Yelp.com

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because the content of [redacted] review who was never a client of this firm violates Yelp's Content Guidelines and/or Terms of Service.
The content of the review is NOT from a "Personal experience"  as [redacted] was never a client of this firm and resorts to broad generalizations and conclusory allegations.
The content of the review is NOT "Accurate" as it is NOT factually correct as [redacted] was never a client of this firm and exaggerates and misrepresents a false experience.
Because yelp "doesn't take sides when it comes to factual disputes",  Yelp is forcing our firm to file a lawsuit against [redacted] whose identity is unknown. In the spirit of judicial economy, our firm is DEMANDING Yelp provide any and all information it has to help our firm identify and locate [redacted]. As Yelp is aware, Yelp's Content Guidelines and/or Terms of Service requires reviewers to "stand behind their review.
Sincerely,[redacted]

Hi [redacted],Please be assured that we have forwarded your concerns to the appropriate parties. However, we are unable to verify your claims that "the salesperson told me I would be placed on the 1st or 2nd page." As we've previously noted, Yelp Ads appear in places such as above the natural search results, and on competitors' business pages, but a business's advertising status will not affect the their ranking in our natural search results. While we are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising campaign, results are not guaranteed. We also want to address your comment, "I don't know the people who wrote my only review. How does that happen? Do you write bogus reviews?" Reviews are posted by, and are the opinions of, Yelp users.If you come across content that you feel may violate Yelp's Content Guidelines ([redacted]), please let our moderators know by reporting it. You can do so by finding the content in question, clicking the flag icon on the website or the More Options/Overflow Menu (3 dots) on the app. You'll need to be logged into your account to report content.For reporting reviews, please visit: [redacted]While reporting content doesn't guarantee that it'll be removed, our team looks at every inquiry and carefully evaluates the content against our guidelines. Each case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was received. Typically, you will receive a response to your report within a few business days. If you don't believe you've received our response, please be sure to check all email and spam folders (you may want to add [redacted] to your contact list).Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi Rick,Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for Lawn Works Madison. 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.You wrote, "my business info is incorrect." While we enable users to submit changes to business pages on Yelp, our moderators evaluate those changes to ensure they meet our standards. In this situation, it looks as though your suggestions have been rejected because it appears you were trying to remove your business information rather than submitting corrections to incorrect information. With regards to your comment, "This company is posting only negative reviews," our recommendation software recommends both positive and negative reviews in an effort to show the most helpful and reliable reviews to our users. That said, Yelpers write more positive reviews than negative reviews, so it isn’t necessarily surprising that Yelp’s recommendation software might impact more positive reviews. We hope you’ll take the time to watch our video about the Recommendation Software: [redacted]If you come across content that you feel may violate Yelp's Content Guidelines (http://www.yelp.com/guidelines), please let our moderators know by reporting it. You can do so by finding the content in question, clicking the flag icon on the website or the More Options/Overflow Menu (3 dots) on the app. You'll need to be logged into your account to report content.To learn more, please visit: [redacted]While reporting content doesn't guarantee that it'll be removed, our team looks at every inquiry and carefully evaluates the content against our guidelines. Each case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was received. Additionally, 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. Typically, you will receive a response to your report of a review within a few business days. If you don't believe you've received our response, please be sure to check all email and spam folders (you may want to add [redacted] to your contact list).Regards,HelenYelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your response.You wrote, "[redacted] made up stories just to hurt my business even when she was not even a client of mine." 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.We encourage reviewers to use their full names on Yelp, but this isn't an absolute requirement and many people don't. As a result, it may be difficult to match up a reviewer's name to the records maintained by many businesses, and our moderators aren't in a position to arbitrate these situations. As long as a review appears to reflect the reviewer's personal experiences and opinions, we'll generally allow them to stand behind their review.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] an affiliate of [redacted].As you noted, you signed up for an advertising program beginning in December 2016, and your program included a...

featured video and video production. It looks like you had indicated to our account management team on March 30, 2017 that your location had experienced water damage and that you needed to pause your ads. While early termination is typically subject to a fee and a 30 day notice requirement, it appears in this case an exception was made and your ads were terminated effective March 30, 2017. Please note that we don't have an option for advertisers to put their program temporarily on hold, but we do allow advertisers to end their program early, which is what happened here.Because your advertising program has been terminated, we are no longer able to offer you video production. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/11) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for [redacted].
Please note that we do not create new listings or remove reviews for businesses that change...

