Yelp.com

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I did not put the page up for [redacted] /Art StudioI wish to remain privateBecause our son added the page, I did not know the terms and agreements and I wish to have the page removedThe consumer has rights, the small business owner has rights as wellI wish to take down my page.Sincerely, [redacted]

Hi [redacted] Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] We are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaign. To be clear, while the goal of advertising on Yelp is... to drive more traffic to the business page, which may ultimately result in more customers, it is important to keep in mind that results are not guaranteed. When advertising with a Cost Per Click program, you were electing to pay every time a user clicks on your ad impression. You were also paying for an enhanced profile (which included features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow), featured video, and call tracking. It looks like your advertising campaign was terminated on May 23, 2016.We've forwarded your message to the appropriate parties for their consideration. That said, it appears at this time you are responsible for the remaining balance of $423.42 for advertising services delivered May 1 - 23, 2016.Regards,***Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because Yelp lured me in using deceptive and unfair marketing practicesIt was anything but clear that the advertising would continue past the promotional period I was lured in based on a claim of free advertisements I received no notification once the promotional credit ran out I was only notified once I had accumulated an alleged $80+ bill I had initially responded to an email that stated " [redacted] , last chance to claim $in free Yelp Ads" Now Yelp is trying to charge me big money for these so-called "free" ads Furthermore, I did not have a single person contact me based on the Yelp advertising, and I have no way to verify that any consumers actually clicked on the link to my website I believe this promotion is a bait-and-switch scam, designed to lure unsuspecting business owners in and then charge them before there is a chance to cancel Business owners have no way of knowing that their promotional credit has expired until they receive the first bill I believe that Yelp should void the outstanding invoice, and discontinue these misleading practices Sincerely, [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/11/16) */ Hi [redacted] , Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding regarding the reservation you made We forwarded your message to the appropriate party, and it looks like my colleague Betty contacted you on November and As you may recall from your correspondence with her, the refund has been processed and should be available to you within the next several business days If you have any further questions regarding your refund, please respond directly to Betty's email, and she'd be happy to assist you further Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2016/01/05) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for The [redacted] We first want to make sure you know that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are treatedBusinesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertiseWe understand there are some misconceptions about this, so we invite you to visit http://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq and http://officialblog.yelp.com/2013/05/no-yelp-doesnt-extort-small-businesses-see-...⇄ to learn more You also expressed concern with the recommendation softwareAs you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable contentThe recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured, and looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp It's important to note that the software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviewsYou wrote, "We want our not recommended Yelp reviews to be posted and part of our rating system," but please understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewHowever, the system is not static reviews may become recommended or not recommended over time as the system continues to make decisions based on a variety of factors To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US You also expressed concern with a negative reviewIt looks like you are referring to the review by [redacted] C, as you've recently written in about this reviewAs you may recall, two of [redacted] C's reviews of The [redacted] Company have been removed because they fall outside our Content GuidelinesHowever, [redacted] C's most recent review of The [redacted] Company doesn't appear to violate our Content Guidelines so we're leaving it upIf a review appears to reflect the personal experience and opinions of the reviewer, it is our policy to allow the user to stand by his or her review Finally, if you no longer wish to be contacted by our Sales team, please let us know Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/11/12) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for [redacted] Center You expressed concern with [redacted] R's reviewIt looks like you reported this review to Yelp on the same day you filed this Revdex.com complaintAs you may recall from the message you've received from the Yelp Support team, we've removed the review by [redacted] R because it falls outside our Content Guidelines Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Hi [redacted] ,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] .You expressed concern with a reviewIt looks like you are referring to [redacted] review, which you previously reportedWe have taken a second look at this review but, after careful consideration, we reached the same conclusion as before and are unable to remove the reviewIf a review appears to reflect the reviewer’s personal experiences and opinions, it is our policy to let the user stand behind his or her review.In some situations, business owners may want to message the reviewer privately, or post a public response to clarify any misunderstandingsYou can access these features using our free accounts for business owners ( [redacted] ), and you can find more information about how to respond to reviews here: [redacted] These decisions aren’t always easy, but please know we looked at this review closely before reaching our decision.Regards,***Yelp Inc

Hi ***,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for i.dgym.It looks like you were previously signed up for the slideshow feature, which allowed you to set the order of your photos in a slideshowIt appears you are no longer enrolled in this feature, so the order in which photos appear on your business page (including the main photo) is determined by different factors, such as votes from the community and how recently the photo was takenWe also automatically disperse any available videos of the business throughout the photos.If you come across content that you feel may violate Yelp's Content Guidelines ( [redacted] ), please let our moderators know by reporting itYou can do so by finding the content in question, clicking the flag icon on the website or the More Options/Overflow Menu (dots) on the appYou'll need to be logged into your account to report content.To learn more, please visit: [redacted] While reporting content doesn't guarantee that it'll be removed, our team looks at every inquiry and carefully evaluates the content against our guidelinesPhotos that represent a more unique personal experience may be removed from the business’s photo gallery but still appear alongside the user’s review if they’ve written oneEach case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was receivedRegards,***Yelp Inc

