Yelp

11/19/2014

Started out liking Yelp.  I don't like their new games.  Advertisers get listed first.  My reviews get hidden.  They were my first checkpoint for new stuff.  No longer.  Shame on Yelp.  Took a great idea and turned it to animal waste

11/13/2014

Yelp  posted a review that clearly violated their guidelines ( no full names, no hate language, no harassment) a parent had written re our school -- Primrose Virginia Beach. When I confronted them and asked for clarification, they said they were standing behind the reviewer. They did not give an explanation. Very unjust and unprofessional. It looks like they would benefit from bad reviews

Rita S

5/1/2014

Yelp hides behind the internet when it comes to "customer service". No phone number listed, e-mails aren't even signed by humans nor do they address the questions asked. The e-mails do not let you respond.

The supercomputer that filters the reviews is flawed and it seems clear that Yelp loves to get paid off by businesses. I don't understand how the filtering works but hey, this will be filtered anyway so why am I even writing this?

9/27/2014 Updated review

For Julian P. I sent this to you in a message, but thought other hard working business owners might share my feelings about your Pro Yelp Post.

"I found your post on Yelp entertaining. My beef with Yelp is legit. Promises not kept, not posting positive reviews from my customers due to their "algorithms" , etc... The business owners that were sucked into the sales pitch making their beefs know to yelp on their own Yelp page is the only way the can communicate with Yelp. Have you ever tried to get a human being on the phone at Yelp? The only ones I can talk to are the billing department and my "account rep". The account rep seems to care less about the broken promises and the made up "sales leads" and dollar figure attached to those leads (what a joke). If I had made a "dime" from Yelp leads, I would be the first to say it. My marketing skills are Doctorial level, too bad Yelps aren't. We looked at Yelp as one more tool in our chest. We will not look there again. Be careful condemning business owners, they are the ones that keep you and your Yelp buddies in business. A lesson in tact might be appropriate for you future success.

11/26/2014

Never physically been to their HQ, but as a tool for finding local spots, it's second to NONE!

12/18/2014

Yelp reviews do NOT have to be true or justified. A reviewer can say anything about a business including defamation, slander, libel, personal attaches and character assassinations. While this may be technically legal (Yelp is is immunized form law suits stemming from third-party content according to the Communications Decency Act of 1996) this is anything but ethical. Also, the Yelp "filter" is suspect at best. How can someone with 2 total reviews make it through the filter? Then lets talk about the "Yelp partners" who hassle business to advertise on Yelp. I tell them "no" again and again and they still keep calling back wasting my time. Total harassment. Yelp selectively filters and reorders reviews based on their willingness to pay for advertising. Ask any small business owner opinion of Yelp... and I'm sure you get the same answers 90% of the time. At least the Better Business Bureau moderates complaints and works with the consumer and business to come to a resolution. Yelp just wants free content from reviewers so they can hold a business hostage. Let's go business owners! Let's see how far down we can drive yelp's star rating!

7/26/2014

Elite is my dream
I won't reach if you guys keep
"Tipping"my haikus

I am so elite
Haikus are novel and fun
Don't you guys think so?

4/26/2014 Updated review

YELP has highly questionable business practices...

YELP "goes public" to go from swindling small business to swindling the public...

Yelp has over 2 thousand complaints at the FTC...

The Investor Class (which includes many small business owners) SHORT Yelp stock whilst adding more complaints to the FTC...

YELP stock begins it's nosedive...

FUNNIEST.THING.EVER.

ASS.BITTEN.BY.BOOMERANG.

5/13/2014

Yelp - you sent me an email telling me you were deleting my review of Ohlhoff Rehab because it was not a first person experience.  You have thousands of reviews that are not first person experiences, but clearly related to the quality of the establishment. A quick look at San Francisco General Hospital reviews shows the first five are all "second hand" experiences. Just like mine: reporting on what happened to a friend. Reporting on direct experiences with staff and quality of care witnessed or documented.

I wrote back explaining  all this in detail: that I have emails from Arlene Stanich Prince who runs the place, from the Director of the Men's program and I was reporting first hand experience about my friend who was there. Do I have to be a resident to report on illegal activities going on there that are documented? I asked why you chose my post when you have the post of another non resident still up?   I asked for specifics: how did you find my post? Did someone complain? There are thousands similar to mine all over your site, why was I picked out? Because I outed the staff for what they allowed? Because the Episcopal church owns this place? You neglected to respond. Please do so.

I am anxious to hear your explanation.

