Yelp

2/9/2015

Often super helpful, but when it goes wrong...

A search for "dog parks" gave me a great list! Of parks where dogs are strictly forbidden. A search for "archery" within a map area returned archery retailers more than 60 miles outside of the map, as well as art supply retailers within the map area.  Totally useless.

Seriously, with all the amazing algorithms written by Facebook to find crap I might possibly want to click on, Yelp can't do an actual search for actual parameters?! Weak to the point of near uselessness.

2/3/2015

I did a 90-day trial ad period which resulted in only 3 bookings in that period.  I checked that the trial period ended and was told that I have to email a request to end it and was harangued with the hard-sell.  I emailed the request to end and then was told it was routed to another person that will follow up with me, presumably to annoy and press.

It was a waste of my time and the run-around is equal to buying a automobile at a corner used-car lot.  I'm guessing that the Yelp! staff are hired from the cable companies.

2/4/2015

Yelp customer service does not deserve a single star!  In 5 months of paying them to "promote" our companies page, Customer service (Mark Vasi) Our "account manager" if you can call him that, has not returned a single phone call or email.  I wish a manager or someone would return our calls!  When they're calling (the sales person) and begging for your credit card number, they blow your phone up.  Unfortunately, We're stuck with them for the next 7 months or so.  DON'T ADVERTISE WITH YELP!! THEY ARE A RIP OFF!! SEE THEIR REPORTS ON RIPOFF.COM!!  Spend your money wisely with YP.com, Merchantcircle or just throw it out the window, it's the same as advertising with yelp!!

10/7/2014

I've been on this bitch for quite some time now & I've come to realize that it's more than a reviewing site for a grip of people.

For some, it's a pastime. Post on yelp talk on how much should one tip. If a grown mother effer has to ask how much to tip, I just don't know about you & the rest of your life. Haters be talkin shit & tatteltales be like "Oh, I'm flagging this shit!"

Some goons are girl collectors, others are check-in addicts, even checking-in as they enter the damn freeway. I'm over here on the couch hoping to catch "Up next on Eye Witness news, the 5 - shut down due to a crash involving a driver & his yelp check-in..." But all I see on tv is bright ass orange Dallas Raines talking about how sunny it's gonna be.

For some, who's writing career or blog never took off, this is where their dream comes to die. Go ahead & read their reviews. Their shit sounds like a short story, an essay, a fuckin journal entry! Trying to be cute with a haiku review.

For some, it's a hook up site. People be banging left & right and when shit hits the fan, they delete your ass! And when you put them on blast, they delete their whole account! And come back a month later as a shoe or a monchichi. Like how the fuck does this shoe know my info!?!

Then you have those who hate on yelp (and they hate HARD) but won't leave the site. Your notification be like "Ihateyelp S. wants to be your friend".

Then you got the few trying to jock my steeze. Trying to come off hard, signing off the reviews n shit... But it's cool, I mean if you're gonna jock, you might as well jock the best.

Your homegirl,
Violy

1/1/2015 Updated review

As we begin the 2015 year, thinking back some of the most fond memories, I have here on yelp. Can't believe a decade has been reach since they started back in 2004. In the beginning, I was pretty much skeptical but, something tells me to hang in there. Indeed I did.

It was in June 2006 when I made contact with couple of people. At the time they were just workers a day at the office. They actually thought I was probably a salesman. Couple of months past, I decided to email my contact. We briefly exchange a few messages within a week or so I was at the place. We actually met across the street at a cafe and from there talks were underway. In the end of the session we both thought nothing much of the proposal. That was the old crew however, there are several newer staffs that are even more knowledgeable.

Fast forward 2014 as a part time day trader as well as investor, I hatch up a plan with couple of backers and VC's flying red eye flights in and out of SFO wasn't too fun but, pay out is rewarding. Investing in social media was very risky taking chances without the help of Warren Buffet. Family and friends thought, I was perhaps loosing my mind. They ask if I've seen the reviews of yelp themselves? I didn't listen to them as I went my own way being hard headed. However, more exchanges of messages finally convinced me to take a deep look at the end result for the long term. Since IPO went public my hopes that by 4th quarter of 2014 it would reach triple digit base on the 52 weeks hi/low.

So with all due respect, I thank the front office, the engineers, sales/marketing, promotions department, HRD, CM's through out the communities, also the yelpers themselves as they spent countless hours going to places and taking time writing reviews. Last but, not least all my friends on yelp that provides most accurate up to date info for my investigation as well as lived chats when ever, I need it the most. Thank you all! I truly think that, I wouldn't be able to lived in SF for those prices of rent and owning maintaining a luxury vehicle not one but, two. Btw yelp close at $54.73 last day of 2014. I hope it can get back to its normal high this coming 2015 year and some. Again, thank you all!

*Disclaimer-Depite bad rap people have claim for what ever the reason is for driving their business to this and that. Those are problems are not related to me or my actions, I have no control of whats going on at 140 New Montgomery street. Just an partner investor in the shadows. Now, if I lose out on my shares those same business owners laughing and joking around. The same ones that will be jealous and send nasty messages when its successful. Let's just cut this short. There's two side to a story, a coin has head or tail you pick want you want no one is forcing you to do so, at will.