ownership or management but continue to leverage the goodwill in the same or similar name used by prior ownership or management. From a consumer perspective, the businesses appear to be the same.
With that in mind, the business pages have been merged and the name has been updated to reflect your current business name: http://www.yelp.com/biz/[redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

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

Hi [redacted],Thank you for your response.You have again alleged that [redacted] manipulates reviews to favor advertisers. However, 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 stories alleging that [redacted] manipulates reviews and ratings to reward advertisers, yet these allegations are not based in fact. Please consider:1. Third party research (such as Harvard Business School) 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.Regards,[redacted] Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/16) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] E [redacted], CPA.
Our records indicate that you signed up for an advertising program with an initial...

commitment period of three months. The terms stated in the Purchase Order section of the advertising agreement you signed with Yelp were:
"Commitment Period: 3 months from Service Start Date"
"Automatic renewal: Month-to-Month"
In other words, once you've completed your initial three-month term, your advertising continues to renew automatically on a monthly basis until we receive a cancellation request from you. Cancellation requests received by the 15th of the month mean a business will cancel at the end of the month. If you provide notice after the 15th of the month, then the advertising program will terminate at the end of the following month. As you may recall from the email you received from your account manager, [redacted], your advertising program will be cancelled effective June 30, 2015. 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.

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.Our records indicate you signed an...

advertising agreement on January 18, 2017. The details of your program, including the 12 month commitment period and the early termination fee of $650, were provided in the Purchase Order section on the first page of the advertising agreement you signed. Early termination being subject to a fee and the 12-month commitment period were also explained in the " Welcome to Yelp Advertising: Your Ads Are Now Live!" email we sent you on January 26, 2017.Please note that per the terms of your advertising agreement, we require 30 days written notice to your account management contact if you wish to terminate your advertising program. As you provided your cancellation request on March 6, 2017, and your advertising program was terminated on April 6, 2017.Additionally, 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 $325 you were charged on April 3, 2017 was for advertising services delivered in March 2017. The $650 you were charged on April 7, 2017 was for the early termination fee. It also looks like there is a balance of $66.43 that will be billed on May 1, 2017 for advertising services delivered from April 1 - 6, 2017.As advertising services were delivered in accordance with the advertising agreement you signed, we will not be able to offer you a refund at this time. That said, we have forwarded you concerns to the appropriate parties for their consideration.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/09) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns.
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. 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 comment, "he said there was a way that I could respond to all these false allegations if I signed up with him and paid some, still unknown, fee," we want to clarify that the ability to send private messages to reviewers or publicly comment on reviews are free features that we offer to business owners through a free Yelp for Business Owners Account. These features are available to business owners once they have claimed their business page on Yelp. For more information, please click here: https://biz.yelp.com/signup_business
Additionally, you expressed concern with some reviews and photos. Creating a free Yelp for Business Owners Account will also give you the ability to report content that you believe violates Yelp's Content Guidelines (http://www.yelp.com/guidelines). If you believe a review or photo violates Yelp's Content Guidelines, you can report the content by clicking the flag icon next to it. You'll need to be logged in to your account in order to view the flag icon. For instructions on how to report content, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/article/How-do-I-report-a-review?l=en_US and http://www.yelp-support.com/article/How-do-I-report-a-photo-or-video?l=en_US.
While reporting content doesn't guarantee that it'll be removed, our team looks at every inquiry and carefully evaluates the content against our guidelines. Each case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was received. Typically, you will receive a response to your report within a few business days. If you don't believe you've received our response, please be sure to check all email and spam folders (you may want to add [redacted]@yelp.com to your contact list).
With regards to your request for your business to be removed from Yelp, 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.
Finally, we've gone ahead and informed our Sales team 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 Robert,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 a photo that was posted to your business page. It looks like you are referring to a photo posted by **, and it appears this...

user has already removed this photo from your business page. 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 or photo violates our Content Guidelines ([redacted] then our Support team will remove it.For future reference, if you believe a review or photo violates Yelp's Content Guidelines ([redacted] 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 content doesn't guarantee that it'll be removed, our team looks at every inquiry and carefully evaluates the content against our guidelines. Each case will be reviewed by our team in the order it was received.For instructions on how to report a photo, please visit: [redacted]Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/05/01) */
Hi Salvatore,
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the business page for Dominator Sportfishing.
It appears that you flagged Animal R's review two days before you filed this...