Ann B.
TheSiliconValleyStory.com

4/25/2014

Things I like about Yelp...
The comradery, friends, meeting new people, talking about food, reading/writing reviews, and learning things. Yelp also lets *you* be part of the community, and thats a good feeling.

5 stars.

Things I dont like about Yelp...
Inconsistent and strange rules. You can use the F-word as much as you want, but if you call someone as much as a jerk, you get your post deleted and a nasty-gram sent to you.

Not a deal breaker by any means...your at 4 stars right now, but...

...my biggest complaint is the "Elite" system. Picking a chosen few who meet *your* criteria on who gets to wear that badge seems almost offensive. Further, you allow users to "sort" reviews with an Elite filter, letting them to omit non-Elite reviews,  like they are some sort of second class citizen. Really offensive, and minus 2 stars for that one.

And dont get me wrong...I have lots of friends who are Elites that I like and admire them very much, I just dont care for the "population separation" you are providing.

12/19/2014

1 star for true reviews.... then you have people who have no business reviewing.  People that have never stepped foot into an establishment.   True criticism is a good thing.  Can only help you improve your business.  But then you get business competitors and their friends who purposely are out to destroy you.  Sadly this can put some good small businesses in trouble.  Forcing people to close, which potentially puts employees back on unemployment.  Yelp has no way to screen or analyze these problems.  Thus EEK! Methinks not..

8/6/2014

Dear yelp I have problems with my reviews everytime I make a review it disappears? A few months ago they told it's because I don't have enough reviews
Well I have a lot of reviews now and still they never show up it's really frustrating especially if you are already a super busy person and take time to make a review for a business that I really liked
Can you tell me what is the problem
Otherwise I love you guys thanks for all your great work

11/10/2013

It's not perfect, but what is?

For my 400th review, I want to write a love letter to one of my favorite websites, Yelp. This is going to take forever, and I really don't care if no one reads it. It's really for me.

Although I created my account in January 2010, I wasn't an active Yelper until 2012. It all started when I lived in New York, and every time I researched a bar or restaurant, Yelp's links would be the first to show up on Google. I would read a few reviews and think, "Haha, that was funny." or "Hm, pretty useful.... noted."

I realized I would repeatedly use this site, and I slowly started to depend on other people's feedback to decide whether or not I would visit a place. Then I started to feel bad, because I knew these users weren't getting paid and were just doing this for fun. I've always thought I was a decent writer, so I figured I would review a few of my favorite businesses when I had spare time, just to return the favor.

Then I noticed that my reviews were getting votes. Really? 2 people thought the review of my eyebrow place was useful? One person thought my review for this bar was funny? I was amazed that people were actually reading what I wrote!

So then I decided to go out on a limb and write a few more reviews. I really thought nothing of it. Out of the blue, I get a message from Brooklyn's CM Peter D., saying that someone nominated me to be part of the Elite Squad. WHAT?! To this day, I have no idea who submitted my profile, but if you're reading this, I would like to thank you profusely.

Once I joined the Elite Squad, I really fell in love. I started attending the YEE's and I met other people who shared my interests of good food, fun places, and amazing cocktails. I discovered more local businesses that I had no idea existed. Just when I thought New York was becoming "Same York", my curiosity was ignited and I started to explore again. Doing so created even better memories with friends that I'll never forget.

Then, some life changing news. My fiance (now husband) accepted a position in Singapore, and once we got married I would relocate half way around the world. What would become of my Yelping? I was having so much fun finding new businesses and trying new things; I figured I would do the same in Singapore but just review things on TripAdvisor instead.

Lo and behold, someone up there was looking out for me. About 2 months before I relocated, I heard the best news ever- Yelp has chosen Singapore as it's first country in Asia to launch!

You wouldn't believe my reaction when I found out this news. I was in the office, I stood up in my cubicle, and said out loud, "Guys! Guys! Guys!" And they go, "What? Did you win the lottery?" And I said, "No, but Yelp is launching in Singapore!!!" Then everyone stared at me blankly and started typing again on their computers.

The moment I landed in Singapore, I started Yelping. Wow, there's this place called "Harvey Norman" that kind of reminds me of "Best Buy" back in the US. Oh, this place called "Watsons" has really cool Japanese makeup brands that I've never heard of. "Boon Tong Kee" has awesome chicken rice!

Marcus L. and Nik T. welcomed me aboard, and the rest is history. Once Marcus became CM and YEE's began, I started to meet more locals and foreigners who also share my passion of food and fun. Through them, I found out that there's more chili crab to be had besides Jumbo. That I haven't lived until I've tried food in Geylang. That Burger King uses turkey bacon on their burgers, so that's why it looks gross.

