Yelp Lawsuits Allege Review Site Engaged In Extortion

[eeyore]

As an owner of a restaurant, I'm glad someone is taking on Yelp. As soon as our first review appeared on Yelp we started getting calls from them, wanting us to sign up for a paid account. The calls have continued for two years solid, and I've never signed up.

The only way that a business can have any control over their listing is by paying Yelp about $300/mo, giving the business owner the opportunity to delete bad reviews and highlight good ones. If you don't pay, you have no recourse over what Yelpers write on the site, right or wrong.

It is absolutely on the edge of extortion. Pay Yelp $300/mo or we'll let anyone say anything they want about your business without recourse.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/19/yelp-lawsuits-allege-revi_n_506339.html

SAN FRANCISCO — Yelp, one of the most popular Web sites that let people post opinions about restaurants, shops and local services, is being sued by several small businesses that claim they've been pressured to advertise on the site in exchange for getting negative reviews squashed.

Yelp denies the claims, but exactly what happened may never be clear. And regardless of what happens in court, the lawsuits could taint Yelp's reputation as a leader in online reviews.

Yelp has faced many complaints since it began letting consumers post reviews about local businesses ranging from all-you-can eat buffets to zip line operators six years ago. Often businesses have complained about how reviews on the site – positive or negative – can mysteriously disappear and reappear.

[Odin2005]

1. Paying a review site to remove bad reviews is bribery as far as I'm concerned.

If businesses can pay to have bad reviews deleted then the site is useless.

[msongs]

2. about as bad as posting phoney/negative reviews for punitive reasons nt

[Odin2005]

4. True.

[Mimosa]

3. Good topic, Eeyore!

$300 month extortion? Whoa, the mafia might charge that.

I caught on to Yelp's sleazy business model by reading posts by their employees who post about restaurants and shops in various cities. Like one guy appeared to be hitting the whole eastern seaboard and he would rave! about various restaurants.

So I lost interest in their site as a source of unbiased info for my city or any others.

[eeyore]

7. I'm often curious about the type of person who voluntarily reviews for Yelp...

Yelpers have their agendas, for sure. Some want to self promote as a "foodie", others seem to be in it just to find things to complain about. I never trust a bad review on Yelp, Citysearch or any of those sites. Some Yelpers are pretty thoughtful, others are complete jackasses who know nothing about the topic they are reviewing.

[canetoad]

5. That's nothing

but a digital Protection Racket.

[eeyore]

6. Exactly!

Reminds me of the good old days when businesses paid neighborhood thugs for "protection". Luckily my business has a 4.5 star rating with 50 reviews, so I haven't felt a need to buy into their extortion ring. I ignore the Yelp rep's calls every few weeks when he calls.

[eeyore]

8. kick

:kick: