed back to ask if I would start paying them money for there upgraded business listing ..

Id like to give them more stars but I just cant until they start being accountable and respond to our emails but right now they do what they want when they want to whom they want with no accountability to anyone they act like there gods and don't have to answer to anyone....

7/19/2014

Yelp's automated algorithm for determining "filtered" reviews is not honest, lacks integrity and is kind of a joke. Most Yelp users, in fact, know to click the "filtered" link so that they can see all the legitimate reviews. For instance, who cares if a reviewer is new to Yelp before they review you? The other elements in the algorithm make no sense. It's as if Yelp is out to piss people off. Many reviewers are on to you, Yelp, and are reposting "filtered" reviews under unfiltered reviews just so they get seen. Is this really necessary?

The reason I'm writing this review now, however, is this: Yelp has changed the wording for the "Filtered" link to "other reviews that are not currently recommended." Seriously? Who are you to say what is and is not recommended? You rely on a faulty algorithm.

p.s. I should be using cuss words in this review, but then I'm sure you, Yelp, will "filter" my review as unworthy. Let's just say that the thought it there.

7/16/2014

0 STARS

I am an owner of a small business in Seattle and this is some of the communication between my so called "account manager and I"  

Addressed to: Kayla Kisling
kkisling@yelp.com

"AGAIN,

ANOTHER 5 STAR REVIEW FILTERED; MAKING A TOTAL OF THREE LEGITIMATE REVIEWS FROM WASHINGTON STATE WELLNESS CENTER'S PATIENTS WHOM HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO WRITE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH US.

I EXPECT TO BE CONTACTED BY A PERSON WHO HAS AUTHORITY TO FIX THESE ISSUES. I AM SO FED UP WITH THIS AND WILL BE CONTACING THE BBB

ALSO, IT STILL SAYS MOVED AND IT STILL SAYS ROOSEVELT.  

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO CONTACT YOU REGARDING THESE ISSUES?"  Jennifer

"Our system uses a computer algorithm to look at reviews, recommending some.  This process is a feature of our site and applies to all businesses.  We do not have any control over this software and we cannot adjust reviews. Reviews and advertising are kept completely separate."
Kelsey

"Well, I disagree.  It is a ploy for YELP to gain more revenue.  It is costing my company $$$$$$$ because your company is mis-representing my business.  

Please remove the word Roosevelt from my page.

This upsets me greatly each day and I don't deserve or appreciate it.

Do you know how many account manager's I have had since working with YELP?  And I am never contacted before there is a change; it is always only after.

These are very bad business practices.

I have written the BBB and will also be writing the owner of Yelp, etc..."  Jennifer

"Thank you for the response.  I've viewed your page and do not see "Roosevelt" on it." Kelsey

" again am going to ask to cancel my account, this has not produced anything but frustration and I ensure you that any other legitimate reviews will also be filtered so I have submitted a claim to the BBB and am taking other legal steps so that your unethical business practices are WELL KNOWN!

In addition, I will not be paying for any of the cancellation fees as there have been no results from this so called marketing as my page wasn't even set up correctly by the "account manager" that was assigned to my account.  It was two months after signing up that I went on to the page and found that when clicking on our coupon it took you absolutely no where!

If you attempt to charge me anyway I will follow with an invoice as Yelp is to provide me with marketing services and no one was being marketed to as the page was set up incorrectly!"  Jennifer

"This email is to confirm that as of 7/31/14, we will cancel Yelp Ads for Washington State Wellness Center. There is currently an outstanding balance of $700.00. After this fee is collected, you will not incur any additional charges. The early termination fee has been waived.

I recommend you continue to engage with your free Business Owner's Account. If at some point in the future you would like to start advertising again, I'd be happy to discuss the current rates."  Kelsey

"the last time I was going to cancel it was only $600.00 to cancel get the know one

8/11/2014 Updated review

Do not even get me started as to how much yelp sucks for business owners ....

But ...from a yelper here are some beefs:

I do not want to know what the f*@k a Grouponer has to say about anything, nor should they have a place to say it here.

Search results are different when I search from my phone and when I search from my home computer ....yay! NOT

12/13/2014

Im not a huge fan of yelp customer service, id like to be able to talk to a live person over the phone versus email. Also, yelp says  businesses cannot change or remove reviews, however my ex boss used to do it all the time and brag about "the people he knew on the inside at yelp" um......yeah

7/25/2014

Writing this as an open letter on behalf of Palazzo Rinaldi Artists' Residence, a small family-run Artists' Residency located in the south of Italy, seen as Yelp kept deleting it from our page.

