Yelp.com

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your response.You have again stated that the review by **. is "fictitious" and should be removed. 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.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
It seems to me that you cover your bases so the client is going to pay no matter what you service you perform. 
Your language in the contract is confusing to a layperson such as myself. 
The language in your contract states:For Ad Programs that do not include a CPC program, Client may terminate the Purchase Order by providing written notice to Yelp’s Account Management team via email to [redacted] on or before the 15th day of the month in order for the Check-out Form to terminate at the end of that month. If Client provides written notice after the 15th day of the month, then the Check-out Form will terminate at the end of the following month. 
As I read it, with a notice of February 14th, the contract should then terminate at the end of February. You are charging me through March 15th? But in the fine print this is not for CPC, which turns out to be cost per click which is my contract. I took this to mean it was my contract and proceeded accordingly. I would not have had an issue with any of this if your service performed as it was sold by your salesperson.  I kept my end of the contract up by paying on time every month and waited until the end of the contract to expire – 1 year – and gave my termination request.
Your service however, did not do the same for me, uphold your end of the contract that is.
Furthermore, I had several people write glowing reviews about my dog training service.  Each and every one of them attended and graduated from my class and took their valuable time to write a nice review and your service denied them posting.  Why? I am guessing because they did not meet some algorithm you have set.  I had one gentleman write a bad review, and you had no problem letting his review stand.  I called in and spoke to someone and they looked up his history and said he writes mostly negative reviews for everyone.  How is it you don’t look at someone like this and curb his ability to hurt someone’s business as much as you curb the ability for the many reviews that were positive and help someone’s business?
I take my business name very serious and I offered the gentleman his money back but he chose not to accept this offer.  I did everything I could to make him happy but I couldn’t do that.  Yelp should review this and get rid of his negative comments since he is just out to hurt everyone but you don’t take that in consideration.  Where is that in your contract?
I wish you would reconsider your terms and conditions in my case.  I fulfilled my part of the bargain but I don’t believe you fulfilled yours.  Your business should be a win/win for all parties involved not a strongarm “gotcha” company that does business the hard way where the customer, me, is always wrong.
Sincerely,
Nora [redacted]

Hi Tony,Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for Advanced Appearance. Our records indicate you redeemed a $300 promotional ad credit on January 5, 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 set your Cost Per Click monthly budget at $450. You also signed up for enhanced profile features which cost an additional $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 be turned off by the business at any time through the Yelp for Business Owners 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. 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 $525, 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 5 - 31, 2018- You received ad clicks and enhanced profile features which cost a total of $449.18- $300 of your $300 credit was used and you paid $149.18February 2018- You received ad clicks and enhanced profile features which cost a total of $525.00- You had 0 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was used towards your January ads- You paid $525.00 for advertising services delivered in February.March 1 - 2, 2018- You received ad clicks and enhanced profile features which cost a total of $32.37- You are responsible for $32.37 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]Please note that your advertising program is 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 $525.00 you were charged on March 2, 2018 was for the advertising services you received in February 2018. Additionally, there is an outstanding balance of $32.37 that will be due April 1, 2018 for the advertising services you received from March 1 - 2, 2018. You ended your advertising program on March 2, 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 $32.37 for advertising services delivered in March. Once this amount is collected, you will not incur further charges. Thanks for understanding.Additionally, it looks like a member of our Customer Success team, Emma, has recently reached out to you by email and voicemail. If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to our Customer Success team at the phone number Emma provided you. Regards,HelenYelp Inc.