To top it all off, I ended up finding a full time job that I'm really excited about through a Yelp member, and I start it almost one year into my adventure here. I couldn't have been more happier and I can't wait for Year 2 to begin.

To end this novel, I just wanted to say "Thank You, Yelp." Not to be all dramatic but you've really changed me for the better and I now live life looking forward to finding the next hottest restaurant or the best kway teow. Hell, I found a job through you guys!

Thanks a million. Here's to more Useful, Funny, and Cool reviews!

10/16/2013 Updated review

I've edited incorrect business info numerous times since I started Yelping and prior to my Fort Rock State Park corrections I've never had those reversed, or been informed that I was wrong.

So imagine my surprise when some dick Yelp moderator at "HQ" declares that the information I provided (address, web address) were wrong--even though they weren't.

Gee, I LIVE in Oregon and I was just at Fort Rock State Park. I think I know that it's NOT in La Pine, shit head. It certainly isn't on Summer St. Imagine--a 1,000 year old mile wide  volcanic tuff in the middle of a La Pine neighborhood. Yeah, that sounds right.

And the website. Who is going to argue with stateparks.com It's not like oregonstateparks.org could even possibly be considered the official, and likely to be legit, website.  

Best of all--fucktard moderator LOCKED the info, so now no one can change it. How can this moderator still be employed by Yelp? Clearly he's too incompetent to even search for Fort Rock State Park. If he did, he'd find the correct address on the official state website!!!!

10/6/2013

#700!!!!

No quotes here as I write my 700th review.  And since I still have a few more wineries to review, I guess the rumors about my demise have been overstated.  My experiences on Yelp have been surely overwhelmingly positive.  The genius of combining a social network with reviewing (both narcissistic pastimes) cannot be overstated.   So in honor of my time on this site (and it really has been too much time!), I'm going to give a shout out to everyone I have ever met on Yelp.  If I miss you, like some of my new N Cal friends, I probably just ran out of characters :)  I also compliment and chat with a good number of people I have never met but please do know I love you too :)

In no certain order I'd like to say nice things about:

Maria H - One of the most fascinating and brilliant people I have ever met.  She is also one of the few people who is even more intriguing and beguiling in person than their Yelp profile.  

Lili H - A beautiful and sweet person who had the misfortune of hosting a really fun PYE with me once.  

Robert L. & Lori M. - In less than two years they have become dear friends of mine and they are both very interesting and fun people to hang out with.

MiYun C - Just a lovely person with terrible taste in men (Ha! Ha!).

Beth H - Along with Maria and MiYun, one of the first people I met on Yelp when I started to become really active.  A true character for sure but also has a huge, huge heart.  And now that she is in love she's become a better Words With Friends player too ;)

Glenn G - The most interesting man in the world and a very cool dinner/hiking bloke.

Julie L - OC Wine Mart maven became a good friend and I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with both her and her husband Farid.  She is driven for sure but it is because of her passion of doing what she loves.  

Nicole D - Fantastic wine palate but the rumors of her great jump shot have not been verified.  

Niki S. - I still do not understand the turtle thing but in person she is very nice with a silly sense of humor.

Tami D, Lica N., Kelley U, Cathy S - I have either had meals with them all or they have attended my PYE's and they are some of the best Yelpers OC has to offer.  And now Lica is even beating me in WWF!  

Dan H, Roy B, Chris D, Dave G, Dave L, Donald S - OC actually has some mature  (meaning my age or so) yelpers and these 6 are some of the best out there.  And they are all men since I often get accused of having too many female Yelp friends

Freshta M. - My down to earth and very cool hair stylist

Steve S., Sidney T. Les S., Binh T. - Just because you all went to the same Sushi Noguchi PYE that I threw :)  

Thao V - If she follows through on her baking ambitions she would be a star!  

Shanda H - A funny woman who doesn't know how beautiful she really is.

Hannah E - A talented food writer, very intelligent and a former grad student who also looks like a model.  Only on Yelp.

Mimi L - Our meals at The Playground were epic!!  Plus she is very, very funny.

Denise L - My gorgeous and fun rhyming buddy who is terrible at trivia!

Emmalouise B - Neck in neck in reviews, eats too many sweets and also terrible at trivia :)

Vanessa H - One of my favorite and coolest Yelpers who has blown from the OC popstick stand!