We fully agree with most of the comments posted here: Yelp is increasingly proving to be deliberately set up as a site to extort small businesses, in our case small art centres, and in the process provide the ideal platform to give voice to any anonymous people with malicious intent.

Thankfully their game seems to be up, as so many people have been increasingly lodging complaints against their 'filtering' system.  

Here is our story:

Palazzo Rinaldi Artists' Residency opened its doors in 2008, and since then our family-owned Residency has had the pleasure of welcoming over 200 Resident Artists from around the world, which have come to create, find themselves and organically form an extension of our family. Their experiences and feedback are publicly visible on all the many websites and blogs of Residents who have attended (whose full names and guest book comments are also available on our website at palazzorinaldi.com), as well as on our Tripadvisor, Google+ and particularly on our Facebook page, which works as a community where former and future residents communicate and get to know each other.

We have always very much welcomed all genuine Residents' feedback, be it positive or negative, as this has helped us improve and make the Residency a better experience every year. In 2013 for example, we were pleased to be able to add a brand new studio with natural light and view on our panoramic terrace and a kitchen for exclusive use of our Residents.

However it is also important to note that not all negative feedback comes from a genuine place.

Back in 2012 an aggressive, anonymous review peppered with lies and incorrect information was posted on Yelp, which we declined to comment on as we were fully aware of the malicious intent of the reviewer and of the end goal behind this action.

Many of our Residents posted positive reviews on this site since - often even providing their contact details, and therefore in plain transparency - but all of these were 'filtered', thus providing an inaccurate view of Palazzo Rinaldi and our Residents' experiences. The anonymous negative review is the only one showing publicly, providing incorrect information to those who would casually read and not research Palazzo Rinaldi further.

Anytime we attempted to contact Yelp to obtain an answer on why this might be, or to readdress the balance of the reviews online, they provided automated standard replies from a 'no-reply' email address simply signed 'Markus' (whether the replies were in English or Italian, reinforcing the suspicion that this may be just an alias). No names or contact details were ever provided to enable us to investigate the issue further.  

This, of course, undermines the reliability of a customer- and feedback-based platform that provides no customer service or feedback of its own.

Mind-boggling also that Yelp later allowed us to 'claim' the page as its business owners (it was not our choice to set up the profile, but the malicious reviewer's), repeatedly deleted this open letter, and did not allow us to post any other details on the residency.

We have of course since found out how this site operates both in Europe and the US, which has explained the predicament we, and many other businesses and no profits around the world, can find themselves in. You can read widely about this online, but just as reference:

-http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimhandy/2012/08/16/­think-yelp-is-unbiased-think-again/
- eastbayexpress.com/oakla…
- businessinsider.com/owne…

Despite this site's filtering bias, we believe that the truth always shines through, as a fantastic 2013 and 2014 residency seasons have proven.

We also wanted to take this opportunity to say to anyone running a business or a no profit who might be feeling in distress and hard done by Yelp or by malicious attacks made using the site, to take heart. As we discovered, most savvy people nowadays will take time to fully research their destinations and services by contacting a number of real-life previous customers (in our case AIRs) on and offline, as they will get a real and much more balanced and unbiased picture this way.

We of course extend the invitation to do so to any prospective Resident Artists who may be reading this now: our former Artists in Residence are professionals and easily googled and contactable through their websites. We also remain available for any questions or comments.

Yours faithfully,

Palazzo Rinaldi Artists' Residency, Italy

12/1/2013

Of course you can't actually get inside but I was in the neighborhood so I just had to take a pic and write my review.  This is my 300th review for Yelp and I just love it. I used Yelp as a reference for years before I started contributing and it has been so much fun.

Though it may not be Yelp's main function,  I have to say I have met the nicest people on Denver Yelp, some in person and some just online on the Talk threads and the checkin commentary. There's a bit of a daily ritual of saying good morning to each other by liking each others coffee and fitness exploits!  A nice way to start the day. And it is so nice to get opinions on places to try when you can really  trust the reviewers.  I have found many new restaurants this way.

I use Yelp as a website on my computer and as an app on both my iPad and my iPhone. They are all different so sometimes that is a challenge and for a while they got behind on updating for iPad while they were putting lots of bells and whistles on the iPhone app. But now they are all good, and  I use the iPad app a lot. For me it is the right thing when I am traveling in a less familiar area and the screen size makes the locating of new and bookmarked places a lot easier for me than on the phone screen. But for day to day, for checking in and quick reference searches, especially in an area I know, I just use the phone. I do like writing reviews on the iPad, especially at times like this when I can take some down time on a trip and look out the window of the hotel at the sailboats on the Bay on a sunny day and  at Coit tower atop the hill.

12/10/2014

Yelp is the BEST and the guys at Yelp HQ have an absolutely amazing space to work in. In fact after a few weeks traveling around the US the best coffee I was able to find was at the Yelp cafe! Thanks for the coffee and for the tour guys - appreciate. Great company, Great people.

8/12/2014

Yelp is average. Some stuff they do ok at. And other stuff is why even think like that.

Cons: Their filtering system for reviews, don't have better filtration system in Yelp Talk, bad searching (happens a lot, for example you search for Parks and few parks come up plus some restaurants that has nothing to with parks, really??), a place that closed or has different info than posted or been there for years or recently opened and editing and they respond by saying "it's not there or no history of that place even existing", and few or some people can check-in to a place 50+ times within a few hours and can get away with it (example 1 person checked-in to 123 park but not once but 52 times within 6 hours time period).

Pros: useful for a few reviews and tips.

Needs of here: If a photo(s) is of a wrong place no matter who uploads you can edit it the proper place, when someone changes the info for a business (address, move the pin many blocks or other side of town, new place, moved or closed, have a rep from that city or nearby city prove it then make the changes if true, stronger monitoring in Yelp talk, if you are duke of a place minimum 35 check-ins have special little gifts ($5 off, 1 free thing up to $2 and similar) and baron of town is bigger rewards.

8/8/2014

Wow.  I just found out that Yelp is a member of ALEC. If you don't know what that is, GOOGLE it. Although, unfortunately, GOOGLE is a member, too.

Evil, evil people.  

It's pretty much impossible to boycott ALEC companies because they are so numerous. Just be aware of who they are.   Be informed.   VOTE against anything ALEC comes up with, and any politician in bed with them.

7/17/2014

I used to think yelp was generally helpful and unbiased....  

Recently I discovered otherwise...

Yelp can hold an establishment hostage with reviews.  Not In the sense that they fabricate lies... its like this...

A company receives a certain number of reviews by customers, and after this certain amount of reviews or amount of time, regardless of whether a business has changed for the better (fired negative employees, changed the menu, etc.)

Yelp decides that they will no longer post these reviews, or at least keep them in "queue" for "review" until the company agrees to pay for advertising through yelp.

To clarify, a company could have dozens of 5 star reviews pending, and yelp will hold these back until the company agrees to pay for Yelp advertisement.

I understand that Yelp needs some way to help their company sustain itself and grow a little, but if you are going to base your entire company on the idea of transparency of business quality, you should yourself be willing to be as transparent.  

I suppose, that is why Yelp allows a review page of itself to exist.... the funny thing is, if you type Yelp into the Yelp search bar, you probably wont find it.

Basically, Yelp is like like listening to someone who embellishes everything so much, it might as well be a lie, if you don't take it with a grain of salt you will probably make a biased choice....

Not every business can afford to pay an advertisement service they never chose to be represented by.

7/20/2014

Dear Business owners,

Yelp is a modern time AL CAPONE.

YELP = AL CAPONE

11/22/2014

Fraudulent scam!
They sell reviews.
Hide real reviews  from customers for money.
Just google their fraudulent page: google.com/#q=http://www…

I have no clue, how people trust these scamers!!!
I hope, it will be a lawsuit against them really soon!

8/13/2014

As a Yelp Business owner, I would like to share with you my fellow HONEST yelpers, my experience with the business side of Yelp and their advertising division.

My account manager, Siomara S, was this know it all _______!  She was constantly throwing figures and numbers at me to convince me about the advantages of advertising with yelp through a impressions based system.  After spending nearly $600 in a month in a half, I realized that my advertisements for my business, let's call it a Hair Salon, were popping up when people searched for plumbing.  

 I called Siomara to express my concerns and disappointment and all she tries to do the entire time is convince me that this is how Yelp works and how I am incorrect in my assumptions about the placement of the ads.

First off,
the worst thing you can possible do to a confident business owner who is running 4.5/5 star business on Yelp at two separate locations, is express your skepticism on their business decision.  