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:there's no way I received $2,100.00 worth of clicks and did not received not one customer from your advertising, it feels like a big scam your salesman assured me it wouldn't go over $200 00 because I told her I really couldn't afford to spend any money but she was persistent and we she told me not only do you have to worry about your budget your going to get customers because when people click on yelp they are going to shop with you, and with in that month remind you the month is not even over yet and I get a bill for $2,100.00, l truly feel as if it's a scam I feel like someone is getting people to click on the business owners sites to drive up the charge,you have to be either rich and just don't care or pretty naive.Sincerely,Dominique [redacted]

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meSincerely, [redacted] ***

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/08/28) */ Hi [redacted] , Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns We first want to be clear that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are treatedBusinesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertiseWe understand there are some misconceptions about this, so we invite you to visit http://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq and http://officialblog.yelp.com/2013/05/no-yelp-doesnt-extort-small-businesses-see-...⇄ to learn more If a review is not appearing on the main Yelp listing of a business, it would be for one of three reasons: the review is currently not recommended by Yelp's automated recommendation software (which affects both positive and negative reviews); the review was found to be in violation of our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service and has been manually removed by the Yelp Support team; or the user elected to remove the review him/herself If a review is brought to the attention of the Yelp Support team and is found to fall outside our Content Guidelines, the Yelp Support team [redacted] take appropriate action, such as removing the reviewThat said, please note the action that the Yelp Support team takes is separate from actions taken by Yelp's automated recommendation softwareIf a review is not recommended, that does not necessarily mean it is in violation of our guidelines In this case, it looks like your review of [redacted] is currently not recommendedAs you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable contentThe recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured, and looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on YelpEven though it inevitably affects legitimate reviews from time to time and misses some fake ones, too, it helps protect the integrity of the site both for consumers (who [redacted] be less likely to be led astray by bogus reviews) and business owners (who [redacted] spend less time worrying about whether their competitors are writing negative reviews about them) The software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviewsIt's also important to note that if a specific review isn't currently recommended, users can still find it at the bottom of the Yelp listing or on the user's profile pageYou asked that we restore your review, but please understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewHowever, the system is not static reviews may become recommended or not recommended over time as the system continues to make decisions based on a variety of factors To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2016/01/19) */ Hi [redacted] , Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns On our end, it looks like [redacted] sent you emails on December 30, and on January 4, 6, and 14, 2016, but perhaps some of his messages ended up in your spam folderAccording to our records, your voucher for BellaTude Hair Salon was refunded on 1/4/to your AMEXWe suggest looking back through your records to verify that the money was refunded to your account Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: YELP published rating to my business Sincerely, [redacted]

Hi ***,Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] It sounds like you have some concerns about our recommendation softwareAs you may have read, we use automated software to recommend reviews, with the goal of showcasing the ones that best reflect the opinions of the Yelp communityThe rest are posted below and don’t factor into the business’s overall star ratingThe software does what it can with the information at hand, and regularly revisits each review as it learns moreAs a result, different reviews might be recommended on different daysHowever, because our recommendation software is automated, the Yelp Support team cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewYou can see reviews that aren't currently recommended by clicking on the link at the bottom of each business page.Additionally, while we understand your concerns, we want to make sure you are clear that federal law bars lawsuits against websites like Yelp for the decisions they make about which reviews to post or removeSee Carafano vMetrosplashcomInc., F3d (9th Cir2003); Zeran vAmerica Online, Inc., F.3d (4th Cir1997); Barrett vRosenthal, Cal4th (Cal2006).For more information about recommended reviews, please visit our Support Center: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_ReviewsRegards,***Yelp Inc

So far I didn't receive anything to resolve my complaint but an invitation to call them I'm out of the country and unable to respond back to the business I will call them on August 2nd when I'm back in US Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 6, 2015/09/23) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] You expressed concern with [redacted] R's review of your businessThe review has been evaluated by the Yelp Support team and left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelinesYou claim that this review is "false"; however, Yelp does not take sides in factual disputesRather, if a review appears to reflect the personal experience and opinions of the reviewer, it is our policy to allow the user to stand by his/her review You also expressed concern with the photo [redacted] R posted to your business pageWe have removed this photo because it falls outside our Content Guidelines Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 8, 2015/09/29) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Yelp is for customers or potential customers to review businessesIf you review her "updated review" she clearly stated no intention of being a customer and also clearly states her intentions of bartering, not a method of payment I offer [redacted] has shown Yelp a clear view of her lack of ethics and morals by posting that trumped up photo and this review that is a tantrum she is having because I refuse to trade a $pair of shoes for her "art"This business is 50% veteran ownedIs this how Yelp feels veteran business owners should be treated? No leaving those lies and that tantrum up on your website is Yelp providing a venue for libelous statementsIf you are going to provide a venue for people to complain, you should make them aware of the legal ramifications of their actions (and you should be aware of the legal ramifications of your inaction) What I also find interesting is how this trite review is recommended, but a star review I received from a customer is notYou all are intentionally creating a bad vision of my business on your site because you are not giving a clear and completely factual calculation / reviewAren't you all being sued by several people for this already? I want the review removed and I want this person banned from any further harassment towards myself and my companyYour guidelines allow a person to complain about a company that won't barter with them in 2015, a company that does not list that as a legitimate form of payment? This person has blatantly states no intentions of being a paying customer [redacted] of [redacted] , [redacted] has stalked me /my company for a year since I declined her bartering offer last year and she made my life a living [redacted] for almost two monthsShe is allowed to update her review after having NO business dealings with me except rude and threatening emails and you're allowing this? You all are just as immature and disgusting as she is if you allow this sort of behavior from a child throwing a tantrum to prevail Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 10, 2015/10/07) */ Hi ***, Thank you for your response We wanted to let you know that after further evaluation, we have removed this review by [redacted] R because it falls outside our Content Guidelines Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Final Consumer Response / [redacted] (2000, 12, 2015/10/08) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) Review was removed as stated by the Yelp representative