Katie S. - Another person who blew away from Aliso Viejo to LA.  Adore her one star dust-ups!

Drew M - Funny tall dude and also a good Yelper.

Rob W., Lauren B, Paul L and James D - Wine friends who became Yelp friends.  Who knew they had so much food knowledge too???

Stephanie H - Now in Davis studying, we had a great time at the Jazz Festival and she is definitely an old soul.  

Shirley M -- Introduced me to Cin Cin in Los Gatos and has one of Yelp's loveliest faces.

Jennifer L - One of the sweetest Yelpers I have ever met.  And loves hot chocolate...

Ingrid V - Keep on hiking Ingrid!

Randi B - Keep on drinking Rand!

Cris B - Loves him some Portola Coffee

VB L - A great performance in the play that I saw!

Minerva T & Duc - I miss you guys!  Minerva will be a food star someday though.

Jun N. - Award winning sushi joint owner with one of my favorite desserts.

Mel M, Laura S. Mary S - Met them through Beth H and we will always have Bru and Whitney together!  (And with Mel M her cookies that I have ordered several times).  

Cari T - Great taste in soju and a big crazy heart!

Andrea L. - I was fortunate to meet Andrea briefly at two PYE's I hosted but I love her writing and earthiness and I she will be a huge success in whatever she does.

Bonnie G - A most interesting wine connoisseur and professor with wonderful travels.

Rosemary T - Has supported several of my PYE's and is a lovely person.

Trina D - Has also supported several of my PYE's and is a lovely person.

John D - A big heart and soon to be our newest Elite yelper!

Quynh, Stephanie H., Maggie G., Gloria R - Dan H's peeps from his PYE's & cool yelpers too!

Stephi S - Another interesting, driven and successful Yelper

4/25/2014

Their name should be Al Capone if we don't pay them they filter our good reviews,
the worse Company you can think about, don't do business with them.

11/17/2014

I would give Yelp no starts if I could. It's now the second time that Yelp has extorted my small business, deleting access to my business page along with reviews and photos after I decided not to advertise. What a scam of a company.

11/9/2013

My 200th Yelp Review! Woo-hoo!
Yelp is YOU and me
striving to be
honest and free!
Live on the edgy side of yelp and give a 2-star business a chance. It may turn your world upside down to discover it's an underrated gem! Life and Yelpers surprise me constantly.

I've met talented and earnest yelpers like awesome Jack the "godfather". I've met warm and welcoming yelpers like Juan. I've met friendly yelpers like Maricela. I've met the shyer and very cool yelpers like Melanio.

When I meet YOU, I think you deserve 5 stars too!

Brad and Trish are incredibly hard-working community managers, and they really care about making our neighborhoods of southern Cali as cool and delicious as possible! Yelp is YOUR neighborhood. Be proud of it.  

I'm thinking about my current favorite eateries. How did I find these gems? On yelp! I didn't just try out the businesses with an overall rating of 5 stars on yelp. Nope. I like to choose a yelpie "friend" with good taste, and follow that person's reviews. That works best. Choose someone you trust.

I trust YOU to feel honest and free enough to help create a supportive and constructive yelp community.

1/1/2014 Updated review

Yelp is still fantastic in my opinion.
Over the years I have been given the opportunity to write reviews on local business and really support those that live around myself in Minnesota and small business's out in other states as well.

I love the fact that the company has grown with the times and developed a highly used mobile app where we are able to write reviews on the go, check-in and snap pictures of our lovely food and surroundings to show the world what we see in our own eyes, what we taste, and what we think.

Looking forward to what Yelp has to offer to the world in 2014 and I am glad to be part of the Yelp family.

10/8/2013

Review #1,000 needed be special and I think Yelp is just the ticket to celebrate 1,000 reviews in four years.

Yelp entered my life when I moved to CO for the first time.  My Father (Yelp Elite first) told me it was fun and a good way to find places to go in my new home state.  

Yelp helped me find all the best places to eat, shop, and visit.  Yelp exceeded my expectations in so many ways.  Some of my dearest friends were found through Yelp.  Our love of life and of food brought us together forever.  

Is Yelp a dating service?  It could be since I've found the love of my life through Yelp.  Two Yelp Elites who met one day at a CMYE.  Turning back was not an option.

I enjoy writing and expressing my opinion on where I've been and how much fun I've had.  For doing what I love, eating at new places and continuing my shopping addiction I have a community that I love.

I now have 1,000 reviews, 950+ bookmarks, 766 photo's, 48 lists, 45 fans, 635 friends, a circle of close friends, and the man of my dreams.  

