Yelp.com

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: its garbage!  How on earth can I have  17 un-recommened reviews, all of which are raving about the company & the only one you seem to want to show is the bad one.  In addition, usually my clients do become friends as I have just helped them through a stressful time and they are tickled.  So your responses as to why my reviews aren't showing up and factored into my total star count, in my opinion is a load of crap!  
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I am waiting on [redacted] at Yelp to reply to my email since I have asked her to call me so I can pay the $570 and be done with this nightmare. I have kept track of my weekly reports from YELP during advertising, and there was no change in leads or exposure, so basically, I have been paying a LOT of money for nothing. I was over promised a lot of things and now that I signed on the dotted line; things were under delivered. I never once received the service that I was verbally told that I would, and more times than none, I wait up to a week for a reply to my concerns. You expect your victims to hold up their end of the bargain, and we expect Yelp to follow through with what was verbally promised. A verbal contract also has value, or should!I have kept all emails to Yelp and from Yelp showing my dissatisfaction and not once was my dissatisfaction remedied. I am very surprised that Yelp is still in business based on the severity of complaints. Just on Revdex.com, Yelp has 98% negative claims addressing the same issue's that I am. I wonder how long it will take this time to get an answer to my most recent email that I have sent to Yelp.
 
Sincerely,[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 me. Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/07) */
Hi [redacted] and [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted]
You expressed concern with the recommendation software. As you may have...

read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable content. The 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 reviews. Please also understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a review. However, 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 some negative reviews. It looks like you are referring to the reviews by [redacted] B and [redacted] K. We wanted to let you know that we have closed [redacted] K's account for violations of our Terms of Service. With regards to [redacted] B's review, the review has been evaluated by the Yelp Support team and left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. You claim that "This person wasn't even a customer"; however, Yelp does not take sides in factual disputes. Rather, 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 or her review.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Hello [redacted],
Before posting our complaint on Revdex.com, we had contacted Yelp to correct this issue, however we were told from customer service and management that Yelp only displays posts that are obviously a real customer in that they've posted a few other reviews on different companies previously, otherwise they aren't deemed relable or real. So we researched and found that several of the people who left good posts about us that are hidden have previously left reviews for other businesses and some of the bad reviews had never left or only once left reviews on other businesses. All we ask is that you display all reviews unless proven unfounded so that it is fair for all businesses because you are hurting many good businesses because of slander being allowed and good reviews being hidden. That its automated doesn't make sense and is unacceptable.
We still get calls from Yelp trying to get us to pay for advertisement and we won't be signing up unless your unfair practices cease beforehand. Other businesses have posted videos stating that once they started paying for your services then you revealed all of their reviews. This is wrong and unethical!!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/12/21) */
Hi [redacted] and [redacted],
Thank you for writing back.
While the recommendation software looks for people who are intrinsically motivated to share the wide range of rich and detailed experiences they have every day with local businesses, it's important to keep in mind that the software looks at many different signals when determining whether or not to recommend a review.
Yelp's recommendation software is an automated algorithm that attempts to weed out less reliable reviews while showcasing more reliable ones. This means that when reviews are posted to your listing, not all of them will make the cut. We 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.
As indicated in our prior response, the recommendation software is automated to help avoid the potential for human bias inherent in individual decision-making: we cannot reverse the software's decisions, either to suppress an active review or to restore one that isn't recommended. But once again, the system is not static reviews may come and go as the recommendation software picks up new information.
We do understand the recommendation software can be frustrating at times, and your feedback is appreciated. When it comes down to it, all review sites face the same challenge: how to identify fake reviews among the many millions of legitimate reviews. It's no easy task, and there is always room for improvement. We hope to be able to continually improve on this issue.
We also 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 treated. Businesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertise. We 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.
Finally, if you no longer wish to receive communication from our Sales team, please let us know.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted].As you noted, you redeemed a $300 promotional ad credit. To redeem the $300 credit towards Yelp ads, you were required to sign up for our Cost Per...

