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You read a couple dozen reviews on Yelp or Trip Advisor for a property and you will readily discover which reviews are accurate and which posters have an axe to grind.
I do NOT find Yelp to be all that accurate. However, it is the most widely used and can help you find a place in a remote town.
The problem that I see with Yelp over the years is that several of my friends in the business have been approached by Yelpers seeking "special deals" for positive reviews, a kind of legalized extortion.
I've heard of outright extortionist schemes that made the news for both sites, which is truly sickening, especially considering that many smaller establishments are dependent on sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor for business. I'm a top/Amex reviewer on Tripadvisor with multiple badges and many dozens of helpful votes. I've been approached by a couple of owners, whose establishments I left bad reviews for, apologizing to me and offering refunds and vouchers. Though they never asked me to write a new, more positive review for their offers, I felt that a reasonable person could imply that such was expected and, so, have always rejected those offers just to steer clear of any ethical issues with the site.
I use yelp over tripadvisor because I MUST be able to edit reviews, I'm a chronic editor. Tripadvisor does not allow editing and yelp does.
Restaurants change and one's perspective on them changes as one goes to more of them over time. Also it's easy to add new businesses on yelp without any fuss. Just did it today along with a review.
The inability to edit reviews is a major downside of using Tripadvisor. I'd even appreciate it if they had a timed edit process, where you'd only be able to edit within the first ten minutes after writing a review. That would be better than nothing.
I use Yelp and TripAdvisor mostly to locate options, not to base whether or not to go somewhere on the reviews. Reviews are interesting in some cases and may give me an idea of some specifics, but taste being what it is, I don't base my decision to patronize a place solely on others' reviews. I look at it is potentially useful information, nothing more.
I do the same with Yelp to an extent. I'll browse Yelp when traveling/searching for a place to eat, etc., simply because I've found that it's more likely that an establishment will be listed on Yelp vs. Tripadvisor. Case in point: I've gone through the trouble of writing the first review or creating a page for more than a few establishments on Tripadvisor, while these same establishments had literally dozens of reviews on Yelp. In that sense, Yelp is far superior to Tripadvisor; still, even in those cases, I give greater weight to those reviewers with multiple reviews to their names over reviewers with only one or two reviews.
I am in the process of opening a business and created a yelp profile with my hours, address, and a few pictures. I am not yet open. About a week ago a one-star review was posted claiming that my food was greasy and salty and I was rude and arrogant, again I have not conducted a single transaction yet. I flagged the review, this is the response I received: "We rely on community engagement to help keep Yelp useful, and although we didn’t agree that this content should come down, we appreciate you bringing it to our attention."
The profile that left the review had no previous reviews or activity on Yelp, and as I'm not yet open there is no possibility of this review being authentic.. Why would Yelp refuse to take it down? Has anyone out there had similar experiences?
Probably a competitor. Not much you can do, except do everything you can to make your customers happy.
I find that, at least in my area, Yelp is much more heavily used than Trip Advisor.
I've been a Yelp Elite for years, and have never been propositioned to write a positive review. I've also never had the experience where an establishment offered me any enticements or incentives to reconsider my review if they felt it was less positive than they'd like. I HAVE had businesses send me irate messages for not giving their establishment a 5-star review or for leveling any criticism whatsoever. I'm a fair reviewer, and seldom give places negative reviews, unless I am specifically treated rudely. But even giving places the benefit of the doubt, there are business owners who will harass you if you don't give them the five full stars...even if your review is complementary.
I also had what I can only assume was a representative from a competing business lambast me once for giving a coffee shop a positive review, and reported my review to yelp as a shill. Yelp's community manager, who knows me personally, as well as my posting record, ignored the blatantly false report.
Probably a competitor. Not much you can do, except do everything you can to make your customers happy.
I put this poster, back when this occurred, in contact with his/her city's Yelp community manager, who used to be my city's Yelp community manager. I'm hopeful that the issue was cleared up, as it was never revisited. When someone gets a negative review before their establishment has even opened, it's pretty easily observable as a fraudulent review.
I'm sorry this happened to you OP. I don't have any helpful suggestions to offer, but I can say this. I am an avid review reader on Yelp and Amazon especially, and seeing negative reviews of things doesn't necessarily deter me from using a business or product. I read the content of the review(s) and try to determine if the review is bogus or applicable to the way I would use the product. Some people are just idiots, and even if they have genuinely purchased the item or patronized the business, their expectations are out of line, thus they will never be satisfied. So I take reviews with a grain of salt, and I believe many other users do as well. Negative reviews aren't dealbreakers in my book. Now if there are many, especially if they say similar things, then I will look closely at the complaints users are making.
Negative reviews have never deterred me from trying a place I wanted to try, either, unless they were myriad and consistent, and by reputable posters with numerous quality reviews under their belts. Also, if they are specific. Fake reviews are generally vague/generic, and easy enough to pick out and report.
And if I saw a negative review of a place that wasn't even open, yet, as in the OP's situation, I'd certainly disregard those blatant shenanigans.
Negative reviews have never deterred me from trying a place I wanted to try, either, unless they were myriad and consistent, and by reputable posters with numerous quality reviews under their belts. Also, if they are specific. Fake reviews are generally vague/generic, and easy enough to pick out and report.
And if I saw a negative review of a place that wasn't even open, yet, as in the OP's situation, I'd certainly disregard those blatant shenanigans.
This. I write reviews for good & bad experiences, and I do take into consideration other reviews and the reviewer's rank.
I've heard of outright extortionist schemes that made the news for both sites, which is truly sickening, especially considering that many smaller establishments are dependent on sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor for business. I'm a top/Amex reviewer on Tripadvisor with multiple badges and many dozens of helpful votes. I've been approached by a couple of owners, whose establishments I left bad reviews for, apologizing to me and offering refunds and vouchers. Though they never asked me to write a new, more positive review for their offers, I felt that a reasonable person could imply that such was expected and, so, have always rejected those offers just to steer clear of any ethical issues with the site.
I am convinced that there are individuals out there who are PAID to post favorable of Yelp and other review websites. I have never been approached personally but I suspect that a couple of my acquaintances have been writing paid reviews.
If I am unhappy with my experiences at a restaurant or hotel, I generally write a letter to the general manager of the business. Generally, you get almost instant response and the issue gets resolved.
I will say that I am EXTREMELY tired of being approached at check-in and check-out by employees asking me to rank them "5 out of 5" when I receive a survey from their parent company. My response has been "do you think you EARNED 5 out of 5."
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As for those who doubt that there are paid reviewers, I posted an unfavorable review of a Las Vegas restaurant. Within an hour, I had this guy attacking me saying that I was "unfamiliar with the cuisine" and that I ordered "the wrong food." I noticed that this poster would respond to ANY criticism on any message board or review site. After a while, it became rather humorous.
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