Yelp.com

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I am sorry but you were on recording of when you sold me on bussineess plan and did not deliver product. I was promised one thing and received another. I asked to be reimbursed for for false advertising. Talked to manager and did nothing about my concerns nor fix the issue. You [redacted] flat out scared me along with thousands others. You should not make promises you can't keep and I will not pay for your mistakes. You clearly have training issues on front end sales. You can't just say what you want over phone to sign someone up and then deliver a different service. Also threw out the campaign you were supposed to communicate with me to help make changes if needed. No one ever did. You just took my money and run. I want my full money back or we will see each other in court.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
The response spouts off a lot of facts that were already acknowledged by us in our complaint but fails to address the fact that clearly there was something wrong with the system and it was never our intent to complete participation in the PCP.  It also fails to acknowledge our attempt in August to cancel the PCP.
Further it disregards the advantage YELP takes by taking over 60 days before business owners will even see the charges appear on their credit card statement, an additional 3 weeks in our case, plenty of time to rack up more charges.
The last email we received in regard to the PCP was the cancellation email, so obviously it is advantageous for YELP to not send any other emails regarding the PCP, especially when their account was being charged.
There comes a point when using practices to your advantage becomes deceptive and this response does not allay any feeling of being deceived. 
Sincerely,
Mark [redacted]

Hi Mr. [redacted]Thank you for your response.We appreciate your feedback regarding your sales representative and advertising program, and have forwarded your concerns to the appropriate parties. That being said, we want to reiterate that results not guaranteed. As noted in Section VI (Yelp's Disclaimer of Warranties) of the contract you signed, "Yelp specifically disclaims all warranties and guarantees regarding (I) the performance, quality and results of the ad programs, including ad click rates, conversions, and any user-generated content that appears in your ad programs."As advertising services were delivered in accordance with your advertising agreement, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [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 [redacted]'s review of your business. I understand you find the language used in the review by [redacted] offensive and are frustrated...

that we have left the review up.Evaluating reviews for inappropriate content isn’t easy and we recognize that each person has a different tolerance for strong language. Generally, what we don’t tolerate on our site are serious threats and hate speech. We do have a fairly high bar for colorful language and try to allow users to tell their story in their own words, whether or not they had a positive experience with a business, and regardless of our own personal tastes. We hope you can understand why we ultimately didn’t conclude that the review you reported violates our terms.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your response.You wrote, "This review is fake, fraudulent and was written by an individual under the age of 18." Please be assured that we've evaluated the content and are allowing the user to stand behind their review. Additionally, we were unable to verify your claims that this account violates our Terms of Service.With regards to your comment, "They habitually remove negative reviews from businesses that advertise with them and remove "positive" reviews from those who do not advertise through them," we want to reiterate that with respect to reviews, paying businesses have absolutely no advantage. The automated recommendation software does not distinguish between advertisers and free listings, and the revenue side of our business operates independently of the content side of our business, just as a newspaper might put a firewall between their advertising and reporting functions.It also 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 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 a review that isn’t currently recommended. This also means (and I can say this with 100% certainty) that we cannot manually manipulate the recommendation software to favor an advertiser or punish a non-advertiser. But once again, the system is not static -- reviews may come and go as the software picks up new information.We recognize that there have been news stories alleging that Yelp manipulates reviews and ratings to reward advertisers, yet these allegations are not based in fact. Please consider:1. Third party research (such as [redacted] has debunked this conspiracy.2. Courts have rejected the conspiracy due to the lack of any fact-based evidence.3. A simple search across the site proves that non-advertisers often have excellent 4 and 5-star ratings while many advertisers have low ratings.For more information about this issue, please visit [redacted]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 the most reliable and useful content amongst the millions of submitted 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 appreciate your feedback regarding business owner and user photos. It's important to note here that there is a difference between a user account on Yelp, and a business account. A user account is meant for personal, non-commercial purposes, and is used to participate in the Yelp community (write reviews, post in Talk forums, etc). A business account is used to manage a listing on Yelp. In order to take full advantage of the features of a business account (ie, the ability to message reviewers), we do require that a business owner upload a photo to their profile. And just as there is a difference in the accounts, the guidelines for acceptable photos differ as well.We require business owners to use a photo showing their face for two main reasons. The first reason is for your benefit as a business owner. We believe your messages will be received more warmly if there is not an attempt to disguise your appearance, because we have found that users tend to respond more favorably when they can attach a face to name.  