Secondly,
in the world of customer service, the customer is always correct.  Whether or not you have facts or figures to prove to me that you are correct, I have the right as a paying customer to receive OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE.  OFFENDING YOUR CUSTOMER BY QUESTIONING HIS BUSINESS DECISIONS IS NOT GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Finally,
instead of apologizing and trying to keep their paying customer happy and continuing business, she turns around and offers canceling the advertisement. Stating, "If you think you can do better with out my help, we can cancel the ads."

Yelp is a scandalous, dirty, and unfortunately lucrative business.

7/15/2014

Yelp Sucks, they have people in their office who rig the review listing's. I have recently had a very nice review about my business written from a client I had no idea had written it until Yelp called me incessantly tring to get me to PAY them to list the review. WTF? When I declined they removed the review completely. Meanwhile all these other dog trainers and dog walkers who suck get high ranking on google becasue they PAY Yelp and Google to keep their reviews up and PAY to have them on the first page. I even recieved calls from Google asking me to pay to keep the reviews up.

And when it comes to horrible reviews they leave them up too, unless you PAY them to take them down. Rigged, rigged, rigged.

Note to the public, Yelp is not the end all be all to business's. In fact I find most reviews are full of Sh*t. Go find out for yourself if something is worth your time and money.  While "some" people do write reviews for good reasons, I have found most of them are written because the owner of the business has asked people to write them. And other reviews are written in an attempt to hurt someone for personal reasons.

9/4/2014 Updated review

One of the worst Marketing Investment contracts we've ever dealt with.

Kuddos to the Sales Dept. The Sales response for signing us up was constant and their follow up calls for a quick response for advertising contracts were right on the dot.

However, once signed up, Customer Service (or the so called " Account Manager" responses were horrible. We literally spent our entire year contract with inaccurate information under our profile because or Account Manager never returned or calls, or emails, and we kept getting assigned to new Account Managers all the time.

In regards to the posted reviews, there were Reviews on our Profiled from People who were not even on our Customer Database show up, however, our positive customer reviews, would show because according to the "Yelp Tool", they were not legitimate reviews as that customer did not utilize Yelp enough to be considered a legitimate Review..................What type of Crap is that?

Overall, worst marketing site experience we've had. There are many other marketing sites who charge less and expose all reviews. Business owners, they are not worth it.

1/3/2014

This review is directly related to the yelp filter. It removes legitimate reviews. It leaves lots of fake reviews. No matter how many times I complain, customer support seems to respond about 5% of the time. I work hard on my reviews and I find it completely undercuts me to allow businesses to load up on fake reviews, and other businesses (usually superior competitors) to not.  It's really dishonest to hide behind a mysterious filter and blame someone in Silicon Valley when there is clearly a problem with the policing of this website. Fixing the mysterious "filter" is not something that should be impossible--it should be the primary focus of the company. It's a shame that all Yelp has become is a hollow site that exists to sell ads.

I'm also really, really tired of yelp ads. They are obnoxious. Every search I do, ads all over the place. And those slide shows that yelp has businesses do are also terrible. I actually tend to avoid businesses who have the slide show feature.

Yelp has given me a lot. It makes me feel at home in a city which I've never visited before. It helps me plan trips and meet new friends. I've enjoyed meeting many members of the yelp elite group in New Orleans and Washington, DC. I've had the opportunity to really reward businesses and help them and the overall community grow. I am extremely thankful to what Yelp and the Yelp community has done for me.

I recognize that Yelp wants to be fair. But it is not fair. It's flaws undermine it's existence and usefulness and the means should not outweigh the ends. There needs to be some level of transparency in filter management. There needs to be accountability for failure of the filter.

This is a public company that depends on lots of users. The company should be more responsive. The public is fickle and a silicon valley company can go as quickly as it shows up. I hope that Yelp can fix its problems and move forward. But I have yet to see any effort, any semblance of contriteness, any inclination to be the site that it purports to be. And it's disappointing that something with so much potential refuses to meet that potential.

7/9/2014

This company is a scam!

Wrecked my business and is ruining our name.

We get reviews from "Yelpers" who have the same number of reviews.. some were even there first review! But guess what! Only the bad reviews are getting processed!
All of our good reviews are being hidden.

They have a false system and I dont care what you say but even a third grader could come up with an "alogorithm" that worked better than theirs. Or maybe because they dont have one at all and they just want your money.