Hi Mardana,Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for Keep Clean and Carry On LLC.You wrote, "I have asked current clients to review us and the reviews are being filed under not recommended." Please note that we expressly...

advise businesses not to ask their customers for reviews since most businesses tend only to ask their happiest customers, not the unhappy ones. These self-selected reviews tell only part of the story, and we don’t think that’s fair to consumers. You can find more information here: [redacted] It's important to note that Yelp uses automated software to recommend the most helpful reviews from the Yelp community. The software looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp. Most of all, however, it's looking for people who are intrinsically motivated to share the wide range of rich and detailed experiences they have every day with local businesses (as opposed to people who were asked to write a review by a business owner). As a result, your best bet to get high quality and unbiased reviews about your business is to provide a memorable and amazing customer experience – it has nothing to do with asking your customers to post on Yelp.You also 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. If you have reported a review, received an email from us about our decision to leave it up, and would like us to take a second look, you can submit a new inquiry by providing the case number (this is provided in our previously emailed response to the content you reported) here:[redacted]. Please note that the Yelp Support team's evaluation of reviews against our Content Guidelines is separate from actions taken by Yelp’s automated recommendation software.Regards,HelenYelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns.It looks like you contacted Yelp on the same day you filed this Revdex.com complaint. As you may recall from the messages you received from the Yelp Support team on October 3, your review update of [redacted]...

[redacted] and your review of [redacted] have been restored. We apologize for the confusion.We also want to be clear that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are 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] and [redacted] to learn more.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/28) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted].
We appreciate your feedback regarding your account manager, and will forward your message to...

the appropriate parties. That said, it does appear that [redacted] generally attempted to return your calls in a timely manner and that she left you multiple voicemails.
As you noted, you signed up for a 6-month contract at a rate of $300 per month. Your program included 500 impressions per month, and these ads were delivered in accordance with your contract. 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 orange border, and has the notation "Ad" in next to the business name. You expressed concern that you did not see your ad above search results, but please keep in mind that you wouldn't have seen your particular ad appear every time. Sometimes you may see an ad for a different company; sometimes when conducting a search you may not see an ad at all.
With regards to your request for a refund, as advertising services have been delivered in accordance with your contract, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Your advertising program has been terminated as of April 30, 2015. As you have chosen to end your program before the end of the 6-month term, you are also responsible for an early termination fee of $300 per the terms of your advertising agreement.
You also expressed concern with the recommendation software, stating, "They also keep taking off any positive reviews that I keep getting." 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. The software 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
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not accept this response as your advertising program was MISREPRESENTED. I was told my ad would be the only ad on the top of the page and I checked many times and it was not.
The discount that was on the page was something I put on the page before I ever contacted you about the advertising. I set the entire page up myself , pictures, wording , etc.
The only thing you claim you did was put that call to action button on which I had to contact [redacted] several times to do and she never followed up to see if was was getting any responses, which I did not.
There was no benefit to me whatsoever for what you claim Yelp did for me.
I tried to call to speak to someone else 8 times and never received a call back.
My clients are upset that their reviews have been taken off and a few have also tried to contact yelp.
Yelp has also violated the privacy act as I was sent emails from another business via my emails..
Yoe also said it would hit a 15 mile radius whic it did not.
I expect to be reimbursed the $1200.00 I spent for yelp false advertising program to me.
If need be I will take further action.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/07/01) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
You wrote, "I was told my ad would be the only ad on the top of the page and I checked many times and it was not." With your advertising program, you were paying for 500 ad impressions to appear each month in places such as above search results and on your competitors' business pages. But there are more than 500 searches occurring each month, so you wouldn't have seen your particular ad appear every time. Sometimes an ad for a different company may have been displayed, and sometimes you may not have seen an ad at all.
With regards to your comment, "There was no benefit to me whatsoever for what you claim Yelp did for me," we're sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaign. To be clear, while it is our hope that advertisers will find success via the Yelp advertising program, 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 as well as features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow.
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 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.
With regards to your privacy concerns, we are sorry that your email address was accidentally added to your account manager's correspondence with another business owner. We take privacy seriously, and have forwarded your concerns to the appropriate party.
You also wrote, "Yoe also said it would hit a 15 mile radius whic it did not." 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. However, as noted in Section VI (Yelp's Disclaimer of Warranties) of the advertising agreement you signed, "While Yelp will try to target ad impressions to particular users, types of users, user locations, user queries, or other user behaviors, Yelp may not be able to achieve a client's specific expectation of accurate ad targeting."
Finally, you have again requested a refund. However, advertising services (including 500 ad impressions per month) have been delivered in accordance with your contract, so we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2015/07/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This company is a fraud as I Know many others agree, with all my reasons above.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/06/04) */
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. The software 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 "Show everything or show nothing", 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
That said, 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. While reporting something doesn't guarantee that it'll be removed, our team looks at every inquiry and carefully evaluates the content against our guidelines. For instructions on how to report content, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/article/How-do-I-report-a-review?l=en_US.
With regards to your comment, "Yelp also does not provide any way to contact them concerning these issues," our Yelp Support team doesn't offer phone based support, but they do provide email based support through our Support Center (http://www.yelp-support.com). We've tried to include detailed answers to the questions we most frequently receive in our Support Center, but there may be situations you encounter where you'll need to contact our Support team for assistance. For these specific situations, there are articles in the Support Center that include submission forms to inquire about the issue.
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.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/06/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Yelp's response does not clarify a thing. This is the same information they post on their site. Seriously....they blame their unfairness on their SOFTWARE! Really????? This is nothing less than discriminatory to all businesses. I only ask that you show everything or nothing. What is so hard about that - remove your discriminatory software with your discriminatory business practices and put out a fair review process or take off businesses that don't want to be bullied by Yelp.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/06/29) */
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.
You wrote, "I only ask that you show everything or nothing." 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.
It also sounds as though you are again asking for 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.