• 

  Found my t-shirt from 2006, can't fit it now but, back then I wore it 3-4 a week. Now I can't its like a bullseye target now.

  Found my t-shirt from 2006, can't fit it now but, back then I wore it 3-4 a week. Now I can't its like a bullseye target now.

1/27/2015

My very first yelp review was one-star (how many of us got started because we got angry at a business?) and my final yelp review (ironically for yelp) is one-star. The following is my personal experience with yelp.

The good: Yelp can often be a great source to learn about a restaurant or business. I enjoy reading the writing of several yelpers - reading your reviews helped me through a dark year of chemotherapy and for that I am extremely grateful. I have also enjoyed writing reviews and discovering new restaurants and cuisines in the process..

The bad: Yelp permits and accepts cyber-bullying. I know several other people who have left yelp due to this. Yelp seems to attract some really ruthless trolls who live to harass others for no reason. I have been bullied by a yelper for some time; she blatantly uses my name in libelous posts. And while yelp refuses to remove them, she and her minions easily get my reviews removed for no good reason dropbox.com/s/mvx9bu75vs… (it pays to have inside connections apparently). Unfortunately yelp does not allow you to challenge their decision (or even email them - what good business doesn't allow contact with customer service? I think we all know that yelp customer service is horrid.). This bully has sent messages to my yelp friends telling them to "unfriend" me and made remarks such as I've "made enemies with the wrong person" which I take as a personal threat and why I'm leaving yelp for reasons of safety.

More bad: Many yelpers who deserve the elite badge are not given one while many more who don't deserve an elite badge have one. Elite is just random selection so don't fret if you don't have a badge - it ultimately means nothing.

Even more bad: Many businesses have very high ratings because they have family and friends write 5-star reviews. Very unethical. And I've heard first hand from business owners that all those bad things you hear about yelp that they claim they don't do...they do. I also don't like it when a small business that has only a couple reviews suffers because one or two unreasonable people give bad reviews and cause them to have a undeserved low rating.

Thanks everyone for some great years on yelp. I'll miss it but the sad reality of life is that sometime evil wins.

(I wonder how many days this will be up until it gets removed?)

2/4/2015

This is why Yelp is whack and should be taken with a grain of salt. I know for a fact that the review I wrote for this company was indeed the exact office that the agent worked for yet the company is still able to remove my bad review preventing other customers to be aware of their poor service.

I feel it's a better service if used just as a search engine for nearby places or specific things like "burritos near me" but not for an honest review site because of their BS policies about reviews.

"We're contacting you about your review of Keller Williams Benchmark Properties. We wanted to let you know that we have removed it because it doesn't appear from your review that Keller Williams Benchmark Properties represented you in this transaction.

Please visit our Content Guidelines (yelp.com/guidelines) for more information, and thanks for helping us keep Yelp fun and useful for everyone!

Regards,
Ruby
Yelp Support
San Francisco, California

Yelp Official Blog | officialblog.yelp.com
Yelp Support Center | yelp-support.com
Yelp for Business Owners | biz.yelp.com

For your reference this is Case #: 3176421

1/30/2015

I feel very conflicted about Yelp.  As both a consumer and as marketing sales professional working with mom and pops in the SMB industry, I refer to Yelp as my "navigation compass" for lead generation, market launch and so forth.  It's become an indelible part of my pre-buying research experience, as well.

That said, I have talked to innumerable business owners (like, dozens and dozens) throughout California, Pennsylvania, Washington and Maryland who all describe almost exactly the same scenario: Yelp salespeople call them up, pitch them on paid Yelp advertising (to the tune of $300/MO), then, when invariably these business owners decline the offer, they find their positive reviews suppressed, ratings lowered and slanderous negative reviews written.  Accordingly, these are usually new businesses in need of customers and especially vulnerable to negative reviews, that Yelp preys on.  

Yelp appears to be running a racket, and a very Orwellian one at that.  Former coworkers of mine worked for Yelp and confirmed the veracity of these accusations. Telling that there have been lawsuits against them all alleging the same harassment.  Pretty slimy and grimy practices, if you ask me, and very disconcerting for entrepreneurs who are already disadvantaged enough in this neo-free market plutocratic economy, to have their livelihoods compromised at the click of a few buttons.  Very befitting for this era.  Needs to stop.

1/14/2015

Wow! I've been on Yelp since 2007. I've really seen it all and the changes throughout the years.

I was shocked to see Yelp's own listing to be so low.

To be honest I've NEVER considered/seen the BUSINESS side of things with YELP. I signed on and use Yelp solely as a reviewer and a consumer. But as I sit here and read all these reviews/stories from business owners, I can understand behind all the negative reviews.

If what they say is true, and many are saying it, then yea that definitely is not right.

However, Yelp has been my old reliable to find businesses--mostly when it comes time to eat. It has really changed the way we even consider any business. I'm sure I could say the same for many others. Other than the reviews, it also services as somewhat of a Yellow Pages. If i need the address or phone number on a business, it usually is on Yelp. So it's an added bonus. 2 birds 1 stone--both business info and reviews.