Wish all you business owners the best of luck!

12/8/2014 Updated review

dear yelp,

right now we have a love hate relationship.

i love you because i use / recommend you and have met tons of AWESOME people that work there and have also had great working relationships with people there...

but since you've changed one of your community managers, i have not had the best experience. i was contacted by that said person "to write more reviews" and not in a friendly way either! maybe you can look into this sometime? i can't be the only one, i was even an elite at the time! i would've happily done it if it was a friendly request, but it was not. (i should've saved the email conversations since i had several correspondences and it seems like the thread content in my inbox has changed and my reply condensed - hm.)

edit from mobile 2nd try (the first said it posted but randomly disappeared! Convenient?) I keep getting a positive 5 star review unfairly removed originally one of many following the above issue with admin. I know this is also an issue for small business owners so even if it's just one I noticed I won't give up! It also troubles me that when I mentioned yelp to a tiny spa I go to, the owner who barely speaks English said "very bad. They threaten my business if I don't give them money." - not an uncommon thing to hear amongst small business owners. Maybe something for you guys to look into also? Edit 3, part 2 (earlier also removed) now that it updated this portion, it also removed the 7 useful, 4 funny, 4 cool votes. Also convenient? End edit.

the other issue is from a business perspective - while i don't own a business. there are reviews that really hurt small businesses! and some of these people are "elite" when they probably shouldn't be (lately it seems like this status is being given a way a lot more liberally). i see one star reviews for fantastic restaurants despite the amazing food, awesome service, and awesome ambiance, just because the owner supposedly "snubbed" someone - how is that fair?

i really don't care if i'm never an elite again, but would really appreciate a more careful acceptance of yelp elites! we want people we can trust, and know that those stars have more value even for restaurants with less reviews.

yelp is really great for places that i'm unfamiliar with, but for places that i am familiar with i'm often disappointed with how highly rated users are freely bashing on small business owners that really don't deserve it! and maybe a lot of their friends "like" their reviews because they're funny - but is that really fair?

i get that it's tough since you want to encourage people to write more while the business is still growing, but maybe eventually at least it's something you can consider?

anyway, keep it up! :)

9/19/2014

I LOVE YELP! This site rocks!!! I love reading all the reviews! I always encourage business owners to get involved with yelp! So many owners I speak to have never even logged into yelp! It's a positive way to get feedback on your business and interact with your customers! I fully support yelp and hope it continues to thrive!!

7/14/2014

Dear Yelp.

I believe most reviews are honest although some of them are twisted.

However Yelp, you, calling me almost every week to sell ads, seem to be NOT honest . You would already know what I mean. Shame on you, Yelp.

It's a bit sad. Every single bit of your system is only for making money.

7/19/2014

You guys are a sad joke. When I don't advertise our business on Yelp and then our business listing is suddenly removed from your search from the consumer that is a scam.  
Why is it that when you search for our business in the same city we are located and it does not show. The top ten results are not even in the city I search. What a joke. You blame everything on your so called bs algorithm which no one seems to be able to control.

1/24/2015

First off, I think at LEAST 1/2 of these negative reviews about yelp are from business owners that had their reputation tarnished by negative reviews, many of them are just that absurd. Secondly, many of these reviews make no sense. How can you blame Yelp for peoples inabilities to properly judge or write good reviews? I see them all the time on amazon, people write a negative product review because UPS didn't deliver the product on time, I mean, really? Yelp is a very powerful tool and like any tool, it's only as good as what you put into it. Don't expect Yelp to be perfect, just get over yourselves before you write a review.

7/28/2014

Talk about a conflict of interest - Yelp is in bed with Eat24, who doesn't even have a page on Yelp, but competitors, like Grub Hub, are sitting there with 1.5 stars.

They hide reviews without any explanation of their algorithm, which I can almost understand, but even Google has more transparency than Yelp.

It's pretty dirty business to be cleaning up (or entirely wiping) reviews for your business partner (Eat24) while hiding or deleting quality reviews of your competitors.

And GrubHub can take it - they're a Big Guy, too, just like Eat24, but my little guy business? Why hide our reviews?

People with 50+ reviews, pictures on their profile, useful/funny/cool votes are getting hidden. There's no actual logic to your mysterious algorithm - which says to me you're cherry picking what you want seen and what you want hidden.

Who are you? You're like Max Shreck pushing poor Selena Kyle out of the window. You and the Penguin (Eat24) are trying to ruin Gotham with your lies and trickery.