In our experience, most reviewers appreciate feedback from business owners and sometimes re-write their reviews if they feel the business owner went out of their way to respond to their concerns (legitimate or not). The second reason is for the benefit of the reviewer. From a consumer perspective, a message from a business owner whose face can not clearly be seen may be perceived incorrectly. We believe customers respond more favorably when they can see who is contacting them.That said, we do realize that uploading a photo may not be for everyone, and we can respect that. But again, in order to take full advantage of your business account, we require a photo in which your whole face can be seen. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted]We understand that a negative review about an experience you don’t recognize is very frustrating. We have taken a second look at [redacted] 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.In some situations, business owners may want to message the reviewer privately, or post a public response to clarify any misunderstandings. You 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.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, 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: [redacted]Finally, you asked for your business to be removed from Yelp, but we actually don't remove business listing information. While some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the law. More importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your response.We wanted to let you know we've removed the review by[redacted] review of [redacted] because it falls outside our Content Guidelines.To address your question about how our content is monitored, we allow users to post reviews and photos, and rely on the Yelp community to report content that they believe is questionable. If a review violates our Content Guidelines [redacted]), then our Support team will remove it.Reviews on Yelp are ultimately the responsibility of each reviewer. To the extent that a review appears to reflect the personal opinion and experiences of the reviewer, we allow the reviewer to stand behind his or her review. That said, if you feel that something may violate our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service, we encourage you to let us know by reporting the content. We're happy to look at these on a per case basis.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your response.You wrote, "since you know I am the owner, how can you leave a review that complains about an owner but not with my name." Please be assured that we've evaluated the content of [redacted]., ItsMe S., and [redacted].'s reviews and are allowing the users to stand behind their reviews. We don't take sides on factual disputes, so we can only therefore reiterate what we previously communicated to you: if a review appears to reflect the user's personal experience and opinions, we allow the user to stand behind their review.It also sounds as though you still believe that Yelp manipulates reviews to favor advertisers. However, with respect to reviews, paying businesses have absolutely no advantage. The recommendation software does not distinguish between advertisers and free listings, and the revenue side of our business operates independently of the content side of our business, just as a newspaper might put a firewall between their advertising and reporting functions.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 recommendation 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 a review that isn’t currently recommended. This also means (and I can say this with 100% certainty) that we cannot manually manipulate the recommendation software to favor an advertiser or punish a non-advertiser. 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 the most reliable and useful content amongst the millions of submitted reviews. It's no easy task, and there is always room for improvement. We hope to be able to continually improve on this issue.Finally, you have again asked that your business listing be removed, but as previously stated, we don't remove business listing information. Yelp is allowed to publish business names and publicly available information about businesses under the well-established fair use doctrine, as well as First Amendment principles. Generally speaking, this means that we can display business names and trademarks "for purposes of comparison, criticism, point of reference, or any other such purpose." [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 appreciate your feedback, and have forwarded your message to the appropriate parties. It looks like you spoke with a manager, [redacted] on May 2, 2017, the day...

after you filed this Revdex.com complaint. As you may recall, we have refunded you $236.00 and are offering you a $300 promotional credit to your account for future advertising on Yelp.Please feel free to reach out to our Account Management team if you would like to use this new promotional credit and set up another advertising program. Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/16) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for [redacted] - Mazda.
You expressed concern with [redacted] B's review. We've taken another look at this review,...