But in the end, just like how I do most of my reviews, I like to think more broad and see the big picture. If I was a business owner and experienced some of the things that has been mentioned, I too would be a bit disgruntled. I'm sure as large as Yelp is, they do have to find means of getting profit or they wouldn't be around or be this big.

So for everything, I would have to stay neutral and give 3 stars. It is still one of my major resources, but they definitely should clear things up with the business owners and bandage whatever discrepancy that seems to be happening.

12/17/2014

IS THERE A ZERO STAR RATING? Yelp gets that!!!
SHADY SHADY SHADY..... I was up to 4 stars couple of days ago for my "small business "  someone was happy and satisfied with our product so she rated us 5 stars and wrote us a positive review. Well guess what?
I was getting those harassment calls about getting a "AD" on yelp. I told them I'm not interested cuz it's so damn expensive. BOOM- they take off the review I EARNED and back to 3.5 star rating for my shop! How hurtful! Let's see you guys not post this review. Let's see!!!!!!!!!!!
I will be calling you guys about this.

1/30/2015

Impossible to contact yelp for assistance.  By phone forget about it.  YELP customer service is non exsistence!    So you would think YELP would encourage their business people to watch the YELP feedback and respond to them. I will let you know if YElP contacts me? As a business they get one star. Do they even care?

1/29/2015 Nope

12/18/2014

I began yelping about three years ago, but not actually yelping, just using yelp to get info on businesses and locations, etc.  

Then, about the beginning of summer 2013, a close friend turned me on to the yelp scene through her business.  She advertises with them and checks yelp before doing ANYTHING!  At first I was annoyed, I thought, "Why can we not figure it out for ourselves and not be tainted by the opinions and experiences of others?"

Shortly after this, I met another friend who absolutely could not live without the support of yelp in his decisions for nightly cuisine, or anything else for that matter.  Okay, oaky, I started to think, "Maybe I should at least give it a try?"  

I checked some reviews of a BMW repair shop in the bay area near my home, chose one based on the yelp reviews, and was absolutely satisfied.  I felt as if I had the yelp community to thank for the excellent and trustworthy service I received form the BMW shop.  So, I began posting my reviews.

I really enjoyed making friends, yelp talk, checking in at various locations, winning badges, posting pictures of my experiences, etc.  Then I had to close my account near the end of 2013 for unforeseen reasons.  I was beside myself.

Recently, about three months ago or so, I began a new account, again with new pictures, new reviews, and a really positive attitude about the whole yelp experience, and I vowed that there would never be any outside or unforeseen event that would ever come between me and my yelp account.  Yay!  It's a part of me ;)

I have put so much time and energy into my account.  I have only accepted friend requests that appear legit.  I have only accepted compliments that were genuine.  I have participated in yelp events and forums and have loved every minute of it.  I have made friends through yelp that I would have otherwise never known.  I have received advice from people, advice that really was helpful.  I have dined at great places thank you to the yelp community, and added to the reviews and pictures of the yelp community to help others in their dinning decisions.  Not only food--all kinds of businesses have become a part of my yelp journey.  I rarely go anywhere without a yelp shout out, of course I cannot yelp everything in my life, but I give it at least an 80% try ;)  I am hoping to give it a 90% try come 2015...wish me luck!

I really love yelp.  It offers a fun release to the minutia of everyday life, where one can check in, post, take pics, review, comment, etc.  How fun!  I love my yelp friends.  

Stephani Smiles for Yelp ;)

12/22/2014

Here it is: my 1,000th review! And what better business to review for this milestone than Yelp? Reviewing Yelp on Yelp: it's so meta.

I've been a member of Yelp since January 2011. Technically, I joined in December 2010, but I wasn't reviewing and I was mainly just using it to read other people's reviews. After posting a couple of reviews and joining into the conversation on talk, I was hooked. Yelp NOLA was definitely a lot smaller back then, but it was still a lot of fun. I still remember my first ever Yelp elite event at DuMois gallery (I was Scott S.' plus one, since I was a newbie) and meeting many Yelpers, whom I still call friends today.

There have been a lot of changes since then: NOLA Yelp is on our third, fabulous CM: Morgan F., the events are bigger and better than ever and being a part of Yelp has encouraged me to go out and check out new places and restaurants and has even allowed me to experience things I wouldn't have otherwise (Penguin play date at the aquarium is STILL my favorite ever thing I got to do on Yelp). I love that Yelp is more than just a review site: it's a true social network that encourages people to get out from behind their computer and mingle and enjoy their city.

While I have always enjoyed food, like a good New Orleans girl, Yelp has turned me into a real foodie. I love going to new restaurants, reading about other people's experiences and adding my own experiences to the business listing. I love the idea of being able to keep track of where I've been and what I enjoyed about a place. I think it's neat when I go somewhere and someone comes up to me and says "Are you on Yelp? Every time I search for something, you've reviewed it!" Yeah, that's happened a few times and it's pretty cool.