Don't turn us into Catwoman. God help us all if you turn GrubHub into the Batman.

You evil doers.

3/4/2014

5 stars.....5!

If you weren't sure...

Just ask "What does the fox say"?

"Yelp Yelp Yelp Yelp,
Yelp Yelp Yelp Yelp,
Yelp Yelp Yelp Yelp."

That's what the fox says.

-Mark

4/19/2014

I love Yelp. I write a lot of reviews. It's a good way to keep track of the restaurants I've eaten at or want to eat at.

I read a lot of reviews.  I want to know what other people think; and I think for places that have a large number of reviews, the odd review is muffled and the average gives a pretty true picture.

But I hear that there are people who abuse Yelp; that write untrue reviews for friends or against competitors, or try to extort business owners.  Some allegations even say it is Yelp staff.  That makes all of us look bad.  If you use Yelp and like Yelp, if you see or hear of an abuse, turn them in, call it out, do the right thing.  Yelp only works if it is above board and honest.

I believe in Yelp, I believe in my fellow Yelpers.

12/30/2013

Here I go with review 1000. Yep. Count em up people.

Yelp is far from perfect but I am definitely a fan. Where else can I bitch about bad experiences and also wax poetic about fabulosity? Track where I have been and where I hope to go? Find new friends to dish with and catch up with old pals? Nowhere else. Just Yelp.

I find giggles as well as good recommendations here. I get to go to fun parties with free food, free drinks and great people. I find places I may not have found on my own by reading other people's reviews. I argue about what's good, what is overrated and I debate how I rate. I mean it is always entertaining out here at the very least.

Are there issues? Yes. Are there douchebags? Oh yeah. Some of the worst I have encountered and they all seem to be super proud about it to boot. Yelp itself though? Pretty A-Okay. They can't screen out all the assholes but they do seem to try to be as neutral on things as possible.

I love Yelping. I'm not too cool for school to say so. I use Yelp in the way that is best for me and block out what is not working. I think if more people would do the same there would be less bitching, moaning and stomping of feet. Your experience is as good as you are willing to make it really. Hey, they give us fun party planning CMs like Annette and therefore reward active participants, so obviously Yelp does care about Yelpers. Yelp clearly wants to make it a happy place for people to be involved with. Heck, if I can branch out and try being social anyone can, Yelp makes it super easy.

Get involved. Write reviews. Go to events. Take some pics. Share them. Check in and let us know where you are at. Join in the fun. There are some pretty great Yelpers out there. The good far outweighs the bad on Yelp. Trust me. I am not around 999 reviews later for nothing.

7/5/2014

Don't waste money advertising with these people.

They will lock you into a worthless year contract.

Their customer service is horrendous.

8/12/2014

I hate how yelp is really un trustful,
people can lie about anything and it can still be put in yelp ... It's really F*****ing annoying

12/17/2014

I have to say yelp really makes your life easier, when you want to eat u can find the best restaurants around. When u want to buy something they're there to help u ! Thank u yelp !

2/3/2014

Lindsey S. did her 100th review here, so I will too.  Because she is just one of the many friends I never would have met if it weren't for Yelp.

I recognize that in the Tampa Bay area we are extraordinarily lucky to have an active, busy, friendly community manager, who seems to try and outdo himself every single month.  I have been to many awesome events in the past year and that is due to our CM Brett and his fabulous planning abilities.  Every event is organized and not a single one has been stressful.  We eat, we drink, we chat, we play.

I actually read some of the discontented people's reviews of Yelp - and it seems like a lot of them stem from issues relating to a bad CM.  That, or perhaps burnout.

I joined and utilized Yelp for a couple years before actually becoming a contributing member.  Now that I'm actively checking in, writing reviews, and participating in talk, I find that I am totally enjoying the camaraderie with my fellow foodies, both online and at our fun events.

Looking forward to one day earning my Yellow badge. :-)

11/7/2014

I couldn't say it any better than this guy...

"It never occurred to me that one could actually yelp (verb) Yelp (noun). I thought I might see if that were possible and, lo and behold, a few tens of thousands of people were way ahead of me. Hilarious.

Since Yelp started becoming mainstream, I was concerned. It's capacity to facilitate the defamation of a business is dangerous and inappropriate. A new restaurant, bar, or barber shop can quickly be folded, in no small part connected to the trolls that love Yelp and, to my shock and awe, Yelp itself.