Click (CPC) advertising campaign and put a credit card on file. You set your Cost Per Click monthly budget at $300. Once the promotion runs out, advertising continues until you stop your ads through your Yelp Business Account.Your advertising program was a self-serve program, which means that ads can only be turned off by the business through the Yelp Business Account. If you only wanted to use your $300 promotion, you would have needed to log in and end the program once that credit was used. In Step 3 of your ad setup there were Q&A's on the right side of the page explaining that you could stop your ads any time through the Yelp for Business Owners site: "Can I stop any time? Yes. There's no commitment or obligation. Just come back to the Yelp for Business Owners site and stop your ads. You will be billed at the beginning of the next month for any clicks you bought before you cancelled."Below is a more detailed description of how the promotion was applied:August 18 - 31, 2016- You received 86 ad clicks which cost a total of $128.45- $128.45 of your $300 credit was used and you paid $0September 1 - 26, 2016- You received 100 ad clicks which cost a total of $269.80- You had $171.55 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was partially used in August- You paid $98.25 for advertising services delivered in SeptemberYou noted that you were tracking your ad spend in your Yelp Business Account. In the Yelp Ads tab of your account, you can view a breakdown of how many ad clicks you received each month and your ad spend for each month. If a breakdown for each month was not visible on the default Yelp Ads page, there are dropdown options where you can view this information. Additionally, information about how much of your promotional credit had been applied is available in the Billing section of your Yelp Business Account.You ended your advertising program on September 26, 2016. We've forwarded your message to the appropriate parties for their consideration, but advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms you agreed to, so at this time it appears we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:  If a business can show proof that these are legitimate clients, Yelp's "system" should not be able to override.  The only reason many of MY customers went to [redacted] in the first place (so, in essence, I sent YOU potential customers when I told them I am on Yelp!) is because ... they asked where they should write a review and I told sent them to [redacted] - only to be "Not Recommended."  There is no rhyme or reason to which reviews are rejected - not number of reviews submitted by the reviewer or content.  None of this happened until I received the phone call from [redacted] soliciting advertising.  I know what [redacted] SAYS, but I also know what myself, as many others across the internet, have experienced.  It is extortion, no matter how you define it.Sincerely,[redacted]

Hi [redacted],Thank you for the additional feedback. We have forwarded your concerns to the appropriate parties.You wrote, "I am waiting on [redacted] at Yelp to reply to my email since I have asked her to call me so I can pay the $570." It appears you wrote to [redacted] on August 15, asking that she call you back on August 16. As you may recall, another account manager, [redacted], responded to you via email on August 16 to let you know that our Account Management team no longer has access to your account since your advertising program has been cancelled. It also looks like [redacted] let you know that you can clear the balance by calling our Finance team at ([redacted]We also want to address your comment, "I have kept track of my weekly reports from YELP during advertising, and there was no change in leads or exposure, so basically, I have been paying a LOT of money for nothing." While we are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaign, according to our records, it appears your business page saw an increase in user views during the months you were advertising. User Views is a measure of how many times your Yelp page was accessed or viewed on the Yelp website, mobile website, and mobile apps. Your business was not advertising during January through April 2016 and your page saw 25 user views in January, 30 in February, 34 in March, and 30 in April. Your business began advertising in May 2016, and the number of user views increased to 105 during that month. You also had 70 user views in June and 135 in July. You can view this information on the Activity page of your Business Account ([redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Yelp is a bunch of double talking LIARS. I was signed back up because yelp said it wanted to do the right thing. When yelp com called me. I want to be refunded 100% of all money I was scammed out of by Yelp.com.Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:Sincerely,Brian [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/06) */
Hi [redacted],
Thanks for writing; we are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns.
In researching your complaint, it appears you've talked to an account manager since filing this complaint, and Yelp has agreed to reduce the early...

termination fee for your advertising program, so it is $300 rather than $600.
We're sorry to see you go, and wish you the best of luck moving forward.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/10/21) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing regarding your advertising program for HVAC Services 4 You. We are still looking into this and will respond with additional information soon. We appreciate your patience in the...

meantime.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

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 me.
 
