YelpReviews 1,585

As a business owner we live and die by the reviews we receive. We do our best to give our customers a remarkable experience, and when that service has been rendered we have always asked if they would be willing to write a review. As a caveat we make sure to include a request for the customer to contact us if they have any problems and don't feel they can give a favorable review... because we want to make sure their experience is a five star experience. Recently we received notice from Yelp stating that no "review solicitation" was acceptable, and that we were in danger of losing our standing on their page if we continued to ask our customers to write a review. Evidently we are supposed to "hang our hat" on the reviews we receive in a passive way; leaving our businesses reputation in the hands of the inherent human nature to review something only when their is something to complain about. Why? Because "realistic" reviews give their company (Yelp) credibility by bringing "real" reviews to the table, this bringing customers to their site and lining their pockets. Meanwhile, small businesses are left hanging at the end of a hangman's knot because most people only want a forum to give light to how they may have been wronged, not a place to share how good the service was. Negative feedback is cheap and easy to find... even when it comes by way of lying customers with an agenda. The business can receive negative reviews that are straight up fabrications, or even reviews from jealous competitors, and has no recourse. The reviews stand, regardless. The business just has do deal with it. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if a business doesn't ask for positive feedback, they get negligible positive feedback. The balance is HEAVILY weighted to the negative simply due to human nature. Yelp wants drama from negative reviews to keep them in business. For that reason I am offering them a dose of their own medicine with this review. I know it means nothing to them, but if they play by their own rules, this review has to stand. It is MY opinion, and I have a right to voice it. Now... I have an amazing little business to go run, and a well earned 4.9 star, happy customer base to go offer exceptional service to.

We spent over $3,000 in Yelp Ads. We bought clicks and views that were totally irrelevant and/or low quality.

Although our views for the month increased, since we are paying per click, our actual leads were lower. I asked Roger Matus about this and he said: "We have seen that over the last two weeks we have been ramping up the leads as well, which can take a bit more time." and "The leads are slightly higher during the last 30 days".

Even though I have access to the stats, he decided to lie to me face. When I asked him to confirm, twice, he sent screenshot of the views being increased. He deliberately tried to misdirect me from the correct stats. I told him there is never any problem with clicks, since we are paying for clicks, but we need clicks that actually convert.

I finally got him to admit that the leads were actually less, despite his 2 previous lies.

This is how Yelp works, everytime I have worked with this company in the last few years. This stems from their culture or management, it's just an entirely money based no ethics company. Let them get what they deserve

If I could give a negative 100 stars I would. Worst scam on small business ever other than the telephone scammers. They extort money from you and if you don't pay, they will take all your good reviews away and leave you with 0. And, if you dispute a negative view based on a violation of their guidelines and policies, such as proof the review was about another business and not yours and left by disgruntled business affiliates, well guess what? They will say it's credible and leave it. So then your rating drops bc they took your good reviews and left the illegitimate ones and then guess what? Your small business is toast. Can you imagine if all companies were allowed to run their businesses like that? I ask myself, how are they allowed to? I hope someone with lots of money sure the crap out of them and they go under.

I have contacted Yelp several
Times and can not seem to speak to someone in customer service. Apparently the so called business runs on its own. I did get ahold of someone in the advertising department that hung up on me. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was laughed at. If you do not pay them monthly do not expect to get help with anything. I have reported them for violation of their terms of service contract. They are unethical and have no logic behind their business model. Their "informative", I say that sarcastically, employees do not know how to speak to people they are reading from a script and as soon as you beer off they don't know what to say and hang up.

I wrote a review about a dentist office I started going, and I noticed when I was on my yelp app, my review was not on yelp. I happen to be at my dentist chair waiting and bored so was surfing the web, and I asked my dentist my review was not there on yelp anymore from his practice. He said yea they called him to sign up and when he said he wasn't interested, the removed all the good reviews about his practice and left only the bad reviews and left one good review. Yelp is a scam!

I go above and beyond to write detailed reviews for business I frequent. In the best cases and the worst, I try to insure my balances are fair and honest. While "not logged in" to Yelp on a different browser, I was surprised when I didn't see a nice review I wrote for a business (and one I've been using for years). Lo and behold, it was listed in Yelps "not recommended" section. So I used the contact Yelp option and received a generic reply, that neither addressed my concern nor showed the least bit of concern. Since Yelp doesn't exist without users that write reviews for businesses that, having my honest review blocked because of some computer program and NO means for a human to intervene means I will no longer write business reviews on Yelp!

Accent is a Carrier dealer. Compressor failed in our heat pump less than a year ago. They tried to convince us that our Carrier was junk and we should buy a new unit. We resisted emphatically until they did us a "favor" and divulged to us that the unit was actually under warranty! Which brings us to today as our compressor has failed once again in less than a year. They say now that the part is not under warranty even though it's less than a year. Very unusual. And of course they are a adamant that they sell us a new $15k unit. Accent blames Carrier. Takes no responsibility for the pre mature failure and poor workmanship that contributed to the premature failure. They said they would elevate our concern to Carrier, but no response. There are ways for dealers to capitalize on "warrantable" parts through the OEM at the expense of their "valued" customers. I suspect that is routine with Accent. Keep your failed parts. Get a second opinion before spending 1 dime with Accent Heating and Cooling of Brush Prairie. You've been warned.

My company has been in business for over 2 years. I've had the same number of reviews since. I can't grow because I have 76 five star reviews in do not recommend. These five star reviews are from people who are very active on yelp with many friends and reviews. But if someone who creates an account that day with no picture or reviews or friends leaves a 1 star it stays on my page for 6 months, deeply affecting my business. We as business owners are not protected, whenever I question them about their algorithm, no one knows about it, no one can help us no one can explain why this is happening.

It is unethical that a company would allow posting of deranged people, making crazy and derogatory statements against reputable health care business individuals (doctors/dentists), without any scrutiny about the validity of the claims and postings. The surgeon who operated on me, has a couple of these "unhappy with life" woman who want to look like Angeline Jolie when they are old and no plastic surgeon can perform the miracle! Yelp facilitate these "freedom of speech" claims. Yelp keep calling for business -who would want to pay for this type of service? Stay away from YELP and do not give credit to what seems "outrageous" reviews.

Yelp is such a scam. Yelp claimed we would get lots of calls-we got 2. Now no one in account services, including our business rep, Jenna, will take our call. On hold with customer service for 30 min. Only got automated response to my emails-a real person will not contact you. What a scam rip off! Another rep, Ivan, says his department can't help-big surprise. Ivan, gave me another number that left me on hold for another 30 min.

Yelp will post any review before doing any verification, by the time they get to it the damage is already done.

I own a campground in New York state, a women from Washington state gave me a one star rating complaing that there is an "evergreen speedway" nearby where the sounds of the engines and smell of exhaust filters into the camp. Evergreen speedway is located in washington, thousands of miles away, they are not writing about my campground i contacted the reviewer to no avail i also called yelp help line and they didn't care and were not removing the post. The man was extremely rude saying they have freedom of speech. Insisting the reviewer has the right to say whatever they think. I reported it to yelp also and they emailed me saying it can take a few days to look into it. So in the mean time the bad review sits there, who wants to camp at a noisy campground? They also hid 5 five star reviews from my page..