Until I actually was forced to pay attention to Yelp, when I started my own small business, I didn't realize the part Yelp plays in it. The following are true and objective facts:

-One of our first 5 star reviews was removed and relegated to the "not recommended" category. It was from a true customer that I know well, and it spoke in very specific and appropriate terms about their business experience with our company. This reviewer had other appropriately worded reviews and even several Yelp "friends."

-A later 5 star review was removed. It was also from a actual customer who is extremely familiar with our business and spoke of specific experiences in ways that should not violate any content rules (ie no curse words, derogatory statements, etc). Likewise, this reviewer had other relevant reviews and, albeit only a few, some friends.

-A subsequent 1-star review has remained on our profile. The reviewer was not ever a customer of ours, and made statements that were flatly false. To be specific, they applied for the service we provide and were denied because they had terrible financial and credit history. They were never a customer of ours, and their yelp profile contains only two reviews, both similar 1-star reviews that are baseless and moronic. They have no Yelp "friends" or followers. Further, the review made claims that accused us of committing fraud (ie they said we don't actually sell anything, just charge people to apply, which is a very illegal practice in our industry). Without any evidence or cause, accusing someone of fraud is libelous and defamatory.

-Last factual statement: ALL of these things happened following our rejection of their aggressive advertisement solicitations. We didn't want to advertise, and the above events happened shortly thereafter. Coincidence or not, I do not know. I just know that these events took place in the order that I mentioned above.

Earning positive customer experiences, repeat business, and referrals is extremely difficult, as any business owner can attest to. An tech company/site like Yelp simply should not be able to control and manipulate data in the way that they do. It is unfortunate and sad and I feel terrible for any business that suffered as a result of terribly obnoxious reviewers and Yelp's own arbitrary decisions about which reviews live and which die. I sure hope the advertising is not a factor, but, boy oh boy, a hell of a lot of people have very disturbing stories that point in that direction (far worse and more extensive than mine).

As long as people make consumer decisions based on Yelp scores, businesses stand to potentially be mistreated and unfairly persecuted. Sure, there are businesses out there that don't deserve to prosper, because of their quality of service and/or business practices. However, an aggregate 2-star rating comprised by average scores from idiotic reviews like "1 star. I don't like this place. There was a line and the waiter didn't hurry any of the sitting customers along", is tragedy. The fact is, people don't read all the reviews. They trust that Yelp's algorithms and control systems provide for an average score that doesn't filter out good reviews, include clearly inane ones, and trend towards manipulative Yelpers looking for free services in exchange for deleting reviews. Why would I assume that, 50 reviews down the line, one of the contributing 1-star reviews is a lie? Well, now that I run a business and know for a fact that this very often is the case, I realize how dangerous Yelp is.

What is the solution? Hell, I don't know. As long as people ascribe to Yelp and businesses pander to all the 1-star reviewers, often seeking a free meal or a discount, Yelp's and troll-Yelpers' power will grow and businesses will falter. I suppose the solution is for businesses and consumers to ignore it altogether. Trust your actual customers, trust your friends' recommendations, and, above all, trust your own intuition and experiences when it comes to where you want to spend your money and who deserves your repeat business.

-C.S"

8/31/2014

C'mon Yelp, recognize me!
Everybody wants to become Yelp famous, and rightly so --
Yelp is one of my favorite apps on the web. It tightly integrates customer experience, user interface, community, and the power of spoken word into the customer feedback platform we know and love today.

Plus there is no other place where foodie pictures reign supreme, for better or worse. In much the same way Facebook is important in our personal lives, Yelp will be important in our yuppie ones -- guiding our activities, friendships, and especially what we remember from what we experience.

But it's been getting pretty inconsistent getting to be an Elite, these days (not complaining). My friend was able to do it with only twenty reviews. Today I have written at least 160 reviews in the past year and I still am not Elite. I feel like the process might lend itself to a bit of gentrification and favoritism...

I know a few account managers from the company and internally they can vouch for Yelp's style and commitment to excellent standards. Like the throngs of people that want to work for Yelp, I too have found contentment using the app, creating tons of lists and reviewing many, many business on the daily (lattecosmico.yelp.com).

You can also see all my food and shopping related images, for a quick and meaningful refresh of my work: instagram.com/jonamir.ye…

Anybody who works for Yelp deserves to feel like the duke of experience, so to speak, and anybody whose anybody has told me it's like living in a theme park in the new HQ -- wonderfully designed opened spaces, Blue Bottle coffee, a neon lit sign.