Yelp is more than a review website, Yelp gave me my life!!

11/11/2014

Shortly after I opened my hair salon, one of my clients put my business on Yelp. Oddly, he didn't tell me about it. Within a few weeks I had new clients calling. When I asked them how they found out about the salon, they said Yelp! Well that was 4 years ago. I've never given Yelp a dime...but thanks to their service(and a lot of hard work) my business has grown to it's maximum capacity. I can't thank them enough! I'd also like to give a shout out to Genna. She was so helpful and kind to me. She went above and beyond to solve my problems. I wish I could give Yelp a high five and Genna a hug. Thanks for everything!

5/7/2014

I never understood Yelp's review filtering system. I joined Yelp so that small business owners can get the quality reviews that they deserve. It's so annoying how these get filtered while crap reviews that are one-liners, hardly useful, and that come from folks who have not much to their profile nor activity, are the ones that remain unfiltered. Even worse is that Yelp refuses to remove businesses even if the owner requests it. Yelp wants them to pay for the unfiltered reviews...scam, I say!

Pro tip: If you want your reviews to be unfiltered, you must do the following:
- check-in at least 3 times a week
- add tips for your check-ins
- send people compliments
- add as many friends as possible (basically friend-hoarding even if you hardly know these Yelpers)
- Write at least 10 reviews, all balanced (have a review with each star rating)
- participate in Yelp forums
- repeat all of the above at least once a month

Yelp wants you active, and that's how you get your reviews unfiltered. However, even if you do all of the above, it's still sooo unfair to see Yelpers with 0 friends, 1 review and 0 tips leave a useless 'review' (aka one-liner complaint saying "This sucks; never go here again!") not get their reviews unfiltered!!!

Oh, and they say that there's nothing they can do about their filtering software? Well then why don't you replace it with a more competent one!? Yelp is utter turd compared to other review sites and I can't believe Yelp is the most used.

I'd rate Yelp 0 stars if I could.

4/5/2014

I must say I am impressed.

Yelp has figured out how to make a protection racket via the internet. They claim to have an algorithm; but I don't believe them. At least I don't think their algorithm does the selection of reviews. If anything, it keeps the company rating where Yelp wants them in order to sell more advertising.

Don't get me wrong...the brilliance is in 1) crowd sourcing the reviews; and , 2) convincing the consumer that their service is a public good.

I am glad to hear that Yelp is loosing money; now, all I can hope for is that Yelp loses the tacit support of a consumeristic society.

11/10/2014

That Yelp would screen reviews based on the idea that they as a company are politically neutral is a joke.  Yelp, by virtue of it being an Ad business, is politically driven to strengthen their business and create new revenue.  I'll tell you this much, if there's a baker who stakes their business practices on being anti-gay, anti-immigrant, or anti-fair wage, then you can be sure I will not patronize said baker, sorry, but some things trump cinnamon and sugar.  Yelp, you still have a chance to make it right, don't present the idea that impartial reviewing can somehow lose it's relevance when political ideals are introduced.  Just as the business has the right to refuse service, we have the right to refuse patronage.

4/11/2014

What a crappy idea of a company. You clearly only care about leveraging companies to take your advertising pitch.

You hurt quality businesses by filtering REAL reviews and showing fake 1 stars to keep companies in a mid level position unless spending a large amount of money to BOOST YELPERS to then review the site after you offer 10 for 20 incentives.

I hope that you shut down from these liable reviews that you tolerate on the site. I bet this wont be even shown on YOUR Yelp but it would be on a normal business page.

Our company is fed up with the lack of concern or Brains behind the company that can't tell a 1 time reviewer writing gibberish is/isn't a genuine customer. It is insane. I can't wait for the class action lawsuit that will put your company in the grave.

Karma is a bitch. It will come back on you.

Remember the customers are great but businesses have the revenue for your ad revenue.

10/14/2014

This review site is a home for mostly impertinent, entitled, uppity children who haven't quite figured out that the world does not revolve around them. Business owners are NOT your parents and you may not always get your way. I am truly sorry that no one taught you the word 'no', but that is what happens in the real world.

IMO, unless you pay your own bills, have or have had a job in the industry that you are reviewing, for at least 1 year, that you should not be able to complain, gripe, snicker, retort, or just plain be rude or disrespectful to ANY small business owner or employee of said business, on ANY online forum, besides your own Facebook page.

