Yelp to Welp

[Dozyproductions]

I've been noticing that a lot of places that have 2 to 3 stars in the San Diego areas perhaps should deserve at least a 4 star rating. I've gone to restaurants and the food was amazing and so was the service. I then look at yelp to review the place and see that recent and the overwhelming reviews show the place to be sub par. I know that everyone has their preference but this has been a long time trend I've been noticing and now I've read these last two stories. Just thought I'd pass it along since it's pretty interesting.

http://uproxx.com/webculture/2014/09/a-san-francisco-restaurant-has-stepped-up-to-the-plate-to-wage-war-on-yelp/

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Yelp-can-give-paying-clients-better-ratings-5731200.php

Foot notes: Supposedly Yelp is using their huge user base to extort business owners.

[BraveUlysses]

My favorite part of yelp is people using it to review fucking shitty chain restaurants like Famous Daves or McD.

[ST1G]

More in-depth about the bad reviews place

http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/09/why-this-tiny-italian-restaurant-gives-a-discount-for-bad-yelp-reviews/

[flyboyx]

since i travel all the time, i use this service at least once a week.

they say they don't manipulate reviews but it is total bull shit. i can't tell you how many times i have written a good or bad review for a company and it never actually shows up when you go to check. oh, its there on your account but joe schmoe never sees it. so...yah, they don't alter the revew, they just never show them to anyone. dirty cock suckers! when ever yelp asks me to rate them (which is about every 6 months, i always give them one star and tear them a new asshole.

i love to eat at mom and pop places, so this is the only really viable opion. i use it but it sucks. i just recognize it shortcomings.

[markseven]

Yelp is a pay to play deal.

[kronus]

i've been working there since 2010 and I've never seen any extortion on our part.

there have, however, been many class action lawsuits regarding extortion that have repeatedly gotten dismissed. there have been people that call businesses and claim to be Yelp and try to scam them out of money. there have been "reputation management firms" that try to make sock puppet accounts and take businesses' money in return for attempting to change rankings. they're being located and removed continuously. there are a lot of business owners with a bone to pick here. I'd advise that you take pretty much anything you read with a large grain of salt.

flyboy, your reviews are appreciated.

[e34john]

I don't even read any reviews on that site. And the people on there are the cheapest people on earth. Its always "best food I've ever had, great service". But $8 dollars for a sandwich is too much $, 2 stars.

And I see the most complainers on there. "They wouldn't give me my discount because I forgot my coupon at home" "My salad was wrong, I asked for my money back but they wouldn't refund me unless I returned the salad" WTF is wrong with people.

[Eric]

Kronus, you work for yelp or a restaurant?

[Balleristic31]

Trip advisor is another useful free review service like yelp, although not as widespread.

[Herr Faust Schinken]

theres a mexican place in town that has terrible yelp reviews , like 2-2 1/2 stars, but its amazing everyone that eats there says its amazing. turns out most reviews are bitching that its too spicy

[Dozyproductions]

Kronus: thanks for your input since you're coming from the other side. Any way you'd think that any of this stuff could possibly be going around? I've had all reviews posted but I do remember a person having posted a negative review with multiple updates about a shop, who screwed him over with his bike, and it being deleted several times.