Nine years ago, online review site Yelp began bestowing “Elite” status upon certain reviewers, rewarding them — sometimes literally, with free swag — for their frequent write-ups and their dedication to the site. While it’s arguably a positive thing for Yelp to recognize certain users, it may be time for the site to reconsider how it runs the whole Elite program. [More]
yelp
Yelp’s Video Feature Is Now Live, So You Can Show Exactly What You Mean By “Ear-Splitting Music”
By 7.29.14
If a picture is worth a thousand words — which it is, I just cashed in a picture yesterday — then a video must be even more valuable, right? So thinketh Yelp, as it says that it’s previously announced video feature is now ready for users who want to add short clips to their reviews. [More]
Restaurant Turns Yelper’s Lame Abortion Joke Into Fundraiser For Domestic Violence Crisis Line
By 7.24.14
Just like the rest of the Internet, Yelp is not immune to idiots who pepper their “reviews” with boorish, sexist statements that are probably intended to be funny. Most businesses would simply ignore this sort of non-feedback, but a restaurant in Portland (the one to the upper-left) saw a chance to turn a cheap abortion-based semi-joke into a worthwhile cause. [More]
Is Yelp Holding Positive Reviews Back When Restaurants Don’t Advertise? Nope
By 6.4.14
For more than five years now, we’ve reported on business owners’ allegations that review site Yelp makes shakedown calls, threatening to hide negative reviews if businesses pay up for advertising, and promising to hide positive ones if they do. A Toronto restaurant is just the latest business to make such claims, and took the allegations to that city’s subreddit. Only there’s no real proof. [More]
Is It Wrong For A Restaurant To Tell Diners To Remove Google Glass?
By 5.27.14
The culture war (more of a slap-fight) over where and when it’s okay to sport Google Glass continues. A Manhattan restaurant is the latest to get caught up in the fracas after it asked a customer to remove her Glass device while dining, resulting in a burst of negative reviews from those who think the eatery crossed a line… and a backlash from those who aren’t impressed with the headgear and don’t see why anyone would wear one to dinner. [More]
Yelp Adding Videos To Reviews To Put A Face To “Worst Falafel Ever” Rants
By 5.22.14
When you’re looking for a restaurant — or a dry cleaner, or plumber, or prison — and checking out Yelp on your mobile device, you’ve surely said to yourself, “If only I could watch video of this Yelper’s completely reasoned and not at all reactionary 1-star review!” Well, you’re wish may be granted with the news that the crowdsourced review site is adding video reviews to its mobile apps. [More]
Yelp’s Controversial Business Tactics Contribute To 2,000 Complaints Received by FTC
By 4.4.14
Consumers head to Yelp to provide and/or peruse the praise and criticism left by other users about local businesses. But the tables have turned a bit with thousands of people taking their complaints about Yelp and its business practices to federal regulators. [More]
Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern Suggests “Crowdsourced Expertise” Over Generic Yelp Reviews
By 3.10.14
Andrew Zimmern, chef and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, has never held back his feelings about crowdsourced review site Yelp, once calling it a “tremendous forum for a bunch of uninformed morons to take down restaurants.” It’s all well and good to slam the site, but what are people to do when they’re looking for insight on where to eat? [More]
3 Tips To Writing A Yelp Restaurant Review That Is Worth A Read
By 2.25.14
As helpful as crowdsourced review sites like Yelp can be, not every write-up is of use to a consumer trying to figure out whether a restaurant is worth the trip. Sometimes it’s because the review is too vague (“The menu wasn’t amazing” is one I come across too often). Other times it’s too specific (“The napkins didn’t match the table cloths! Never going back!”). And many reviewers tend to let their emotions get the best of them, giving slightly subpar meals a single star or throwing a restaurant a 5-star rating without really thinking about what that score implies. [More]
Homophobe Restaurant Owner Shouldn’t Be Surprised His Eatery Now Touted As “Best Gay Club” On Yelp
By 2.10.14
If a local restaurant owner goes on local TV to talk about how he hates gay people and doesn’t want them as customers, it’s not a shock that people will get angry and boycott, protest, petition… the usual stuff. But in the age of Yelp, that owner should probably also expect to find that his business is now being written up online as the “best gay club” around. [More]
Chef Apologizes For Calling Yelper “Mentally Ill Raging Alcoholic”
By 1.30.14
Oh Yelp, thou art a ceaseless font of stories about restaurant customers overreacting to bad meals and service and the chefs who make headlines by flipping the f&@! out on social media about a review that most people would probably have ignored to begin with. [More]
Court Orders Yelp To Fork Over Anonymous Reviewers’ Identities In Carpet Cleaner Case
By 1.10.14
You might remember, if you cast your mind back to last May, the case of a carpet cleaner who was perturbed by some negative reviews on his business’ Yelp page that he claims were written by competitors or other ne’er-do-wells who weren’t actual customers of his business. Yelp has been fighting to keep those reviewers anonymous, but it appears a court just put the kibosh on that fight. [More]
Creepy Or Empowering?: App That Lets Ladies Anonymously Rate Very Non-Anonymous Guys
By 12.18.13
UPDATE: A spokesperson from Lulu responded to Consumerist’s inquiry as to why a girl would see a guy she doesn’t know showing up in the app. It turns out there are men who sign up with the intention of offering themselves up to be rated, and don’t mind who sees them. [More]
What If Yelp Had Halloween Trick-Or-Treat Reviews?
By 10.23.13
First of all, let me just say that it’s a darn good thing we don’t live in a world where houses are subject to Yelp reviews for Trick-Or-Treating purposes (yet). But it’s still pretty funny to think about all the possibilities for hilarious, cranky and otherwise informative reviews if that were the reality. [More]
How To Make Sure Your Yelp Restaurant Reviews Aren’t Completely Worthless
By 10.2.13
While authorities in New York concern themselves with the legal issues involved with businesses that post fake online reviews on Yelp and other sites, some are asking a more important question: Is there any real worth to crowd-source restaurant reviews? [More]
New York A.G. Investigation Uncovers 19 Companies That Faked Positive Yelp Reviews
By 9.24.13
New York’s Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman offered up a doozy of an accomplishment yesterday, revealing that 19 companies had agreed to pay fines for writing fake online reviews for their businesses, and will be shelling out more than $350,000 in penalties. And of course, since the practice of churning out false reviews is called “astroturfing,” the year-long investigation run by Schneiderman was called “Operation Clean Turf.” [More]
Yelpers Divided On Recent Management Change At Los Pollos Hermanos
By 9.16.13
As you may have heard, Albuquerque-based fried chicken chain Los Pollos Hermanos has recently undergone a change in management after the departure of longtime company figurehead Gustavo “Gus” Fring, and some shakeups at corporate parent, Madrigal Elektromotoren GmbH. Now some Yelp reviewers claim the restaurant hasn’t stopped dishing out some addictive eats, while others say it just isn’t the same anymore. In related Albuquerque news, folks seem pleased so far with the new owners of the A1A car wash across town. [More]
Yelp Sues Law Firm Over Allegedly Bogus Reviews
By 9.12.13
The folks at Yelp have decided to get tough with what they believe are businesses that post fake reviews on the site in order to appeal to customers or to counteract genuine, negative feedback from actual customers. The company has sued a small San Diego-based bankruptcy law firm, alleging that it filled its profile with false, positive reviews. [More]