but have reached the same conclusion as before and are leaving the review up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. You asked that we remove your name from this review, but please note that we do not have the ability to edit the content of reviews. Additionally, as you may recall from previous correspondence you've had with the Yelp Support team, we allow individuals such as business owners and service providers to be named in reviews describing a consumer interaction.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/17) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not accept this response because the review does violate their own terms. The review is offensive, mean spirited, isn't about the business, and is attacking me personally. All I do is work for [redacted] and am told what to do. I think it's ridiculous that it's even allowed up. Every person that I know that has read it thinks it should be taken down as well, meaning they've all flagged it. That's beside the point though because yelp is supposed to be used to review a business, not a person, and that's all this post is doing. He called me an "SOB", "an it", and that people shouldn't want to see me at work. I've had customers come in and tell me that they want to work with someone else based off that review. When the everything he said about me is directly related to my boss, who actually dealt with him, not me at all. I can't quit my job, but it's directly affecting how people interact with me and I think that's wrong. I want something to be done about this because I've been nothing but professional toward [redacted] and Yelp, but this is getting out of hand.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/12/22) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
Removing reviews is not something we take lightly, and we typically allow Yelpers to tell their own story in their own words as long as it relates to a firsthand consumer experience. We understand that you may be frustrated with our decision to keep [redacted] B's review up, but our position remains the same.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/21) */
Hi [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. You wrote, "We want the opportunity to prove that reviews are being made by our legitimate clients, and we want those reviews to show up on our page," 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
You also asked for your business to be removed from Yelp, but we actually don't remove business listing information. While some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the law. More importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I appreciate you taking the time to respond, however, we need some sort of action to be taken.
Your software is not applying the same removal criteria to each review. The rationale being, we have negative reviews currently showing up on our Yelp business page with no profile picture, only a few negative reviews and zero friends. While neutral and positive reviews from clients with professional business pictures and multiple reviews, are not showing up. Any positive or neutral reviews we have received have been removed by Yelp. This is a false representation of our business. It is especially frustrating that several of our clients' reviews that have been removed contain detailed information, including the name of our employees with whom our clients worked with; Yet, these reviews are still not being recommended. Furthermore, in one negative review, a client claims she is in the process of suing us, which is absolutely not true.
You claim the software is not static, and that reviews can shift as the software makes its decisions, however, the same four reviews have been shown on our page for weeks, while our positive reviews remain in the "not recommended" section. Apparently this is out of your control, which is bizarre since it is your software and your business.
It is disconcerting that we signed up for your services, but are now unable to terminate them in a way that removes our page from your website. If we cannot be fairly treated, then we want our business account removed from your website entirely, this includes any reviews posted in association with our business on our business page. Our business is being unfairly represented, whether or not recommended reviews are in your control, is unrelated to your ability to delete our account and all associated content displayed on our page. We understand that users have a right to their opinions, and that Yelp claims no direct responsibility for these reviews, but we also have a right to pursue the removal of defamatory representations of our business from your website.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2016/01/11) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
You wrote, "Your software is not applying the same removal criteria to each review." Please note that 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 don't go into detail as to why a review is or is not recommended, and 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.
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.
You also expressed concern with a negative review of your business. We assume you are referring to the review by Trudy Y. 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 wrote, "a client claims she is in the process of suing us, which is absolutely not true"; 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.
Finally, you have again asked that your business listing be removed, but as previously stated, we don't remove business listing information. Yelp is allowed to publish business names and publicly available information about businesses under the well-established fair use doctrine, as well as First Amendment principles. Generally speaking, this means that we can display business names and trademarks "for purposes of comparison, criticism, point of reference, or any other such purpose." See New Kids on the Block v. New America Pub., Inc., 971 F.2d 302, 306 (9th Cir. 1992).
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/14) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for HRT.
We appreciate your feedback regarding your interactions with our Sales team, and have forwarded your...

message to the appropriate parties.
We're 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 wrote, "She also informed me that my bill was to be $ 570 and some dollars, but $300 in free advertisement that brought my bill down to 370 something. I was Then informed that it would be $275 plus a $60 then $6 per A click." To clarify, our records indicate that you signed up for a packaged Cost Per Click advertising program with $60 monthly fixed costs plus up to $275 monthly variable costs, for a monthly maximum of $335. The monthly fixed costs are for your enhanced profile, which includes features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow. Your monthly cost per click budget cap is set at $275, which means you are only charged when someone clicked on your ad and you agreed to pay up to $275 a month for those ad clicks. If you do not reach your monthly budget cap, you will only be charged for the ad clicks you received. However, if you reach your monthly budget cap, we no longer deliver ads for your business for the remainder of the month so that you won't have to pay more than you agreed to.