Before anyone gets all upset about the fact that I have never worked for an online review service for 1 year or more, and therefore do not qualify to leave a review here on yelp site, I do own a business and have enough experience in life to make a judgement about online forums and the people who frequent them.

In coming years, after you have grown up a bit you will see, that the petty, hurtful, childish rants that most of you have made online about some businesses, that you have made quite an error in some of the things you have said. Sadly, by then, some of the mom and pop shops, restaurants, and the like, will be out of business due to the flagrant whining of afore mentioned reviewers. To which they will forever be embedded in the ubiquitous entity we call "the internet".

My advise to you would be to put into use the "golden rule" we all learned in Kindergarden; 'Do unto others, as you would have done unto you.' In other words, please think, in long term, how the things you might say, in a fit of passionate scribble, that what you say will hurt the already struggling mom and pop shops, restaurants, and the like, when all they are trying to do is provide a service to the community and feed, clothe, and shelter their families to the best of their abilities.

And please keep in mind that if all of these, extremely overworked, small business owners are people, too. After all, I'm pretty sure no one wants to have to eat or stay only at large corporate monstrosities where everyone become slave to 'the man'. It has not worked well for anyone to have only a few airlines in the sky, now has it?

Aloha and God bless

3/29/2014

Disclaimer:
This is a review on Yelp based on my views as a business owner.

Originally, I thought Yelp would be an awesome way to spread the news that I have a business and I am pretty awesome at what I do. I have serious industry contacts, high standards, and a very respectable client list so I thought that things go smoothly!

Several clients have review me on Yelp, all with 5 star, and the majority have been filtered, leave a handful of 5 star reviews and the only 4 star review that I received. I don't mind having suspect reviews filtered when they are not active users (I have had a few clients sign up with Yelp solely to review my business and I totally understand how that looks suspicious), but several Yelp Elites and reviewers with over 100+ reviews have been filtered because their content was deemed unreliable. It has been said, multiple times before, that no one understands how Yelp's filtering is done and I I agree - I am baffled.

I have never advertised with them, nor have I been asked to advertise or do any type of marketing with them. I don't believe they target my business because I refuse advertising, but I do believe that they are less accommodating to me because I am not advertising with them.

I had interacted with my local Yelp representative and even took park in a Yelp Elite event as a vendor and can say that my local Yelp gal was awesome and super friendly. As for the Elite Event, no business came of it and I felt it was a waste of my time.

As a business owner, the most frustrating part of Yelp is definitely the filtered reviews. Since businesses thrive on reviews and referrals, it hurts us when legitimate reviews are filtered out for unknown reasons. I am excellent at what I do, have a sterling reputation, and it saddens and frustrates me that Yelp doesn't represent that with the legitimate reviews that have been posted.

5/10/2014

Really disappointed with yelp.  I started adding reviews and have discovered that yelp doesn't consider me trustworthy enough to include my reviews.  My ratings don't get incorporated into the businesses ratings and ray reviews aren't getting published.  Guess my opinion doesn't count so I'm sure yelp won't care how I feel about the service.  But it also makes the reviews on their site inherently untrustworthy because I have no idea who else yelp is suppressing and why.  Are they suppressing good reviews?  Bad reviews?  Why? How would I know?  Why should I trust them?  That's why I give yelp 1 star.

**remarkably, immediately after my poor rating they started to post my reviews and deem me trustworthy.  So, apparently, criticizing yelp is the key to being thought of as trustworthy in yelp.  I totally get it now.

12/21/2014

When my family started our small business in Coos Bay, Oregon, we got several good reviews right off the bat. Then, we got a call from a YELP representative asking us about advertising with them. We respectfully declined at that time.
Since them, we have been hit with several bad reviews. (We take all customer concerns very seriously. This is not a complaint for bad reviews)
One review had purely speculative accusations in it and another was done by someone who posted SEVERAL (over 30) reviews in two days!!!! I have personally responded to these reviews with gratitude, and attempts to correct the issue.
Here's the kicker. Two of our customers posted reviews in contrast to the negative reviews and guess what..........
Yup, the negs stay in the wide open for all the world to see, but the positive one's, are not recommended. Hidden from public view unless you click a special link.
Also, in our not recommended review section, there are multiple 4&5 star reviews, but no negative reviews.
I'm very disappointed. What seemed to be a great positive for our business turned into what feels like extortion. YELP picks the reviews the public see's and we don't feel they are being fair or honest. Again, it's not the negative reviews. We know we are gonna goof and we need honest customers to tell us so we can correct the complaints.
I WON'T be spending any of my advertising dollars with YELP.

