Yelp Warning-Don't Trust Yelp Reviews; Consumers-Don't be Fooled and Don't Trust a Business Based on Yelp Reviews! (((Redacted))) California

 While I agree with you in principle, I find it hard to believe that YELP has "Cost people their lives". As with ANY review it MUST be taken worth a grain of salt. Which is to say that reviews in general are either fabricated or out right LIES!!!! AS someone who runs a business I can tell you from my own experiences that even if you do an OUTSTANDING job, most people do not CARE enough to leave a POSITIVE review. When you deal with NEGATIVE reviews more often then not the consumer has placed a negative review IN ANGER. Meaning that THEY are the ones that have been told NO for whatever reason and THEY get online and give a negative review BECAUSE they didn't get their way. So the review system is inherently FLAWED!!! Most positive reviews are PAID FOR and most negative reviews are outright fabrications designed SOLELY to make the poster look like a better victim and to paint the business in the worst light possible. So personally I avoid review based businesses. I prefer to go in and GIVE A BUSINESS A CHANCE!!!!

Just because 1000 ppl leave a negative review doesn't mean ALL of those 1000 reviews are TRUE!!! I prefer to let the business PROVE how good it is!! Also I don't make a mountain out of a molehill. I understand that sometimes a business CANNOT do what I want. Be it for policy reasons or whatever. I try and show COMPASSION because I KNOW how hard their job is. There is a level of SELF ENTITLEMENT that the American Consumer has developed over the years. Pretty much from the 1980's onward. Its STARTED with the ME generation. The "I DESERVE" crowd, and has continued to s****.>

All in all, if YOU the individual place THAT MUCH importance on "reviews" then YOU the PERSON need to get out more and experience the world. Sitting at home browsing pages of other ppl complaining is just a sickness that is cured by going out and INTERACTING with your fellow Americans. Once again, I AGREE with you in principle because YELP does remove negative posts as long as YOU PAY THEM!!!! YELP has a nice racket going that will one day crash around them BECAUSE of how they edit the REAL complaints.