We also want to clarify that the program you signed up for is a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) auction-based auto-bidding program, which means that you agreed to allow Yelp to set the bid price per click price to keep you competitive in the market. While you may have been given an estimated price per click, it's important to keep in mind that the price will fluctuate up or down depending on competition, relevance, and other factors.
Your advertising program also included a promotional offer which made you eligible to receive up to $300 in free Yelp ad clicks in the first full month of your advertising program (i.e. November). This $300 in free Yelp ad clicks was in addition to your $275 monthly cost per click budget cap for November.
Please note that your advertising program is billed in arrears. According to our records, you were charged $43.24 on November 1, 2015 for advertising services delivered from October 28 - 31, 2015. The $335 you were charged on December 1, 2015 was for advertising services delivered in November.
As advertising services are being delivered in accordance with your contract, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
All you did was say what customer service told me when I called in to find out what was going on. This does not cover the fact that your sales representative lied to me. I was tricked into believing something completely different. [redacted] told me $6 a click a minimum of $60 a maximum of 275. she also said it was $40 to start up it started in November. Why would I spend $40 for 3 days.. I have nothing other than to believe that this is a scam. Why would Anybody sign a contract not knowing an end amount or a cap.. I'm too small to do things wide open like that.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/12/23) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your additional feedback.
We want to reiterate that per the terms of the advertising agreement you signed, your advertising program included a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) auction-based auto-bidding program, which means the cost per click varied depending on factors such as competition and relevance, but it was always the lowest price possible to win the click. Additionally, per the terms of your contract, the monthly costs for your advertising program never exceeded $335 ($60 fixed costs for the enhanced profile plus up to $275 variable costs for your ad clicks).
We also want to clarify that the $43.24 you were charged on November 1, 2015 was for the 7 ad clicks you received from October 28 - 31, 2015 ($35.49) plus a prorated amount for your enhanced profile ($7.75). You can view a breakdown the number of ad clicks you received by logging in to your Yelp for Business Owners Account at https://biz.yelp.com/ and clicking on the "Yelp Ads" tab.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Complaint Response Date bumped because: Holiday
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/12/27) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
That still isn't what [redacted] Told me and now my clicks are up to $9.22.. I'm not looking for money back. I Honestly cannot afford this especially in the winter time being a Very small cleaning service. I even stressed that to [redacted] at the time she signed me up. I can't even afford the the payment to stop this. I feel used and now Financially scared. I trusted you being a big company. there is no limit... I wish I could post pictures on here bc even the emails she sent to me shows everything to have a limit and screenshot of how my click price keeps going up. It's a trick and you shouldn't be allow to do that. I had to even let my office help go bc it now not in the budget. I just want the payment waved so I can cancel. I'm not the one that lied.. I would have never done this if I knew the truth bc I know what my advertising budget is.

Hi [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: [redacted]You also expressed concern with [redacted] review. We understand that a negative review about an experience you don’t recognize is very frustrating.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.In some situations, business owners may want to message the reviewer privately, or post a public response to clarify any misunderstandings. It looks like this page has already been claimed by one of your colleagues. This person can access these features using our free accounts for business owners ([redacted]), and 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.Finally, you asked for your business to be removed from Yelp; however, we don't remove business information. While some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the law. More importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted]Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted]We first want to be clear 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 [redacted]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.[redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/30) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing.
We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business pages for [redacted] Boutique and [redacted] Dog Grooming.
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 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. Even 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 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 have again stated that a review on your business should be removed. We assumed you are referring to the review by [redacted] F as you have previously flagged it. You stated that "Yelp felt they were true," however, we don't take sides on factual disputes, so we can only therefore reiterate what we previously communicated to you: if a review appears to reflect the user's personal experience and opinions, we allow the user to stand behind their review.