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.Our records indicate you redeemed a $100 promotional ad credit. To redeem the $100 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 $400. Once the promotional credit runs out, advertising continues until you stop your ads through your Business Account.Your advertising program was a self-serve program, which means that ads can only be turned off by the business through the Business Account. If you only wanted to use your $100 promotion, you would have needed to log in and end the program once that credit was used. According to our records, it appears our sales representative explained how you could end your advertising program or change your monthly budget yourself through your Business Account. Additionally, 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:March 28 - 31, 2016- You received 7 ad clicks which cost a total of $43.45- $43.45 of your $100 credit was used and you paid $0April 2016- You received 14 ad clicks which cost a total of $400- You had $56.55 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was partially used in March- The costs did not exceed your selected $400 monthly budget- You paid $343.45 for advertising services delivered in AprilMay 1 - 2, 2016- You received 1 ad click which cost a total of $0.12- You had 0 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was used in March and April- You are responsible for $0.12 for advertising services delivered in MayYou can view a breakdown of how many ad clicks you received by logging in to your Yelp for Business Owners Account at https://biz.yelp.com/ and then clicking on the Yelp Ads tab.You ended your advertising program on May 2, 2016. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms you agreed to, we will not be able to waive the remaining balance of $0.12 for advertising services delivered in May. Once this amount is collected, you will not incur further charges. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your response. 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 [redacted]As it appears the phone number on your Yelp page is publicly available information associated with your business, we've elected to keep the phone number up. However, please note that your business page does not currently display a specific street address: [redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing again. We appreciate your feedback, and are sorry that you were not satisfied with your advertising program. While the sales representative may have informed you that on average our customers see a $3 return for every $1 they spend, we want to reiterate that results are not guaranteed. As noted in Section VI (Yelp's Disclaimer of Warranties) of the advertising agreement you signed, "Yelp specifically disclaims all warranties and guarantees regarding (I) the performance, quality and results of the ad programs." We have attached a copy of the advertising agreement for your records.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].It looks like you signed up for enhanced profile features from February 8, 2016 to October 19, 2016. Your enhanced profile included a Call To Action button, a...

photo slideshow, and competitor ad removal. These services were delivered, so we will not be able to offer you a refund.Additionally, we want to be clear that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are 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] and [redacted] 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, 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 wrote, "1 of the 4 has a conflict of interest and is telling customers to go to the shop down the street." It looks like you are referring to the review by [redacted]. We've taken another look at this review, and have carefully considered your concerns that the reviewer may have a conflict of interest. However, we are still unable to confirm the conflict using the information we have in our systems.You might consider sending a private message to the reviewer or posting a public comment through your free Yelp for Business Owners Account. Many reviewers respond favorably to business owners willing to engage in constructive conversation, and at the very least, other Yelp users appreciate seeing business owners take a proactive approach to dealing with customer concerns. Our hope is that by utilizing these means you will be able to rectify any misunderstandings and come to an amicable resolution.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/08) */
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, "the user attempted to extort money out of me or post a horrible review on Yelp, Inc." It's...