Your "software recommendation" is not right. It's so strange that my reviews are "recommended" at first  but later on when the business complains about my reviews then you move it. 
You have double standards and it isn't fair. I changed the wording in my reviews and it still goes to the "not recommended" reviews. 
Either you are getting something from the business to be unfair like this, or you are discriminating my reviews because I'm hispanic. 
 
Your "software system " is just a lie because there is someone manipulating the reviews on the other side. 
Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/02) */
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 an impressions-based program, you are paying for the delivery of a certain number of targeted ad impressions, in your case 450 ad impressions per month.
That said, we have forwarded your message to our Account Management team, and as it appears your advertising program should have been terminated as of September 30, 2015, we will be refunding you for the charges for October and are waiving the early termination fee.
We hope you will continue to take advantage of the free features available to you on your business account to engage with the Yelp community. For guidance, visit https://biz.yelp.com/support/using_business_account
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/11/12) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: While Yelp pays lip service to balanced and fair postings, the fact remains that Yelp attracts people with emotional problems who take out their anger and frustrations with arbitrary, largely factious reviews.Sincerely,Mac[redacted]

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted].You wrote, "Unbeknownst to me my name and psychotherapy business is posted on Yelp as if it's the yellow pages. [...]  I told them I never agreed to...

advertise with them." To clarify, having a business page on Yelp is free. We license basic business information from third party data providers who gather this type of information from public records and other sources. We also get business information from our users, who are helpful enough to correct the info we have, or let us know about a new spot that just opened down the street.You asked for your business to be removed from Yelp. As you may recall from your previous correspondence with my colleague [redacted], we don't remove business information. We believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses, and this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the law.With regards to your concern with a 1-star review, it looks like you are referring to the review by [redacted]. We 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 review. If 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.We also want to address your comment, "There should be a disclaimer or rebuttal area." With a free Business Account, you can privately message the user or publicly comment on the review.You can send private messages or post public responses to reviews of your business by logging in to your Business Account at [redacted], clicking on the "Reviews" link in the left-hand sidebar, and then clicking "Send Private Message" or "Add Public Comment" below the specific review. Please note that in order to message users or publicly comment using your Business Account, we require business owners to upload a photo of themselves. Once you've uploaded the photo and it has been approved by our staff, this function will be enabled on your account.For guidance on using your Business Account, check out [redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

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 are electing to pay every time a user clicks on your ad impression. You are also paying for an enhanced profile, which includes features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow. It appears you've been in touch with our account management team, and that you have recently signed a new advertising agreement to switch over to an enhanced profile only beginning May 1, 2017.We will forward your feedback to the appropriate parties for their consideration. It also looks like a manager, [redacted], reached out to you on April 13, 2017. Please feel free to reach out to [redacted] if have further questions or concerns.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi Jared,Thank you for your feedback.We want to reiterate that you signed up for an advertising program with a $300 monthly Cost Per Click budget (or a $10 per day average) plus enhanced profile features which cost an additional $75 per month (or a $2.50 per day average), for total charges of up to $375 per month. This monthly maximum and the fact that the program would continue until cancelled was stated in the "Welcome to Yelp Advertising: Your Ads Are Now Live!" email we sent you after you signed up for this program.We also want to reiterate that results are not guaranteed. You signed up for and received Cost Per Click ads and enhanced profile features, so we will not be able to waive the outstanding balance. Regards,HelenYelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/24) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns.
You expressed concern that your review of Discover Card is not currently recommended. As you may have read, we use automated software...