Finally, you asked for your business to be removed from Yelp, but we actually don't remove business listing information. While some business owners might prefer to keep a lower profile, this kind of information is publicly available and its use is protected under the law. More importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/01) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This is the same thoughtless sarcastic reply over and over. A "mysterious" computer recommendation software or system is the blame. WHO (and let me be clear... who meaning what Yelp human being with a first and last name) has control over that system? Give me that Yelp employee's name and contact information. I would like to know why they cannot seem to gain control of the rogue computer system as you have mentioned; all the while, Yelp is wasting my time and money and preventing me from maintaining and growing my business.
[redacted], let me make myself very clear again; I have NO misconceptions of how Yelp is causing damage to my business. I have ZERO misconceptions of how Yelp is causing damage to my business. I hope that yields clarity to the haze you believe that I am in. I have kept track of my hours worked over the years after asking Yelp never to call me again to sell ad space, remove me and my businesses from the mailing lists, and to remove my business from the Yelp sites. What Yelp address do I send my invoice for reimbursement? Yelp has obstructed my ability to conduct business, get more customers. Despite my requests, Yelp continues to harass, continues to extort for ad space. I would not need what Yelp is offering in the form of "assistance" if I did not have misused my time managing the Yelp sites. I would have more time grow my business if it were not for Yelp. Still I am stalked by the constant phone calls from Yelp that pulls me away from gainfully running business and to constantly check the false review postings. Please remove ALL of the postings, positive and negative, and prevent my businesses from being posted. I do not want nor need Yelp's assistance in any way. Yelp is using its deep pockets of resources to impede progress of my small businesses.
[redacted], again, on Yelp's behalf you refer me to another "wonderful Yelp support resources that I didn't know I needed". NO THANK YOU. I do not wish to learn about the reviews because I do not want the Yelp reviews, positive or negative. I will go get my customers myself thank you.
Again, I have stated to remove my businesses from the Yelp sites. [redacted] your assumptions are incorrect. I am not referring to the review by [redacted] F. I want all postings pulled down and all visibility of my businesses removed from Yelp. It is you that is experiencing a misconception, not I. There is nothing Yelp has to offer that I want.
AND FINALLY [redacted], If you could be so kind as to send me a copy of law you are referring to. You may send it to me at [redacted]@lvgroomer.com.
And now... another 2 hours of my time wasted by Yelp! 2 hours I could have used getting customers.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 18, 2015/10/06) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing again.
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 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.
There are a number of reasons why a review might not be recommended. For example, the review may have been posted by a less established user, or it may seem like an unhelpful rant or rave. Others may appear to be fakes (like the ones we see originating from the same computer) and some may suggest a bias (like the ones written by a friend of the business owner). Other reviews may be real reviews from real customers who we just don't know much about and therefore can't recommend.
You also indicated you are still getting emails from Yelp. It sounds like you may be referring to our automated email notifications. To update your email notification preferences, log in to your business account at https://biz.yelp.com/, click "Account Settings" at the top of the page, and then click "Manage your email preferences." From there, check or uncheck the appropriate boxes, and then click "Save Settings." That said, if you are receiving emails directly from a Yelp salesperson, could you please copy and paste the entire email (including headers) and send it to us, so that we can look into this further?
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 22, 2015/10/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
[redacted],
The customer made statements that were absolutely untrue. How can you tell me that YOU think the statement is fair. You nor Yelp were here. I was. How can you justify supporting these types of false statements? How can you seriously expect me to accept that some computer in some room at Yelp has that much control? TAKE IT DOWN!

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/19) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for Pizza On Main.
We first want to clarify the difference between Yelp Ads and our natural search results. When...

a user is searching on Yelp for a business in a certain area, we do our best to provide that user with a Yelp Ad applicable to their search. Yelp Ads appear above the natural search results, as well as on competitors' business pages. The Yelp Ad is differentiated from the natural search results by an yellow border, and has the notation "Ad" in next to the business name.