important to distinguish between customers who have a negative experience and let the business know that they intend to talk about it on Yelp versus those who might go from business to business threatening to fabricate negative reviews for special treatment. Additionally, as you may recall from the correspondence you've had with the Yelp Support team, Yelp's Terms of Service (http://www.yelp.com/static?p=tos&country=US) prohibit compensating someone or being compensated to write or remove a review. We don't condone such conduct and would want you to share any other information you have about this kind of behavior so that we can take action if we deem it appropriate.
That being said, at this time we do not have enough information to determine that [redacted] R's review violates our Terms of Service. If you have correspondence you can forward related to your claims, please forward it (including headers) to [redacted]@yelp.com with a note that it is in regards to Revdex.com Case #XXXXXXXX. However, at this time we are leaving the review intact as it appears to reflect the experience and opinions of the reviewer.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Yelp! Inc. is carefully screening out ALL (not just some, but ALL) of my business positive reviews because 1. I won't advertise with them; 2. Filed this complaint with Revdex.com; 3. Yelp! Inc. has made it so I can't publicly respond to the extortionist's review like I am supposed to be able to do.
Lastly, Yelp! Inc. response is gratuitous and disingenuous at best as how does a business go from "5 Stars" to "One Star" in a week? Especially considering Yelp! Inc.'s alleged "algorithms" and other "screening" methods that take out legitimate, one time positive reviews. The reason is money and Yelp! Inc.'s tanking stock price.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/12/17) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
We want to first address your comment that "Yelp! Inc. is carefully screening out ALL (not just some, but ALL) of my business positive reviews because 1. I won't advertise with them; 2. Filed this complaint with Revdex.com." We want to assure you that Yelp does not retaliate against businesses for any reason, including asking questions, expressing concerns, filing complaints, or declining to advertise.
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, 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
Finally, with regards to your comment, "Yelp! Inc. has made it so I can't publicly respond to the extortionist's review like I am supposed to be able to do," you can send private messages or post public responses to reviews of your business by logging in to your Business Account at https://biz.yelp.com/, 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 https://biz.yelp.com/support/using_business_account
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/12/22) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Simple.
They can "type out" and "say" all of the above in response to Revdex.com but this isn't what's really happening.
Yelp! is a farce.

The review was taken down on 3/21/16, almost a month after my request that Yelp take the review down. It was not taken down on the date that Yelp claim to have taken it down. I had people monitoring it because it was affecting my business.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
The alleged leads and advertising generated by Yelp did not translate into increased sales. If our sales were skyrocketing due to Yelp, we would not be filing complaints. We track all our customers to see where they found us. Out of all the campaigns we have started, Yelp has been by far the worst performer.
In addition to terrible ROI results, Yelp has the audacity to require additional monthly fees, and other charges to cancel. I was unable to decrease the monthly cap. Due to these unsatisfactory results, any Yelp charges going forward will be declined. I would also request a refund on the charges already paid.
Regards,
[redacted] 
 
 
 
Sincerely,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Even after 3 months of discussions, we are on the same page. Still all of those 7 reviews are in 'not recommended category' from 15 months now.
 
Solutions offered to Yelp:
1) Put at least few good reviews back to recommended category - NOT ACCEPTABLE TO YELP
2) Delete the business page from Yelp - NOT ACCEPTABLE TO YELP
3) Yelp improves/updates its software - NOT ACCEPTABLE TO YELP
4) Compensates due to loss of future guests - NOT ACCEPTABLE TO YELP
 
I have no words about this deception being done to Public, this is totally Harassment by a Big Player.
 