There is definitely room for improvement here on Yelp: I wish we could edit talk posts, I wish the search was a little better streamlined and I wish that fake reviews were taken down faster. I used to be in the camp of "you should have a certain number of reviews before you are elite", but I've come to realize that it's definitely a "quality over quantity" thing (she types in the middle of her 1,000th review). Yelp isn't a perfect system, but I do see it as a fair review site. The reader is left to themselves to determine whether or not a review is honest and helpful.

I hope that I have done my part to add to the quality of reviews that you can find on Yelp. I'd like to think that by adding my two cents about the places I visit, others will make the decision of whether or not to visit that place themselves.

I look forward to many more years of Yelping, meeting new people, going to new places and having new adventures. SYOY!

1/29/2015

I think yelp may be a valuable review source for a very limited industry like food service for instance where there are typically hundred of reviewers and customers having had a pleasant experience are more likely to share it. I believe the review ratio may be more accurate.  In my industry, construction supply, the ratio is totally out of whack.  You get these angry clients whom rarely bring their complaints to a manger or supervisor, but choose to instead anonymously bash a company with irate and abusive language.  With our volume of sales the problems that are unsatisfactorily resolved are maybe 1%, but to look at yelp reviews it appears to be more like 30 or 40 % negative.  I wouldn't last a minute in this industry with a record even close to that.

In one instance they actually identified the person by first and last name which I think is plain and simply just wrong.  They never voiced a complaint to him, his manger or to me.  Yelp seems to think that is okay, i will see what my lawyer thinks, but not holding my breath.

1/26/2015

I have a business.  I know for a fact 3 of my customers wrote a review and they got filtered out.

Now Yelp is calling and asking me to do ads with them.  Is it any wonder people think they are so sketchy and run an extortion racket?

1/31/2015 Updated review

Update: they called me again the other day inquiring about advertising.  So I read the lady the riot act, and she told me she was going to put me on the "do not contact" list.  Lol. It's about time...get a clue!

YELP STILL SUCKS !!!!!

They contacted me recently to see if I wanted to advertise with them.

I told them the only way I would even begin to talk about that is for them to first unfiltered all my positive reviews which were earned.

They said that could not happen.

So, Yelp, quit screwing me, and un-filter my hard earned reviews before you contact me again.  Idiots.

12/20/2014

I think Yelp is more than deserving of my 365th review of 2014!

In November of 2013, I was googling a new restaurant I wanted to try. I started reading reviews on Yelp, a website I hadn't heard of before. The reviews were all pretty useful (and funny and cool, as I'd later realize). From then on, I started consulting Yelp before going to restaurants. I found that the reviews were typically spot-on. My experiences generally matched the experiences of others. Occasionally I'd find that a few of my thoughts hadn't been said yet. I made my own Yelp account, and started reviewing.

A little more than a year later, I'm writing my 365th review in 365 days. Clearly, Yelp has wooed me!

As I stated before, I love the reviewing aspect of Yelp. While some of the reviews are a little less than helpful (my favorites are the ones that are like, "I HATED THIS PLACE - 5 stars" or vice versa. What?!) most of them are really useful. While I wait to judge a place before going to it, whatever the rating may be, I feel so much more informed before going somewhere; I know where to park, I know what some of the best dishes might be, I know what the specials are, I know when they have a mean happy hour, etc. I will oftentimes find Yelp to be more insightful than a company's own website.

When I started using Yelp, I was living in Cleveland. Although I went to college there, I feel like I visited more places and learned more about Cleveland during my time with Yelp than I did all throughout college. Whether it was discussing with others on the talk threads or trying new places at an Elite event, I truly feel like I made the most out of my last few months in Cleveland because of Yelp.

When I moved from Cleveland to Columbus, Yelp was pretty much my saving grace. My boyfriend had already been living here, but he generally stuck to what he and his friends knew; a few restaurants and bars around campus, the diner down the road, etc. Yelp has helped me to find and identify many places that we now adore; from Akai Hana, the best sushi restaurant I've EVER been to, to the Whetsone Park of Roses, the best free park I can imagine, Yelp has pointed us to some of our favorite spots.

When we traveled to Golden, CO for a friend's wedding, Yelp steered us to the best places to try. Now that I've used Yelp for a little over a year, I can't imagine going to a new city without Yelp handy! How would I know where to go?!

The functionality of Yelp is pretty great. I love that I can check in somewhere and then I'm reminded to review it later on. Or that I can bookmark a place that sounds interesting and consult my bookmarks list later on instead of searching all over again.

I've met some pretty cool people on Yelp. Whether it's at an event, through the talk threads, or just by randomly friending someone whose tastes seem similar to mine, I've definitely had a lot of cool interactions that I wouldn't have had without Yelp.

Each community I've been a part of has generally been really friendly and accepting. I feel like I can voice my opinion on the talk threads and be treated with respect. You definitely can't say that of some other websites!

If I haven't made it clear, I absolutely love Yelp. Probably my favorite and most used website of 2014. My only regret is that I didn't join sooner!

12/10/2014 Updated review

Another threatening letter of CENSORSHIP from Yelp.  Signed with a FAKE name. They always use different fake names at the end of the letters, because they won't ever respond to you anyway, they don't need to give their real names!

