I have mixed feelings about Yelp, but I still use it.

Not true that not a lot can be done. a whole lot can be done to make customers happier.

The problem with review sites like Yelp or Amazon is people are more likely to make the effort to complain, rather than tell about a good experience. Most satisfied customers will just go about their day after the transaction is complete, unless the experience was truly exceptional. I think there should be some sort…

I don’t believe in Yelp - people complain loudly when mistreated, rarely when service is superb. But if I’m running a restaurant and get a shitty Yelp review, I can criticize the reviewer or at the very least attempt to explain my side of the story. Might not be the best PR, but at least I can. But the healthcare…

Oh I agree. Just like the law in CA, if an employer does not pay you your paycheck on your last day of employment (few stipulations around that) then they own penalties for every day it’s late in the amount of 1 days worth of pay + minimum wage.

I’m torn on this one, though I see your point.

It is annoying that Yelp hides reviews that ARE accurate. Whatever criteria they’re using isn’t really helpful all the time. I generally try to look at the best AND the worst reviews (for yelp, amazon and lots of other things). I find it helps me get a better picture about what’s going on....

Don’t criticize just to criticize. Be critical to inform and provide an avenue for improvement.

I would just like to say that as a business owner involved in the sale and construction of relatively expensive home improvements—Yelp claims not to game the system but has hidden 3 of our genuine, legitimate reviews because their “algorithm” said the reviews didn’t seem real.

This reminds me of what happened to my parents. The were getting the roof on their house redone and were considering the garage. The garage was in good shape and the color of the shingles not matching the house 100% would not impact any future price if they were to sell.

The one bad thing about reviews being posted onto a popular online site is... some people are just plain ignorant, insensitive, or simply don’t know how to do it properly. I still remember reading this one review from some “jerk” saying he often visited this fast food restaurant many times. OK, so he admitted he liked…

The problem is that too many people use Yelp as a place to bitch and moan. Generally speaking, most people won’t leave a review for a business for they liked, they’ll only leave a review if they feel slighted. Psychologically speaking, the reason for this is simple... being slighted demands an outlet, a response of…

I am very critical of Yelp and I feel like I cant really trust its reviews. People generally either give full stars or one star. It’s hard because good service is so subjective to each person. Additionally every negative review reads like a drama where short of stealing their first born child, a restaurant did…

I like Yelp. I think its generally a good tool. But I discount the 1 and 5 star reviews and go straight for the 2-4 star reviews. Most 1 and 5 star reviews are emotional and useless (omg, they didn’t serve me my drink timely-how dare they, and the waiter was rude because they didn’t say hi in a friendly enough…

A friend of mine purchased a struggling hair salon/barber shop that had a number of bad Yelp reviews; he got online and replied to the bad reviews, apologizing for their experiences, explaining he was the new owner, and offering a discount if they came back for another try. Worked like a charm; a lot of the old…

To start, I have no idea how this article or many of the commenters can decry bad reviews as a bad thing. Bad businesses get bad reviews for being poor at what the do (paid reviewers not counted here), and if a business suffers because of a bad, legitimate review then they should have been better at what they did.…

Online reviews are problematic in general for a number of reasons. As mentioned, they could be fake. I won’t treat any Amazon review score as legit unless I see dozens of reviews that are confirmed purchases, although even here you can’t guarantee that the reviews aren’t being manipulated. (Why not buy five instances…

If this man was a good, honest businessman he would have handled this by stopping the behavior you had highlighted in your review and asking satisfied customers to post favorable reviews. No business has universally positive reviews. When I read reviews, I’m mostly looking for multiple people complaining about the…

One of the best signs I saw was outside a bar that said “Come try a gin and tonic that one guy on Yelp said was the worst he ever had!”

I once left a bad review from an eBay sale (charging cable was advertised as Motorola OEM, but was knockoff). At first the seller tried to convince me that “OEM” meant “compatible with” (sorry buddy). He offered to send me another cable (thanks?) or refund half the price if I removed my review, but I wouldn’t agree.…