developed by our engineers to recommend reviews from the Yelp community, with the goal of showcasing more reliable content. The recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured, and it 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 reviews. You asked that we "Return the aforementioned review to 'recommended' status," but please understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a review. However, 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 /* (3000, 7, 2015/04/27) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Unfortunately, I find Yelp's response to be both disappointing and disingenuous. The mere fact that their software algorithm, approximately 72 hours later, found my 100% fact-based review that could save a potential consumer thousands of dollars annually to be unworthy of being recommended, reveals just how flawed their algorithm is. Furthermore, to suggest that they do not have direct access to the database that their software interfaces with is being disingenuous. For example, when a review is found to contain inappropriate content by a human, someone at Yelp. with appropriate access rights, can then access the database directly and remove such content. Therefore, their refusal to humanly intervene in this case is a matter of choice, not capability.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/05/07) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
You wrote, "when a review is found to contain inappropriate content by a human, someone at Yelp. with appropriate access rights, can then access the database directly and remove such content. Therefore, their refusal to humanly intervene in this case is a matter of choice, not capability." 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 review. That said, please note the action that the Yelp Support team takes against reviews that fall outside our guidelines is separate from actions taken by Yelp's automated recommendation software.
It sounds as though you don't accept our explanation of the recommendation software, but we can only stand by our previous statements. Yelp's recommendation software is an automated algorithm that attempts to weed out less reliable reviews while showcasing more reliable ones. This means that when reviews are posted to a business listing, not all of them will make the cut. We 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.
As indicated in our prior response, the recommendation software is automated to help avoid the potential for human bias inherent in individual decision-making: we cannot reverse the software's decisions, either to suppress an active review or to restore one that isn't recommended. But once again, the system is not static reviews may come and go as the recommendation software picks up new information.
We do understand the recommendation software can be frustrating at times, and your feedback is appreciated. When it comes down to it, all review sites face the same challenge: how to identify fake reviews among the many millions of legitimate reviews. It's no easy task, and there is always room for improvement. We hope to be able to continually improve on this issue.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/05/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The Yelp representative,in her most recent response ,now admits that they are capable of accessing the database directly, yet they still refuse to intervene in this matter where it is obvious that their software algorithm has failed to properly rate a 100% fact-based review that could potentially save consumers up to thousands of dollars annually.

Hi [redacted]Thank you for your feedback.We're sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising program, and would like to provide some clarification about how our self-serve advertising programs work.Our records indicate that you redeemed a $300 promotional ad credit. To redeem the $300 credit towards Yelp ads, you were required to sign up for our Cost Per Click (CPC) advertising campaign and put a credit card on file. You set your Cost Per Click monthly budget at $150, and also signed up for our enhanced profile features, which cost $75 per month. Once the promotion runs out, advertising continues until you stop your ads through your Yelp for Business Owners Account.Your advertising program was a self-serve program, which means that ads can only be turned off by the business through the Yelp for Business Owners Account. You wrote, "Yelp didn't give me an opportunity to turn off the Yelp Ads before I was charged," but if you only wanted to use your $300 promotion, you would have needed to log in and end the program once that credit was used. In Step 3 of your ad setup there were Q&A's on the right side of the page explaining that you could stop your ads any time through the Yelp for Business Owners site: "Can I stop any time? Yes. There's no commitment or obligation. Just come back to the Yelp for Business Owners site and stop your ads. You will be billed at the beginning of the next month for any clicks you bought before you cancelled."Below is a more detailed description of the advertising services you received and how the promotion was applied:September 5 - 30, 2016- You received 32 ad clicks which cost a total of $125.27- Your prorated Call To Action, Slideshow, and Remove Competitor Ads features cost $62.64- $187.91 of your $300 credit was used and you paid $0October 2016- You received 34 ad clicks which cost a total of $150- Your Call To Action, Slideshow, and Remove Competitor Ads features cost $75- You had $112.09 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was partially used in September- You paid $112.91 for advertising services delivered in October 2016.November 1 - 3, 2016- You received 1 ad click which cost a total of $5.18- Your prorated Call To Action, Slideshow, and Remove Competitor Ads features cost $5.29- You had 0 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was used in September and October- The balance of $10.47 for advertising services delivered in November 2016 was waived.You can view a breakdown of how many ad clicks you received by logging in to your Yelp for Business Owners Account at [redacted]/ and then clicking on the Yelp Ads tab. Information about how much of your promotional credit was applied each month is available in the Billing tab of your account.You ended your advertising program on November 3, 2016. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms you agreed to, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/10/01) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for [redacted].
It look like the business page for [redacted] has already been marked as closed, and while we...

don't remove business pages in cases like this, closed businesses eventually stop appearing in search results over time.
If you believe a review, photo or video violates Yelp's Content Guidelines (http://www.yelp.com/guidelines), you can report the content by clicking the flag icon next to it. You'll need to be logged in to your account in order to view the flag icon.
For instructions on how to report content, please visit:
http://www.yelp-support.com/article/How-do-I-report-a-review?l=en_US.
If you would like to add a new business to Yelp, you can do so here: https://biz.yelp.com/signup_business/new
Once you've completed this, a verification message will be sent to the email address you provided. Your submission will still need to be evaluated by our moderators; if it is approved you'll receive another message letting you know it can be claimed.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/18) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Property Management.
You wrote, "When the 6 month contract was over they asked us if we wanted to...

extend the contract. We did not receive sufficient business from Yelp, and cancelled the contract. Shortly after that our Yelp rating went from 5 stars to 1 star." We want to assure you that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are treated. Businesses are not punished if they don't advertise, nor are businesses awarded with preferential treatment with regards to their reviews if they do advertise. We 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 software. As you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable content. The recommendation software establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured. It's important to note that the software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviews. You asked that we "either show ALL of the reviews, or NONE of the reviews," but please understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a review. However, 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 /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/22) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
You state "As you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable content." Yet several of the reviews you recommend are 3 years old! Three year old reviews are NOT reliable. Businesses change. Personnel change. A business gets a negative review and responds appropriately to improve its service. The business then gets positive reviews. Yet Yelp continues to show only the negative reviews. This is NOT "more reliable content".
We understand Yelp's position that businesses' rating are not impacted by current or past contracts with Yelp. For Yelp to say anything else would open Yelp up to many more lawsuits than are currently being conducted. Rather than respond with "the party line", I challenge Yelp to look specifically at our account that we have complained about. After reviewing the comments - both highlighted and buried then explain the "more reliable content".
We have positive reviews that are short, long, detailed, general in nature, local, at distance, from first-time Yelp users, and from Yelp veterans. Yet there is a systematic burying of positive reviews and a systematic raising of negative reviews, both old and new. The challenge is on take the time out and look at the account!!
Finally, Yelp can change their website layout so that someone visiting the site can more easily view ALL reviews. If Yelp wants to 'recommend' certain reviews as being more relevant even if they are THREE years old that is one thing. But then at least allow the viewer to scroll further down the SAME PAGE to view all of the other (unrecommended) reviews.
Right now a visitor has to click on one link that is not prominently displayed, and is more grayed out than anything. Then only a few comments come up, and Yelp prioritizes negative ones over positive ones. Then a visitor has to scroll down to the bottom a second time to find another nondescript, grayed-out link to finally get to ALL of the reviews.
Yelp can make this much easier. Highlight the reviews you want to highlight, and list alllll of the other ones further down the same page. Let the visitor discern which ones they want to read and believe.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/07/02) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
You expressed concern that "several of the reviews you recommend are 3 years old!" Currently there is no expiration date for reviews on Yelp, but please keep in mind that users can sort the Recommended Reviews to show the most recent reviews first.
You also wrote, "I challenge Yelp to look specifically at our account that we have complained about. After reviewing the comments - both highlighted and buried then explain the 'more reliable content.'" Please note we don't go into detail as to why specific reviews are or aren't recommended. We intentionally make the recommendation software difficult to reverse engineer otherwise, we would be overrun by reviews written by people hoping to game the system. So while it may be tough to decipher how the recommendation software works, the rules are actually the same for every business and every review.
We do understand the recommendation software can be frustrating at times, and your feedback is appreciated. When it comes down to it, all review sites face the same challenge: how to identify fake reviews among the many millions of legitimate reviews. It's no easy task, and there is always room for improvement. We hope to be able to continually improve on this issue.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.