I posted another review after they kept removing my review for no reason . I filed a complaint with the BBB because of what happened to me with this business. I have a legitimate complaint, but i am on Yelp's BLACKLIST now.

YELP CENSORS AND BLACKLISTS PEOPLE. THEY ARE NOT OBJECTIVE. THEY ARE NOT IN FAVOR OF FREEDOM.  

-----

Hi Tigerlilly,

I'm writing to let you know that we've removed your review update of La Femme Salon & Day Spa. Our Support team has determined that it falls outside our Content Guidelines (yelp.com/guidelines) because it does not contain a new firsthand experience with the business. Please note that your original review of this business remains intact.

Please be aware that reposting content to this business listing may result in closure of your account, and that the content you post will be subject to removal without notification.

Regards,
Reuben
Yelp Support
San Francisco, California

2/8/2015

I need help Yelp !
I need to edit my name and delete a photo or two .

Please help me on my yelp !

1/23/2015

Why does the Yelp headquarters only have two and a half stars what is up with that I would think they would get more then just two and a half stars!!!????

Why don't they deal with the troll accounts the fake people the bullies as they say they don't tolerate but you allow them to be an elite you know who they are. then you say someone who doesn't qualify to be an elite when they do more participating than your elite people you need to send reminders to those who are an Elite they don't participate in anything they're too busy bullying other Yelpers!!! :(

Also what is up with your feed it keeps on blocking me out of people's threads they get blocked out of mine or we can't post anything keeps on stopping we've done updates install/unstall nothing helps fix the problem Irritating!

What I love about yelp is you could find places and read other peoples check ins to see where they've gone,and get their opinion on places but yes you do have to be careful of the fake reviews and check ins...
Hopefully they'll improved this year  moved from a two and a half star 2 three or four star.....  :)

1/23/2015

I once thought Yelp was a useful service, that was until I had to deal with it on the business end of things.

Years ago two people, only one was an actual customer, wrote negative review on our companies page. That's fine. People are allowed to say what they want, but something strange began to happen almost immediately after that. Yelp sales team started calling our companies regularly suggesting we could raise our company rating by advertising. We declined and thought nothing of it.

Years go by and we get a call for one of our customers. They start telling us that they wrote a five star review for us as they felt we had an unfair rating. We then looked at our Yelp page for the first time in years and see that only those original two negative review are on our page. No others, nothing newer, nothing more. After more examination, we find two positive reviews buried and the rating not scored for those review.

So we call Yelp sales line to try to find out what is happening and we are informed that the system disqualifies review based on programming and there is nothing that can be done, but if we are willing to purchase advertising, it will help increase our rating. Again, we declined and asked for them to remove OUR business from THEIR site. They refused.

Yelp is a predatory business that looks to take advantage of small business. They ofer no conflict resolution, no choice in association, they don't vet reviews, and they don't work to help business improve. McDonalds could have 1000's of negative review on Yelp and it will not cut into their profits, but the corner bistro could have 2 one star review and they could stand to lose $10 000.00's.

My advise is not to use Yelp for deciding whom to use, there are better site on the Internet for that, and don't write any reviews for Yelp. You are only allowing them to profit from your experiences and the small business they target.

1/16/2015

When I first moved to Buffalo, I knew nothing of the city but a small strip of Allen Street. Sure, I had grown up in the area my entire life; but the city?!?

Time passes, people change, and I found myself loving the city and moving there. As previously mentioned, I knew almost nothing about finding my may around. That is when I discovered YELP. This was in late 2010. I figured out how to use the site, determine who were reliable reviewers, and quite happily began to discover my new surroundings.

A year later, I decided that I should contribute to this resource that I had found so helpful. I created an account and there began the adventure. Not only have I discovered even more amazing places in my community, but I have met many other awesome ambassadors of our city and been privy to special events as an Elite member. Some people may mock me, but I so happy to be part of this community.

Yelp has come under some fierce review by business owners, and to them I say: If you make your living on the palates and preferences of professional chefs or review writers, then complain away. But if you are the sort of establishment that earns their living from the patronage of the average person, perhaps you could use this site as a tool to see what those people think you are doing right and what you might do better.  

I have at least twice seen one of my "Yelp suggestions/comments" be implemented by a local business. Was it because of what I wrote? Maybe, maybe not; but I like to think I'm helping people out, either by finding their way through my city or by doing what they do best.

2/4/2015

I love the concept of Yelp. Good service leads to good reviews that leads to better business.

When I appreciate a business I have encountered - I take the time out of my life to compose a well thought out endorsement of that business, based on my personal experience.

The company will then be promoted by my effort. Perfect.

I have noticed lately that about 20% of my reviews have been rated as "not currently recommended".

Would the business owners refuse a positive review?

Generally I only give positive reviews to companies that I have truly appreciated the service I received. I do not post negative reviews - even if service is so so.

Who has the right to hide my reviews - and allow, in some instances I have observed, on the companies I can say I am personally familiar with:

- obvious nut case negative reviews to stand as "recommended"
- 2 and 3 year old severely negative reviews to stand as "recommended".