4/2/2014 Updated review

This morning I attended a panel discussion put on by SBA (Small Business Association) & Yelp entitled Success with Online Reviews. While it was informative & interesting, I don't feel it addressed my issues at all. After asking a question when the panel discussion was over, I could tell I'm not the only business owner who felt that way. The issues I have are more with yelp's system for determining which reviews are useful, real, and valuable to display on a business' yelp page.

I have been an active business owner on yelp for almost two years. I was initially excited to use yelp for my business, because as a consumer it's been a great tool. However my feelings have changed significantly based on my experience.

I have several legitimate reviews from clients, but yelp's algorithms have filtered & hidden them, so they don't show on my page. Basically what I got out of the meeting was that I should seek out active yelp users as clients. This is useful information, and I got some insights that I wouldn't have through the discussion, but my feelings remain that they're not giving the littlest guys a real chance to build some credibility with yelpers.

Using yelp as a business owner has made me feel really small & insignificant. Their algorithms should take more into consideration when it comes to certain kinds of businesses. I wish I had the option to avoid using yelp, but unfortunately having a yelp presence has become relatively necessary to be competitive.

3/29/2014

I've been advertising with Yelp for close to 2 months now on the Cost-per-click program and I am considering cancelling soon.  

First off, I am a fan of Yelp and think it's great for the community to review and become aware of local businesses. However, being a small business owner in Champaign, IL.. they have made it very hard for me to keep a presence on their website.

Currently, I have 19 reviews for my business and ALL OF THEM are filtered. Just a few of them came from my friends, but I still legitimately did work and got paid from these jobs. Whereas, other local businesses that are competing with me have only two reviews... yet none of them filtered?!!... and all of them are first time reviewers who definitely created an account just to review the business.

Seriously disappointed in how bad their "filter logarithm" is. Like other people have mentioned, an idiot can do a better job!

More details about Yelp's lousy performance regarding their advertising program.,
Once again, I signed up for the CPC program. This month, out of the 43 people that "clicked", $3.43 per click... I got only 4 calls total for my entire month of advertising, and only 2 jobs. I don't know how that really adds up?? My $150 advertising budget was spent within the first two weeks. Plus, I have to pay an additional $50 a month to advertise. So I'm paying $200/month for lousy advertising that's losing me money.

I seriously debated in my head before advertising with Yelp.. and since I took the leap, I'm definitely reconsidering because I'm not even breaking even after putting in the money, work, and time.

Whoever runs Yelp is seriously under qualified....

1/17/2015

Pretty good site.

4/4/2014

Yelp has jumped the shark. Yelp was once useful to consumers because it provided accurate, user-sourced information about small businesses. Nowadays user information is compromised by Yelp's desperate grab for advertising cash. Businesses appear in searches not because they are beloved but because they spend money to advertise on Yelp. Meanwhile excellent, 5 star businesses are buried in search results and hidden from users who might want to patronize them. Those businesses are hidden only because they choose not to pay Yelp to advertise. This, of course, defeats the entire purpose of Yelp.

Users are here to find the kind of small businesses that don't need advertising to thrive. By forcing businesses to advertise, Yelp not only threatens the business owners themselves, it also threatens its own existence. By re-ordering search results and reviews to prioritize advertising dollars over accuracy Yelp is destroying the user experience.

Please change your policies immediately and recognize that whatever value you have resides only in your ability to provide users with accurate information regardless of advertising dollars.

11/6/2014

Yelp starts off really good and then it started to get crazy when it come to a computer filtering  alot of  good reviews and letting  bad ones stay up there.... That I can somewhat understand .but what I don't understand is how they call you for a year straight trying to get you to advertise with them promising you a set rate that may only go up a dollar or so, but after a bout a week you're at 12 dollars a click ,and you started off at 5 dollars a click ,and then on top of that you cannot get ahold of the original person who harassed you for a year straight!! they say its month to month and no contract but once you try to stop the advertising you have to pay for the previous month as well as the coming month the truth is that you don't have to advertise on Yelp the more reviews you get the higher ranking you get

12/30/2014

Yelp!  their interview process sucks (could be their HR or the hiring manager issue)..  Usually, if a company has a bad process which mean some or most, all of the process within that company could also be bad.....  Maybe will reflect that on people review of Yelp....

12/19/2014

Leaving 1 star since I'm frustrated no being able to find help or contact information for Yelp.  When I select 2nd page of search results, the website stays on the 1st page but fades it out and then the Yelp logo pulses in the middle of the page.  Is Yelp broken or is it me?   I like and use Yelp, hopefully this low rating will get Yelp to respond and put better support system in place.