Warm Regards
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because [redacted] was NEVER our client.
I have stated this numerous times, yet yelp ignores this fact.
Since Yelp will not provide [redacted] information so that he can be located, a subpoena will be directed to yelp.Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/15) */
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 address your comment, "stop filtering our reviews just because we dont...

advertise with you." To be clear, 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.
With regards to your concerns 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. The software looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp. 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. You asked that we recommend your positive 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
You also expressed concern with a negative review. We assume you are referring to the review by Felix R, as you've previously flagged this review. As you may recall from the message you've received from the Yelp Support team, the review has been evaluated and left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. You claim that this review is "full of lies"; 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/her review.
You might consider sending a private message to the reviewer or posting a public comment through your free business account. Many reviewers respond favorably to business owners willing to engage in constructive conversation, and at the very least, other Yelp users appreciate seeing business owners take a proactive approach to dealing with customer concerns. Our hope is that by utilizing these means you will be able to rectify any misunderstandings and come to an amicable resolution.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/04) */
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 clarify 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. Furthermore, there is zero relationship between the timing of when a review gets recommended and when a business decides to or declines to advertise: reviews can be recommended or not recommended days, weeks, or even months after they were first posted, and your Yelp sales representative doesn't have any influence over when that might happen. 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.
If you believe, however, that an individual has provided you with different information, we would like to investigate further. To that end, please provide us with the name of the individual whom you spoke with, their phone number, and the date and time of your conversation with them, if known.
If a review is not appearing on the main Yelp listing of a business, it would be for one of three reasons: the review is currently not recommended by Yelp's automated recommendation software (which affects both positive and negative reviews); the review was found to be in violation of our Content Guidelines or Terms of Service and has been manually removed by the Yelp Support team; or the user elected to remove the review him/herself.
If a review is brought to the attention of the Yelp Support team and is found to fall outside our Content Guidelines, the Yelp Support team will take appropriate action, such as removing the review. You wrote, "If it was a robot, then how did they knew to removed one negative, but what about the positives that had been there for a while," but please note the action that the Yelp Support team takes is separate from actions taken by Yelp's automated recommendation software. If a review is not recommended, that does not necessarily mean it is in violation of our guidelines.
As you may have read, the goal of Yelp's recommendation software is to showcase more reliable 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 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.
Finally, it looks like our Sales team has already noted that you no longer wish to receive any communication from them. If for any reason you continue to hear from them, please let us know at http://www.yelp.com/support/contact/questions
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]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 competitors' business pages. The Yelp Ad is differentiated from the natural search results by a 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.We also want to be clear that a business's decision whether or not to advertise on Yelp does not affect how the reviews on its listing are 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] and [redacted] to learn more.If you believe, however, that an individual has provided you with different information, we would like to investigate further. To that end, please provide us with the name of the individual whom you spoke with, their phone number, and the date and time of your conversation with them, if known.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]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi Ryan,Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for Just4you Insurance Brokers. Our records indicate you redeemed a $300 promotional ad credit on August 24, 2017. 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 set your Cost Per Click monthly budget at $300. 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. 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. 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 he payment method on file in your account will be charged monthly, up to a maximum of $300, until cancelled. Please note that we do not state in the sign up process that outreach will be provided, and if you had questions, our account support phone number was available in your Yelp for Business Owners Account. Additionally, advertisers 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: August 24 - 31, 2017- You received 0 ad clicks and paid $0September 2017- You received 0 ad clicks and paid $0October 2017- You received ad clicks which cost a total of $45.82- $45.82 of your $300 credit was used and you paid $0November 2017- You received 0 ad clicks and paid $0December 2017- You received ad clicks which cost a total of $218.37- $218.37 of your remaining $254.18 credit was used and you paid $0January 2018- You received ad clicks which cost a total of $169.11- $35.81 of your remaining $35.81 credit was used and you paid $133.30February 1 - 7, 2018- You received 0 ad clicksYou 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 February 7, 2018. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms[redacted] you agreed to, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Once this amount is collected, you will not incur further charges. Thanks for understanding.Regards,HelenYelp Inc.