And my positive reviews at times get filtered to "not recommended". For what purpose? To protect the business from positive reviews??

I say why would I ever again take the time to review any company if Yelp can unilaterally shift my review effort to "not recommended". Thus wasting my time.

I would prefer to find another review platform that does not waste my time.

I have seen several genuine reviews of mine labeled "not recommended". I have yet to see one of my "not recommended" reviews re-posted to the front page where others may be encouraged to try the company I have enjoyed.

So is Yelp's form of extortion working? Are they generating more revenue with these "not recommended" filtering processes? Or is Yelp alienating their potential commercial clients? And is Yelp alienating their potential review writers?

Time will tell.

All I can be certain of is that the next post of mine that I see disappear into the "not recommended" category will be the last Yelp post I ever generate.

Go filter that Yelp "algorithm" - what ever your name might be ...

10/2/2014

To mark my 100th review for 2014 (which is also Yelp's 10th year in service - a feat that few companies can achieve nowadays), I'll review yelp this time around which deserves no less than 5 stars (of course) for the great database of places (it's not perfect but what is these days), the awesome community, and of course the great community managers + interns who organize awesome events for the yelp community (and it's VIPs who help build the database).

Also thanks for Yelp HK and Japan. I'm sure I'll be reviewing places there and hoping to attend a few local events there myself.

I also had the opportunity to pay a visit to the very cool San Francisco office in the financial district for a yelp hosted tech event because Yelp is a tech company and has amazing tech talent.

It was a very trendy and cool interior designed office - one of the best in San Francisco (love the iPad+arduino operated beer machine, which you can also review your beer afterwards)

• 

  Yelp Neon Sign

  Yelp Neon Sign

12/2/2014

The New Media Mafia. They won't let me change the phone number for my business to the new one. They ignore my pleas for help. They bury my best reviews. I can't prove it, but it all seems to be about the fact that I won't set up a contract for advertising with them. I have NEWS for Yelp. Businesses that have great customer service and great web reviews in other places, will do just fine without Yelp!

Today over 700 of my Facebook pals are going to get a whole new take on Yelp!

I encourage everyone else who knows about the aforementioned facts, to reach out and make Yelp yell HELP!

• 

  All Yelped out. Yeah get Yelped today!

  All Yelped out. Yeah get Yelped today!

12/9/2014

My 100th Review!!!

I joined yelp in 2011 but back then I just looked on it occasionally to find places to eat. I didn't check in or review anything. Just in the last year or so I started doing all that. I guess I never realized all that yelp really has to offer.

I love yelping now. It's kind of an addiction.
I attended my first event this year and have now gone to 10 or 11 events. I have met some really great people that unite reuse would never have met.

Yelp has introduced me to places that I probably would have never gone on my own. I love reading reviews of places that I find on the app looking for a new place to eat.

Our Tampa Bay Community Manager, Brett, has done a fantastic job putting together all the events I have attended. I think he has the coolest job!!  He is very good at what he does. So thanks for everything you do for our yelp community.

Everyone that I know that yelps is very fair and honest in their reviews. I know yelp tends to get a bad rep but I think that is just business owners unhappy with bad reviews they get from honest yelpers. They have to say something. It couldn't possibly be there business that is not up to par. ;-)

1/1/2015 Updated review

I have to give credit where credit is due. After I posted my first review, Yelp seemed to take it to heart. The spam is gone from our talk threads, and I'm seeing more "People Love Us On Yelp!" Stickers on local business doors.  

Thank you Yelp, for paying attention and for caring enough to resolve the issues.

11/29/2014 Updated review

In the last week yelp has filtered 10 reviews from my business page yet leaves the one star reviews up from fake accounts. They don't let customers that have actually been to my shop and have had good experiences leave reviews, but they let fake reviews go straight to the front of my page. Yelp has done nothing to help and just keeps filtering my customers reviews. i have over 37 filtered reviews, and only 11 actually posted to my business page, 4 which are less then 5 stars. while over thirty 5 star reviews have been filtered!

less then 20% of my reviews post, but the negative ones slandering my shop always post. Always, they filter some days/weeks later, but they always post for a little while.

5 star reviews never get through to my page, they always get filtered! they don't even show up for a second!

1/28/2015

I have made numerous request for YELP to update our address.  There has been NO change from "the Moderators".
It's been a year since we moved.  Please, Please, Please update the address for our business... Original Watermen Inc.  1198 Joshua Way, Vista, CA 92081

12/5/2014 Updated review

Yelp is still a 5 to me. For me, Yelp has been incredibly family friendly. Joan S. is nice about sending compliments. My brother made it into Elite after I gave him the suggestion to write around 80 reviews and try to add more friends. For the record, he did a great job writing reviews. He sat at his computer for hours and wrote reviews. He added a few more friends and then I voted for him.

I think his photography skills are good; possibly even better than mine. He is taller than me and more athletic with better posture. He takes very good photos. You can be the judge by searching on Yelp for Andrew K. I tried to get my brother, "Eduardo" (LOL), to join Yelp but he, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't joined Yelp. We send him links to Yelp restaurants we think he might enjoy.

My reviews are open to business owners. If they want to send me a compliment or private message, they can. Have a suggestion for me? Then send a compliment or private message to me at your earliest convenience. If you dislike the photo I took at your business, you can tell me so. I think I have the ability to quickly delete a photo. Whether or not the photo stays on Yelp servers...I'm not sure. I don't have a clue as to how many servers they have. I have no clue how many programmers and engineers work on the site. I'd like to know more about that.

One thing I heard through the local business grapevine is, "Yelp advertising is kind of expensive." I forget who told me that. Another business Manager told me that they left his check-in offer up even after he cancelled Yelp advertising services. He honored the check-in offer, but expressed some concerns that his Finance Guy might give him a hassle about accepting the check-in offer...nice of him to accept the offer from a Yelp user, but I hope his Finance Guy doesn't give him a look of consternation over the acceptance of the percentage discount on product.

Who do you go to after you cancel your Yelp advertising services? Do you think it would be wise of me to call Advertising services? Or do I call Marketing? I'm not sure. In any case, now is the time for me to eat the Togo's sandwich I purchased in Mission Viejo, CA. What is it comprised of, you might ask.

Here goes: Turkey, Cranberry sauce, stuffing, artisan bread, veggies and I left out the jalapenos. I think there are some condiments in the sandwich as well. Now I've got to go. I'm hungry.

Thanks, Yelp.

1/2/2015

So, as 2014 was the year of the Yelp for me, I figure its appropriate to start off my 2015 reviews with one for the site itself.

So, it started off innocently enough, using Yelp! on the road to find food and fun stuffs....its turned me into something you see parodied on Portlandia. I am snapping pics of food, checking in, writing positive and negative reviews....and feeling a little too self important.

What I wasn't expecting was the sense of community that has come out of Yelping. People messaging me about what they might or might not like in RI, tips and tricks when I'm on the road or in an area again. and the general sharing of ideas and places from like-minded folks.

Yelp isn't perfect! No sites/software/apps ever will be, but in the year or so I've been super active updates have occurred and made the user experience better.

I see this being my most meaningful social media presences. Let's see if I can managed another 250+ reviews in 2015

12/21/2014

Honestly at the end of the day, I'm grateful to Yelp for contributing so heavily to my professional development, and I had a damn good time too. Sure there were times when I felt like I was losing my mind, but what sales job doesn't have that effect?

I feel like Yelp has it's own Yelp page as a place for business owners to complain about how the sales team conned them into advertising, or how the review system is corrupt... But as a previous employee this isn't the value system that they've instilled and embody. It gets tiring to hear biz owners constantly complain about a resource that has ultimately changed the consumer-biz owner economy altogether.

Yelp is a great place, with fun people, representing a product that I probably couldn't live without.

Thanks for all the memories my friends

1/21/2015

I am rating yelp based off of being a business owner with a yelp page. After years of building a reputation online through yelp and various other social media outlets,  yelp has closed my business account since I have relocated. Though numerous emails and phone calls to figure out why and how to fix the problem I have resorted posting this review to voice my circumstances.

My boot camp business was off to a great start with multiple new customers stating they choose my business because of the reviews on yelp. When I moved and the page was closed I have received a fraction of the new customers. In research of why this may be happening I came across a statement from yelp saying because the possibility of the new location being too different...? Not possible,  my fitness business hasn't changed and I'm still the only trainer there. I know of at least 3 other gym that have made a move and there pages haven't closed(inner athlete, s.l. crossfit, maesh s.a.).

Is it because they have the money to paid for ads so yelp give them special privileges? I don't know, my small operation hasn't had a budget for advertising.  Maybe yelp doesn't care about the little guys.

1/20/2015

I found this comment elsewhere, and find it exceptionally creepy: "I'd heard that Yelp blackmails business owners into buying advertising by hiding positive reviews until they do, and hides negative reviews when businesses buy ads. I just discovered that a negative review I wrote of the xxxxxxx xx xxxx xxxxxxx has been deleted from Yelp, and FORTY-FIVE NEGATIVE REVIEWS have been masked as 'currently not recommended.'"

What does that even mean??? These reviews are not recommended??? What role is Yelp taking in making those determinations?

2/11/2015

If you are a business owner and are thinking of advertising with Yelp DO NOT! This companies ethics are garbage!!! they let a computer distinguish whether something is legit or not!!1 since when did we let computers do the thinking for us!? For example, when someone leaves you a review, a computer will overlook it and if it meets certain criteria it will leave it posted. If not, it will remove the review into a section labeled "reviews not recommended". There is no way a computer or anyone for that matter can determine whether a review is genuine or not. That would be the same as using a computer in a court room to determine whether someone was lying or not!!?? Then, it will put the one start review on top of all your good reviews so people can see the bad reviews first.

2/11/2015

If I could give less than one star I would. Yelp isn't a helpful consumer service, it is a bane on our existence. I have countless fake reviews over the years for my business... mostly competitors, obvious fakes yet Yelp won't remove them. Yet my real 5 star reviews are mostly hidden. This seems to happen even more right after the sales calls when I say I won't spend money to advertise on Yelp.

