My Rotten Experiences with Yelp. Small businesses need real help

 

I am writing the conclusion of my Yelp experience with a prayer for something similar but much better to be created.   Small businesses can use a service like Yelp with a fair system of rating.  The fallowing conversations will illuminate my asking for something better.  Right now, it seems Yelp probably exists because of the dark side.  They lie, extort, manipulate 5-star reviews by hiding them.  While filtering positive reviews, they allow negative reviews to exist and scar people for life.  If these reviews were honest and justified it would not be the death of a business.  A business can benefit in knowing about customer disatisfaction and then improve.  Yelp is very expensive for new businesses.  They will call frequently with incentives but a small struggling business will pay about 400 dollars per month.  That is not based on clicks per day.  Yelp has been known to manufacture the precise number of clicks needed to charge that amount of money.      

Conversation one.  My arm is sore from being twisted by Yelp salespeople wanting me to experience their new and improved ways of driving people to my website.   I must seem like “fresh meat“ to them.   They can’t show me how this works without getting my credit card number first.   I did not give them my credit card number.   They got impatient, “we have been talking for an hour now” and they want you to talk. Then they have some kind of funnel speech that will help your business   I have been with Yelp since 2012. I have heard all their campaigns.  

They haven’t changed.  Two different people told me that I could stop advertising at any time if it did not seem to work for me.   I told them that I had tried to stop it when I realized there was no traffic coming to my site.  I went through the process of turning it off on my end.  They failed to tell me they also must turn it off on their end. I ran up a bill because I believed that my ad program was shut down.  They went ahead and charged my credit card. It is hard to be a small business.  Pirates, lies, tricks and shenanigans are waiting to rob us and all they must do is have your card number. 

I have had wonderful conversations with salespeople.  They seem genuine enough and they complimented my business.  Then in the twinkling of an eye the deal turns south.   There is a video on YouTube called “Billion Dollar Bully”.   It is about Yelp.  Here Is that link:  https://youtu.be/9OsbLQ8pUOk?si=bo3L_UM0s5uybZzh

This documentary goes into detail and spells out how they operate.  It seems that small businesses would be aware of this tricky service and not choose them.   The sad truth is that it is hard to find free advertising and any advertising is better than none. If you have a chance to say a little bit about your business and share a website and contact information it does help.

Yelp said that they would create my first add campaign and give me a 300-dollar discount. They still made 150 dollars as the amount charged was 450.  I had believed it would be less.  If there was something like Yelp where they would charge much less, how wonderful.  Yelp wants your blood like a vampire. They are lethal.  They could easily turn into heroes to new and struggling businesses.  There is so much competition among small businesses.  It is not unusual for a competing business to write a bad review.  It is simple enough to pay a yelp reviewer to use your service.  When I suspected this, the representative at Yelp said, there is no way to remove a bad review. There is an elite class or professional class of Yelp reviewers called the Elites. If your business gets reviewed by an Elite or two you will know it.  They say things in their review that do not ring true.  I called one of my one star reviewers and offered her a refund or a re-do.  She did not want either one of those.  She did add to her negative review that I would not leave her alone.  Anyone can leave a review, but they must have really engaged in a service you offer. But even that has been disputed.  There really is no hard and fast rules at Yelp. 

A Billon Dolar Bully has some winning strategies about dealing with yelp.  They suggest getting congress to pass some laws that will clarify Yelp is not getting rich as a reviewer, most of their money is made from advertising.   They target small businesses, and they can smash a new business by arranging  negative reviews. That is extortion. That is just another day at Yelp for a salesperson.  Be ware, salespeople are very expendible too just like a small vulnerable business.  Yelp pressures their staff to preform well and be sales person of the month,  and if they don't produce,  they are dropped.  It is a harsh dog eat dog environment.  Watch that video if you are a customer.  You might be on Yelp and not know it.  Anyone can add your busienss and you cannot remove it.