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/07/28) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] You expressed concern with the recommendation softwareAs you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable contentThe recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measuredEven though it inevitably affects legitimate reviews from time to time and misses some fake ones, too, it helps protect the integrity of the site both for consumers (who will be less likely to be led astray by bogus reviews) and business owners (who will spend less time worrying about whether their competitors are writing negative reviews about them) It's important to note that the software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviewsPlease also understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewHowever, the system is not static reviews may become recommended or not recommended over time as the system continues to make decisions based on a variety of factors To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2015/07/30) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Yelp keep telling us the software is the one who choose which review should be on top This is unfair and not legitimate I want them to show our good reviews as recomended Customers look for the good ones as I told I am loosing business because yelp is insisting in keep only bad ones and the good that customers made the check in on our store they can't publish as recommended? They can keep the bad ones but must recommend the good ones if they can't do this so the software is not useful and unfair If they can't recomend the good ones I don't have other option than sue yelp ,and ask for money I lost for all this time they are recommending only bad reviews Thank you, [redacted] Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 11, 2015/08/17) */ Hi ***, Thank you for your response It sounds as though you don't accept our explanation of the recommendation software, but we can only stand by our previous statementsYelp's recommendation software (which affects both positive and negative reviews) is an automated algorithm that attempts to weed out less reliable reviews while showcasing more reliable onesThis means that when reviews are posted to your listing, not all of them will make the cutWe acknowledge that even some legitimate reviews will not be recommended, but we still believe that the software as a whole makes our site more trustworthy and useful to consumers You have again asked that we recommend the reviews that are not currently recommended, but as indicated in our prior response, the recommendation software is automated to help avoid the potential for human bias inherent in individual decision-makingWe cannot reverse the software's decisions, either to suppress an active review or to restore one that isn't recommendedBut once again, the system is not static reviews may come and go as the recommendation software picks up new information Additionally, while we understand your concerns, we want to make sure you are clear that federal law bars lawsuits against websites like Yelp for the decisions they make about which reviews to post or removeSee Carafano vMetrosplashcomInc., F3d (9th Cir2003); Zeran vAmerica Online, Inc., F.3d (4th Cir1997); Barrett vRosenthal, Cal4th (Cal2006) We do understand the recommendation software can be frustrating at times, and your feedback is appreciatedWhen it comes down to it, all review sites face the same challenge: how to identify fake reviews among the many millions of legitimate reviewsIt's no easy task, and there is always room for improvementWe hope to be able to continually improve on this issue Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2016/01/05) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns We first want to make sure you know that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are treatedBusinesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertiseWe understand there are some misconceptions about this, so we invite you to visit http://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq and http://officialblog.yelp.com/2013/05/no-yelp-doesnt-extort-small-businesses-see-...⇄ to learn more If a review is not appearing on the main Yelp listing of a business, it would be for one of three reasons: the review is currently not recommended by Yelp's automated recommendation software (which affects both positive and negative reviews); the review was found to be in violation of our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service and has been manually removed by the Yelp Support team; or the user elected to remove the review him/herself If a review is brought to the attention of the Yelp Support team and is found to fall outside our Content Guidelines, the Yelp Support team will take appropriate action, such as removing the reviewThat said, please note the action that the Yelp Support team takes is separate from actions taken by Yelp's automated recommendation softwareIf a review is not recommended, that does not necessarily mean it is in violation of our guidelines As you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable contentThe recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured, and looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp It's important to note that the software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviewsPlease also understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a reviewHowever, the system is not static reviews may become recommended or not recommended over time as the system continues to make decisions based on a variety of factors To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 6, 2015/10/26) */ Hi ***, Thank you for writingWe are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Jewelry You expressed concern with [redacted] A's review of your businessIt looks like the user may have edited her review after you flagged it [redacted] A's current review has been evaluated by the Yelp Support team and left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelinesYou claim that the review is "inaccurate"; however, Yelp does not take sides in factual disputesRather, if a review appears to reflect the personal experience and opinions of the reviewer, it is our policy to allow the user to stand by his/her review Regards, [redacted] Yelp Inc