I was approached to remove a Yelp review (unfortunately it was for services rendered in my house, so they knew where I lived). I firmly and politely explained that my review was an honest and unemotional recounting of the events as they unfolded and that I would not remove it. I then updated my review to warn others…

I take solace in knowing several other people did that exact thing, with at least one of those updates even including the same gift card offer, lol

Businesses that dont understand how to handle yelp.... I have a very easy solution for you...

Crazy - a heartfelt (or even a faked heartfelt) apology and/or some explanation may have moved me to be sympathetic. Given the details, I may have updated the review to include the telephone call you described above. I think you’re too hard on yourself, as your honest review was indeed helping others avoid this…

Nope! This guy didn’t even bother to get the details of the job or what went wrong. The way I understand the whole thing goes something like this: his social media person (also maybe his lawyer? he said something like, “we have a lawyer who handles these social media things” so I was a little baffled by what even…

Thorin, I understand your frustration, but I think pulling your account and thus the review was the wrong move.

It’s your integrity. Again, that may sound altruistic, and maybe you’re in the minority, but removing the negative review of your own volition is a far cry from being bribed into removing it. I doubt you would have enjoyed the meal very much had you allowed yourself to sacrifice your integrity to pay for it.

Conversely,…

I guess then it depends on the type of business. To me, restaurants are mostly subjective. There are some standards to uphold, but I’m the kind of person who doesn’t care as long as the minimum quality was reached.

Oh, if it wasn’t clear: I agree. I should have left that review up for all time. I regret deleting that account.

Where would you like your award sent?

I disagree. My wife had a *terrible* experience with a dentist, and left an appropriate review (short version: in a two person office, they literally could not find the key for closet with the gas, and the crown they put on fell off three times; to get the crown fixed, another dentist had to do a bone graft because…

Thorin, did your conversation include any discussion regarding what seems to be your legitimate gripes against his business? I’m curious to hear what explanations he might have had for the bad work done.

Agreed, but there’s a difference between a one star review for “My drink took 10 minutes” and one star review for “I’m out $1000 and this contractor did a shit job I have to pay even more money to fix.” One is overkill, the other is probably not.

Maybe you didn’t take it simply because it was a bribe or a payoff?

I’ve never been in this exact situation, but I’ve certainly been in similar situations where people preyed on the little bit of empathy I had. But if this contractor was still “swimming in negative reviews”, I’d find it hard to sympathize. I’d like to think I wouldn’t have taken the review down in that case. “How long…

Just be careful. That’s how it starts and then one day you look up from your monitor and...

Drop the snark, pal. You made some vague accusations, I asked for clarity and reasoning. What I asked was fair. You can't expect anyone to just know your career and post history. I appreciate you taking the time to drop some sources, but really, you could have just done that in the first place and no agitation would…

And you know this how? You could always share some details if you’re privy.

Next time interview a real EP professional... this guy is a security guard. His language clearly shows he is not real EP, but one of the many hundreds of “security guards” shitty companies like Galvin De Becker call “EP” to raise their rates for stupid companies.

When the keyboard doesn’t show up, try tapping elsewhere then back in the text field. Sometimes once or twice with that will jar the keyboard loose. Though it would be nice if Apple just fixed this hiccup for good.