4/18/2014

I wrote a negative review about a real estate agent who brought clients into my house and caused some damage to MY house and YELP removed it because it  "lacks a direct firsthand customer experience."  WHAT??  I had to deal with this guy!  How is this not firsthand experience

I wanted to warn others about this rotten agent and I guess he threaten to sue Yelp!

Guess if all the reviews are going to be great what a lot of good Yelp does me.

Bye bye Yelp!

10/17/2014

(Updated from 1 star to 3 stars. As much as I detest many things about Yelp, I do use it, so I would be a hypocrite if I was nothing but fair! :-) (KM drops mic again)

Please oh please, if you are going to continue with the oftentimes hilarious yet most of the time borderline absurd ROTD (Review of the day for all you newbies) please, for the love of Jesus, Mary and pancakes, please select someone's review which contains correct word spelling and no grammatical errors. Please, do not continue to promote or condone the improper usage of letters, words and/or grammar! It's embarrassing and quite painful to read. I feel sorry for some of the Yelpers you choose because regretfully, after the fact, people are laughing at their reviews. Um, you can critique a restaurant yet you are incapable  of stringing together an appropriate sentence? i don't like to take Yelp too seriously however, its just good clean common sense. FYI: Note,it is absolutely fine to make mistakes in your/our reviews, I know I do it often however, I don't expect my reviews to be picked for ROTD, so I don't care if they are imperfect.

Par example:  

'The decor was totally style,'       What the heck does THAT mean really?
' I got a little sad'      What the .. you cannot 'get sad'. You cannot buy it at a store.
'The breakfast menu was limited of choices.'         It's "limited with few choices."
" I received only the French toasts.'     French toast is already presumed to be plural.

And the finale... wait for it...  'but when I'm really hungry and I want to get filled up at breakfast I'll pass.     How can this be considered a 'review of the day'? It doesn't make any sense?

I don't necessarily like all the "I longed to be a writer yet failed so I will start writing riveting reviews for Yelp and they will be long and boring and will include the temperature outside and what tune the birds were singing while I ordered my burrito"
reviews, however, as an educated adult who frequents places often such as most Yelpers, I prefer to take those reviews seriously from those who can, alas, at the very least, tie their own shoes.

KM Drops mic, steps down off soapbox, shrugs shoulders and sincerely hopes no one responds because that would mean there are more out there like me with too much time on our hands!  :-) Is Yelp good for kids? No, Yelp is not good for kids!  Happy Friday peeps!

9/26/2014

YELP~ YOUR SITE REMINDS ME THAT PEOPLE ARE MEAN, ENTITLED, AND HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN COMPLAIN (brilliant business model I must say.)
As a customer of Yelp, and employee of a small business.
YELP is horribly one sided!!!
And for the most part is place for crotchety miserable people to express their unhappiness with life. I have worked for more than one business (Michellen stared, high volume, fine dinning ect) where people take advantage of this keyboard driven hide behind the computer screen world of bullying tactics. I've seen bitter employee used it as a forum to chastise the reputation of said company. Or today's review where a customer was just allowed to point out that my co-worker was just 'too CLOYINGLY GAY in speech and mannerism' but they 'warmed up to him eventually.' This is a 4 star review.  Yet YELP only has COOL, USEFUL, and FUNNY as quick responses. What about a FLAG or INAPPROPRIATE button. or NOT VERY NICE!
Or the other reviews that call another co-worker out by name--- just so messed up

4/15/2014 Updated review

The Shareholders Foundation announces that an investigation on behalf of investors of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) shares is ongoing over potential securities laws violations by Yelp Inc and certain of its directors and officers in connection certain financial statements.

Investors who purchased shares of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail(at)shareholdersfoundation.c… or call +1(858) 779 - 1554.

The investigation by a law firm focuses on possible claims on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) concerning whether a series of statements by Yelp Inc regarding its business, its prospects and its operations were materially false and misleading at the time they were made.

On April 2, an article stated that according to a spokesperson for Yelp Inc the company receives roughly six subpoenas monthly, some of which seek the names of anonymous users. On the same day the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") disclosed on its website that it received 2,046 complaints about Yelp Inc from 2008 through March 4 of this year, noting that its disclosure was part of a Freedom of Information Act request.

Shares of Yelp Inc declined from $81.24 per share on April 2, 2014, to $61.72 per share on April 11, 2014.

Those who purchased shares of Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation.