Yelpers are now extorting products and services from small businesses in exchange for not posting negative reviews.
I got involved with Yelp and populated my business page with info about our business, and for a while, I got great reviews. Then one day, many of the great reviews disappeared, and a one point review appeared that was exceptionally mean spirited and vindictive. The review quoted people by name, but the names were none of the names of my employees past or present.
After some time, I discovered that other business owners have accused Yelp staffers of writing negative reviews and deleting positive ones. I am a victim.
ONE STEP FURTHER
Then one night I received a call from an unhappy customer. He had called the night before and we did not answer the phone. We closed 15 mins early because it was more than just a quiet evening, it was entirely without business. So we closed early, and he called and we were gone. No biggie.
This customer then says that he noticed that we have a few bad reviews on Yelp. And if we did not compensate him for his trouble, with free food, then he was going to post another bad review on our business.
I was speechless. This was outright extortion. I know who this person is, a young person who had visited us three times in the past. But pursuing this was just not worth my time.
I have heard of members of the Yelp Elite squad politely telling business owners that if they host an "open bar for Elite members" night, that this could result in good reviews. But I never imagined that an individual would take liberty to extort businesses on his own.
Yelp is a good idea gone bad.
Yelp needs to attone for the behaviour of it's favored flock.
We need to get the word out. Yelp Sucks
www.yelpextortion.com