Separate from Yelp Ads are Yelp's numbered search results, which have absolutely nothing to do with who is paying us. Yelp's natural search results algorithm is designed to provide the best results based on a number of different factors including review text, ratings, and number of reviews. While we can't guarantee specific results or business rankings, we are always working to improve our search tool so that we can deliver the most relevant local results to our users.
You also expressed concern with the photos associated with your menu. We appreciate you making us aware of this issue with your menu. Unfortunately this matching is determined automatically, although the results may update over time. We've also reported the issue to our Product team as we're constantly looking to improve the user experience.
With regards to your concern with the hours, it looks like the hours on your page have recently been updated to the following:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 8:30 pm
Fri 11:30 am - 9:30 pm
Sat 12:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Sun 12:00 pm - 8:30 pm
If these hours are incorrect, you can log into your account at biz.yelp.com and select Business Information from the left-hand sidebar to update your operating hours. Please note that any changes you make will still need to be approved by our moderators. You can also reply to this message with your current business hours.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],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 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 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.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi Hector,Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for Rios Overhead Door. Our records indicate you redeemed a $300 promotional ad credit on January 4, 2018. To redeem the $300 credit towards Yelp ads, you were...

required to sign up for our Cost Per Click (CPC) advertising campaign and put payment information on file. You signed up for a $750 monthly Cost Per Click budget (or a $25 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 $825 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 be turned off by the business at any time through the Yelp for Business Owners Account. During your ad setup there were Q&A's on the page explaining that you could stop your ads any time through the Yelp for Business Owners site.Additionally, after you signed up for your advertising program, we sent you an automated email that recapped your purchase and the details of your campaign, including that the payment method on file in your account will be charged monthly, up to a maximum of $825, and your programs will continue unless cancelled. Advertisers also have the option to opt in to receiving billing confirmation emails in the Account Settings section of their account. Below is a more detailed description of how the promotion was applied: January 4, 2018 – January 31, 2018- You received ad clicks which cost a total of $24.19- Your prorated enhanced profile features cost $66.97- $91.16 of your $300 credit was used and you paid $0February 2018- You received ad clicks which cost a total of $339.37- Your enhanced profile features cost $75.00- You had $208.84 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was used towards your January ads- $208.84 of your remaining $208.84 credit was used and you paid $205.53 for advertising services delivered in February.March 1, 2018- You received ad clicks which cost a total of $19.72- Your prorated enhanced profile features cost $1.96- You had 0 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was used towards your January and February ads- You are responsible for $21.68 for advertising services delivered in MarchYou can view ad click and billing information in the Yelp Ads and Billing tabs of your Yelp for Business Owners Account at [redacted]You ended your advertising program on March 1, 2018. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms [redacted] you agreed to, we will not be able to waive the outstanding balance of $21.68 for advertising services delivered in March. Once this amount is collected, you will not incur further charges. Thanks for understanding.Regards,HelenYelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising programs for [redacted].You expressed the belief that you were overcharged. To clarify, our records indicate that you signed two advertising agreements -- one for...

your [redacted] location, and one for your [redacted] location. It appears you signed an advertising agreement for your [redacted] location on April 26, 2016. This advertising program included $100 monthly fixed costs plus up to $475 monthly variable costs, for a monthly maximum of $575. The monthly fixed costs were for your enhanced profile, featured video, call tracking features. Your monthly cost per click budget cap was set at $475, which means you were charged when someone clicked on your ad and you agreed to pay up to $475 a month for those ad clicks. This program was terminated on July 31, 2016.It also looks like you signed an advertising agreement for your [redacted] location on April 29, 2016. This advertising program included $125 monthly fixed costs plus up to $275 monthly variable costs, for a monthly maximum of $400. The monthly fixed costs were for your enhanced profile, featured video, and call tracking features, and your monthly cost per click budget cap was set at $275. This advertising program was terminated on July 30, 2016.With regards to your comment, "YELLP INC fraudulently charged my credit card for $3,000 instead of $700," it appears you are referring to the $2,912.10 you were charged on August 22, 2016. This payment was for advertising services delivered from May 1, 2016 through July 31, 2016 for both of your locations. Your advertising program was billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for advertising services that were delivered in the previous month. It appears we were unable to successfully charge your card in June, July, and part of August, so the amount collect on August 22, 2016 was for the balance due for advertising services delivered in May, June, and July. The breakdown per month and location is as follows:$575 was due on June 1, 2016 for advertising services for your [redacted] location delivered in May 2016.$400 was due on June 1, 2016 for advertising services for your [redacted] location delivered in May 2016.$575 was due on July 1, 2016 for advertising services for your [redacted] location delivered in June 2016.$400 was due on July 1, 2016 for advertising services for your [redacted] location delivered in June 2016.$575 was due on August 1, 2016 for advertising services for your [redacted] location delivered in July 2016.$387.10 was due on August 1, 2016 for advertising services for your [redacted] location delivered from July 1 - 30, 2016.We also want to address your comment, "they falsely promised to feature my business at the very first page versus the seventh page where it was actually placed." To clarify, when a user is searching on Yelp for a business in a certain area, we do our best to provide that user with a Yelp Ad applicable to their search. Yelp Ads appear above the natural search results, as well as on your competitors' business pages. The Yelp Ad is differentiated from the natural search results by an orange border, and has the notation "Ad" in next to the business name. Please note that your ad is not guaranteed to show up every time you do a search. You bought a portion of the advertising space for your industry, so there are other advertisers that we must show as well. Sometimes you may see an ad for a different company, sometimes when conducting a search you may not see an ad at all.Separate from Yelp Ads are Yelp's numbered search results, which have absolutely nothing to do with who is paying us. Yelp's natural search results algorithm is designed to provide the best results based on a number of different factors including review text, ratings, and number of reviews. While we can't guarantee specific results or business rankings, we are always working to improve our search tool so that we can deliver the most relevant local results to our users.While we are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaigns, advertising services were delivered in accordance with your contracts. That being said, we have forwarded your feedback to the appropriate parties for their consideration.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your response. We appreciate your feedback.We want to reiterate that advertising services were delivered in accordance with the advertising agreement you signed.Your advertising program had a monthly maximum cost of $850 ($125 monthly fixed costs for your enhanced profile and featured video, plus up to $725 monthly variable costs for your cost per click ads). According to our records, you signed up for a cost-per-click auction-based auto-bidding program, which means that Yelp delivered a variable and unguaranteed number of ad impressions, and that you elected to pay every time a user clicked on your ad impression. With regards to the cost per click, as noted in your contract, you agreed to allow Yelp to set the bid price per click price to keep you competitive in the market. While your sales representative may have given you an estimated price per click, it's important to keep in mind that the price will fluctuate up or down depending on competition, relevance, and other factors. However, it will always be the lowest price possible to win the click.You also wrote, "no video was produced and no enhancements were made to the ads." The opportunity to create and display a video on your Yelp page was part of your advertising program, but this feature required some additional action from you. Yelp has partnered with the company [redacted], who films and edits the video. Our records indicate that we sent you an email with the subject line "Your Ads Are Live" on February 17, 2016. In this email, it stated that you would need to respond to an email from [redacted] in order to take advantage of the video feature: "Confirm Your Video: If you’ve signed on to receive a video, be sure to respond to the email from [redacted] — it’s the first step towards getting your video created and posted onto Yelp!" With regards to your comment, "no enhancements were made," if you are referring to your enhanced profile, this service was delivered. Your enhanced profile included features such as competitor ad removal, a Call To Action button, and a photo slideshow, but similar to the video, making the most of some of these features may have required additional action from you. If you had any questions about using these features, you were welcome to reach out to our account management team for further assistance.We also want to address your comment, "I also paid Yelp $525, the amount I was billed the first time." Your advertising program was billed in arrears, which means that we typically bill on the first of the month for advertising services that were delivered in the previous month. Thus, the $527.59 March 1, 2016 was for advertising services delivered from February 12 - 29, 2016. The remaining outstanding balance of $878.34 is for advertising services delivered in March 2016 and on April 1, 2016. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.