Yelp will remain a top destination in your #SF list if you know somebody works there.

My gripes about Yelp
- Removing feedback as a business can be a process, especially if he or she leaves a comment that has nothing to do with you. Frustrating! But don't worry (it gets done in a jiffy)
- You can't upload videos that you put together in iMovie or something. You can only film and upload if they are done at the same time.

FOUR STARS out of FIVE or if you took a class in grade school, A-.
A gem of an experience platform. A company I would want to work for.

7/8/2014

Yelps star rating about yelp is accurate.

We signed up for enhanced profile and pay per click advertising on yelp for 3 of our 4 locations and must say that all 4 of our locations receive the same amount of reviews and clicks.  My first hand advise is not sign a contract with yelp. Stick to the free listing and don't feel you are loosing business.  Once our contract is over we will cancel our yelp paid advertising.

8/14/2014 Updated review

I am back on Yelp a few years later after finding that I sill have an account and had left one review up, one for Yelp itself. I read my own words back and I stick by my review and still believe Yelp should ask reviewers to answer the 3 basic questions listed. I think it would be helpful to readers looking for trustworthy voices and be more meaningful to the businesses reviewed.

If you ask,  why would I start using Yelp again if I only give it 2 stars, because I like giving people credit when credit is due and I like to help businesses that may need feedback to make their hard work be rewarding, not frustrating.

11/21/2014

First lets get this out of the way... Yelp is NOT a review site!!! It is a company that scams businesses.  When someone writes a bad review, Yelp will offer to the company being reviewed the chance to have the bad review removed... For a price!!  Also, in addition to some of the reviews I have written, Yelp had taken down MANY of my negative reviews.   How in the hell is this a review site if they remove people's opinions of businesses?? How is it a review site if a company can pay Yelp to remove a negative review?I am fairly certain Yelp will remove this review.... Just proves my point.

7/4/2014

My sister told me that the CEO of Yelp was boozed up in Vegas and was constantly hitting on her friends. They even have pictures with him, plastered. No, this isn't the reason why I'm rating it two stars..... I mean, I should be rating it 5 stars just because of this.

I've since been on Yelp from the hay days when there were fewer members on the website. The first review I wrote was in 2006. The community was smaller. Reviews were more organized, materials were better written, and there were less perverts, creepers, and attention-whores. No thanks, slutty selfies. Years later, and it's become a worse version of MySpace.

What bothers me is that some of the newer 'elite' Yelpers are some of the worst writers I've ever stumbled upon. I don't even read the ROTD because of this-- it's full of shit. Please -- read Writers for Dummies before you compose your review. Yes, there's a difference between your and you're... And wait.. Who compares food with crack and orgasms? Yelpers do! It's almost disturbing, AND they get away with it!

Sorry Yelp, you've lowered your standards and expectations. I think you've become desperate.

1/19/2014

REVIEW #400 on 01/19/2014!

Since I've become an ELITE, my friends and family think I've gone coo-coo bonkers because I (("HAVE")) to CHECK-IN everywhere I go.  And I'm always the annoying one that takes photos of everything.  I'll scream out, "DON'T TOUCH THAT UNTIL I PHOTOGRAPH IT!"  Yea, that's me, Yelp cray cray.

What I love most about Yelp, is the community and virtual friends I've made.  I follow many writers and not only read their perspective on food but I also get to know them as a human being.  I get to go along their journey of dating losers and winners, falling drunk on their face from booze, to finding their soul mates, to eating expensive meals to less expensive meals, to getting married and having a baby.  Food and life are both infused into reviews and it's like reading a free biography online and in real time.  

Where else can you get a story where one compares its guilty food pleasures with an ex-girlfriend that is so good but is so bad for you but you keep coming back for more?  There's humor, there's life, there's death and food seems to be the common ground for everything.  It's emotional.  It's comfort.  It's what makes each Yelp reviewer a human.  And each perspective is different.

Believe this or not, writing so many reviews has helped me grow.  I actually write better at work, am more colorful with my emails to my friends/family and feel more comfortable with my writing.  Though typos, grammatical's and run-on sentences are still present but otherwise, it's all good in the hood!

So, Yelp, thanks for letting me use this site as my creative outlet for writing, posting photos, meeting virtual friends and most importantly, finding new places for eating more food.

Xoxo,
Jenny T.