Comments on: Why We No Longer Recommend Yelp to Businesses

By: Nicole@ Aquamarine Engagement Rings

Nicole@ Aquamarine Engagement Rings — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:37:21 +0000

Is this true? I’ve been using Yelp for several months now, and so far, its still good for me. If Yelp really does that, maybe Brandon is right that Yelp is unlucky that they are the one that was caught for this doing. I hope you would also reconsider this, or better yet, you can suggest an alternative.

By: growmap

growmap — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:32:08 +0000

What many businesses do not realize is that it is the objective reviews that include both pros and cons that are the most credible and valuable to potential buyers.
growmap´s featured blog ..How CommentLuv Grows Businesses and Blogs

By: growmap

growmap — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:55:30 +0000

Hi Brandon,

I agree that most people do not realize that the BBB will not accept complaints from someone wise enough not to have been taken in so it is not a good early warning system. I was not aware that companies could have complaints removed but it is obvious that responding to them is all that is really necessary to keep up appearances there.

The primary benefit of the BBB is that really bad scammers are too dumb to even respond to complaints. I have run across a few of those and they consistently have bad BBB ratings. They also change their names, addresses and phone numbers to start over periodically but since the advent of the Internet a good researcher like me can usually connect their new name with the old ones.

As for competitors bad-mouthing each other I agree that happens and that is a very bad thing. Yahoo’s system of publishing what I hope are random selected post-sales interviews is useful for eliminating that type of thing.

What businesses need to figure out is that collaboration is far more powerful than competition. Those that start working together can grow the pie larger instead of fighting over a limited pie,
growmap´s featured blog ..Support Small Businesses

By: MEME: BizLuv in Support of Small Businesses | GROWMAP.COM

MEME: BizLuv in Support of Small Businesses | GROWMAP.COM — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:54:55 +0000

[...] Yelp is a community oriented around specific locations. It is a great way to find out which businesses others in your geographic area prefer. Sign up for a Yelp account to read and leave reviews of local businesses and receive discounts and coupons. Businesses should strongly consider getting a Free Yelp business account and reviewing other businesses they use. Why we no longer recommend businesses use Yelp. [...]

By: Jason@Shiloh Street University

Jason@Shiloh Street University — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:13:00 +0000

Wow. I had never heard about this side of Yelp before. Pretty shocking for me personally. Thanks for the info!

By: Marco @Latest Technology

Marco @Latest Technology — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:19:26 +0000

Hi it’s my first time to hear this Yelp, but anyway I’ve learned something from this article and I appreciate your effort writing this one. Keep us updated with this kind of business start ups.

Thanks,
Marco B.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:09:24 +0000

I have not heard of Yelp before this, but I have to comment by saying that NO ONLINE WEBSITE today can get away with what Yelp is doing. There are too many educated people online, and once something like this is found, can be plastered around the internet within seconds. There are a dozen other sites like Yelp (Foursquare, etc.), so some other site can easily take their business away.

By: JN

JN — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:57:58 +0000

I became a Yelper because I enjoy writing reviews and reading other’s honest and discerning ones. Stopped consulting Yelp because many times I’ve been led astray by Yelpers’ ratings and comments. True I’ve been turned on to good finds, but overall been disappointed more than not and have found that Yelpers tend to congregate rather than explore new territories. A false sense of adventure exists because Yelpers tend to fit a certain demographic-not all of course-being predominantly white and middle-class. They are by and large followers of fads and trends that pretend to buck the main stream, but in actuality are led by carefully crafted mass pop-culture. The whole atmosphere is rather like that of the “Smug” storm in an episode of South Park. That would be fine if that’s what it styles itself to be, but Yelp likes to portray itself as a kind of vanguard of critiquing freedom. Recently stopped Yelping because comments seem to be rewarded for being snarky, sarcastic, or somehow “hip”, by some undefined Yelp standard. Often thoughtful reviews get few votes for helpful or funny but you’ll see supposedly witty comments like: “this place is the bomb to go when you’re trashed at 2 am” as helpful and funny. In the end the reason critics get paid for their critiques is because some of them have cultivated knowledge and taste and work at expressing it. Elitists snobs (who are fairly easy to detect) aside, you get what you signed up for with Yelp-mass mutterings and lowest common denominator thinking. It appears to be just another social networking phenomenon where folks who often don’t know much about the field or business they’re critiquing get to sound off and feel empowered. Though it appears it’s just a false sense of that since I find out here Yelp is lacking any sort of integrity, nor does it encourage adult reviews but hypes the sophmoric sort. THe founders of Yelp both graduated from the school of PayPal success, where they clearly learned about successfully building up buzz and participation. What they clearly didn’t learn are any ethics, without which PayPay would not be successful. Is it any wonder though in this day and age of Big Bank bailouts and Maddoff’s that they have resorted to strong arming and unethical practices. Thanks for the insight-I’m going to post it on my FB and Twitter!

By: tvt@Acura Integra Auto Parts

tvt@Acura Integra Auto Parts — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:58:46 +0000

I never knew all this stuff about Yelp…all the business owners should be cautious especially the small business owners…thanks for the great information

By: Bounce House Michigan

Bounce House Michigan — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:34:55 +0000

After reading your post I went to my Yelp account and saw that both of my reviews were deleted! The two reviews were from good customers who go through me regularly. Seriously, now I’m mad. My Yelp account is something I do not check that often. It’s nice when people leave a review, but it’s not something I focus on. I’d rather focus on giving customers great service. Like I am in 2nd grade again… “whatever Yelp.”