I don't understand why businesses can't opt out? I do not want my business information on Yelp, seems wrong that I can't have control of my own business info, and where it's listed online.

12/9/2014 Updated review

I was reading 'How Google Works' by (Google Executive Chairman) Eric Schmidt and I thought he wrote a more eloquent summary of the value of Yelp than I did:

"Cities and suburbs have unique restaurants for every taste-- locally owned as well as chains-- and prospective diners have access to a wealth of information about their quality, from both professional critics and citizen reviewers, on sites ranging from Chowhound to Yelp. With so much information and so many good choices, it's harder for an incumbent, crummy restaurant (chain or not) to survive, regardless of the size of its marketing budget, and easier for a new, high- quality place to gain a word- of- mouth foothold."

1/19/2015

When we first signed up for Yelp we were extremely grateful that the person that sold us on advertising was so helpful.

Let me say this: YELP IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL in gaining new customers.

HOWEVER, our account representative, Melinda Reveron was RUDE to us every single time we tried to reach out to her for assistance.

Early on in our advertising contract, I called her, she bit my head off and continued to ARGUE with me about how Yelp was the reason my business was thriving; because logically, the fact that we provide amazing work and customer service has nothing to do with it, right?

I asked her to then drop us down to the lowest tier in advertising so we could finish up the 1 year contract we signed (regretfully) with as little fees as possible. She never changed anything on our account so we have continued to receive charges to the max possible.

I attempted to call her over the holidays, only to be greeted by this message "I will be out of the office until January 5th; however my inbox and voicemails will be screened by another manager and assigned to help you in my absence." Did a manager or any other representative call or follow up with an email as promised? NO. When I tried calling her after the 5th, the same message was STILL playing.

Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT waste your time with YELP advertising unless you have tons of money to spend and want to be treated like your money and business DON'T matter. Not to mention, why they HIDE reviews is beyond me. Save yourself the time and money. You can do a lot with the free services.

1/21/2015 Updated review

I wish I could give yelp zero stars and a pile of shit.  
Yelp doesn't treat all business the same.  
I found out that yelp put a stop to reviews at a small fitness center I train at. Even though San Leandro Cross fit and Inner Athlete also changed locations yelp didn't put a halt to the other gyms reviews after change of location like they did for Power Trip Fitness.
I used to tell my fellow workout buddies to write a review on yelp, I helped many people set up yelp accounts.  I will no longer do that.

11/23/2014

Hello Yelp and thank you for improving my quality of life. It seems only fitting that my # 400 review is on this institution that has introduced me to so many cool peeps not to mention tons of chow & watering holes.

It's hard to imagine LBY (Life Before Yelp).  I can just about  almost remember when in an unfamiliar part of town and in search of a bite or beer and having to rely upon the local gas station attendant for advise or the yellow pages. Oh lord, I believe it went something like this; " Well Kooter's  is down on Vern street, but you can't get their from here". He scratches his head and puts another pinch between his cheek & gum, spits and seems to get stuck on pause. "Well  the bowling alley is my favorite place to grab a beer, they got dem chicken fingers".  Fast forward to 2014 search for a bar, check reviews by passing the homers with 4 reviews and all reviews that are less than 5 sentences. And yes I'm guilty in many cases of just looking at other Elite reviews. Search and Bingo!

Now Yelp you ain't perfect.  Being able to navigate through biassed reviews or limited reviewed joints is the key to landing at a choice destination. Being Elite I often feel it's my duty to inform my fellow Yelpers of the all too beat to death term " hidden gems".  In the same regards if a place sucks I pull no punches.  It never ceases to amaze me every time I find a place that perhaps I traveled by a hundred times and never really took note until I checked out the Yelp review.  Of course we all have different tastes, styles and preferences, but on the whole I tend to agree with most Yelpers.

Now I've been fortunate enough to go to a few Yelp Elite  events and a few unofficial Yelp events (UYE). I found the unofficial Yelp events to be a little less stifling and a little more fun, but it's close and perhaps that's due to the fact that the central/southern Jersey crew seems to be very unpretentious and come as you are types that I really dig. I've made a few great friends and several unique and quite spectacular characters. Generally the one thing that everybody has in common on Yelp is a desire to communicate and share our love of food and drink. Let's face it Yelp primarily is an app best served for restaurants and bars.

The Yelp talk feature is fun. I find myself checking it daily to read the;  witty, dim,  highly opioniated, egotistical, sexist, political, hilarious, bigoted, deep, profound, illuminating, angry, joyous, but always entertaining remarks. Sometimes I'll add my own 2 cents.

Now of course we've all question some of Yelp's business practices. We've all wondered from time to time why a review has disappeared and why some remain at the top. Why some companies can't easily be searched even if you're standing right in front of the door and it's almost impossible to find on a search unless you type their exact name. Why aren't there any requirements to gaining Elite status. Why do some clearly biased reviews remain visible. Is Yelp really a stalking or dating site, lol.

What I can say is that Yelp has improved the way I eat, drink and meet new cool people.

So thank you Yelp!