complaint with the Revdex.com. As you may recall from the message you received from the Yelp Support team, this review has been removed because it falls outside our Content Guidelines.
Regards,
Helen
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 8, 2015/05/04) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

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. It's also important to keep in mind that people can see reviews that aren't currently recommended by clicking on the link at the bottom of the business page.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.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted]Thank you for your response. We appreciate your feedback. Please be assured that we have forwarded your concerns along to the appropriate parties. We also want to reiterate that per the advertising agreement you signed, you agreed to pay every time a user clicked on your ad impression, and to pay for an enhanced profile, a featured video, and call tracking. These services were delivered in accordance with your contract. Additionally, 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."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 advertising program for [redacted] [redacted].It looks like you signed up for a self-serve advertising program on April 5, 2016. Your advertising program was a self-serve...

program, which means that ads can only be turned off by the business through the Yelp for Business Owners Account. It looks like you were able to log in and successfully end your advertising program on June 6, 2016.We also want to address your comment, "2 months after disputing previous charges they billed me again on a account that was closed 3 months ago." Please note that 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 looks like you were responsible for $150.94 for advertising services delivered in May, plus $21.58 for advertising services delivered from June 1 to June 6, 2016. While these amounts would have typically been collected on June 1, 2016 and July 1, 2016 respectively, it appears we were not able to successfully charge your card until August 22, 2016, when you were charged $172.52. As this amount was for advertising services delivered in May and June, and as advertising services were delivered in accordance with the Terms you agreed to, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because they can say whatever. look on YELP biz page on YELP how many complaints from others business owners as well. look at the facts. there is no such things automatic programe, software is programe and coded by human and even webmaster or grogramer can edit setting modified or do anything within their control. and if some reviews had reported yelp moderator removed manually, and when legimate positive review had removed by auto matic software (yelp said so) and I request for them to verify with the clients or read it manuually it is not violate any yelp guild line or rule and yelp customer services said they can not undo because it removed by automatic software. second: october, november, never had one single review removed, and in December when I cancel advertises , one day got over 30 positive 5star reviews users left legimate review in december had removed and continue removing on daily any new legimate review from our customers. but not any bad reviews from scam , frauld from competitors reviews on my business page. well yelp is big, huge, hugemungus company and had protected under first Amendment constitution of UNited State of America. im just nobody and had to work hard to pay bills and support my family. and if Yelp want people believe in Yelp then must have department or team work hard and listen to customers special in business owners because they pay you for being YELP now day and help them manually validate every reviews is not violate and removed by automatic software (yelp said it automatic). take over the automatic and being more humanity. 
 
Sincerely,Tony **

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/17) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your feedback. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted].
We forwarded your message to our Account Management team, and they have informed...

us that they will be writing off the $300 you were charged for May. [redacted] has reached out to you and left you a voicemail to discuss this further.
With regards to your comment, "Our print company paid $300 for services we didn't receive," 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. As stated in Section VI (Yelp's Disclaimer of Warranties) in your advertising agreement: "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."
When advertising with an impressions-based program, you are paying for the delivery of a certain number of targeted ad impressions. You signed up for a $300 per month advertising program which included 500 ad 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 your 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. Your program also included features such as competitor ad removal and a photo slideshow, and these services were also delivered in accordance with your contract.
Your advertising program has been terminated as of May 31, 2015. We hope you will continue to take advantage of the free features available to you on your business account to engage with the Yelp community. For guidance, please visit https://biz.yelp.com/support/using_business_account
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/06/18) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I spoke with [redacted], the crew Supervisor for Yelp. He provided me with several reasons why our service was lacking and what he believed caused it.
1) They lost/didn't see an email I sent canceling our service and letting them know our advertising campaign would need to be postponed even after we pre-paid for it. His reason was that it was sent to them by another email address they didn't have on file. **'s the same one I believe we've always used. My own.
2) [redacted] also claimed the reason for Yelp having 5-7 different account manager's phone me, none of which knew anything about our account was that they were in their first month of attempting a new management style platform with the entire staff of account manager's. I thought this was reasonable. I gave him that benefit of the doubt.
3) Yelp claim's that due to the email not reaching them, they still get to keep the initial $300.00 we paid. Funny though, they admit that no measurable results could be obtained except they 'claim' 1-2 guests on their site went to our website via their link. Passed [redacted] from months prior show those same results when we were paying nothing to Yelp from late 2014.
4) Yelp offered to refund $300.00. At first glance, it appears to be a nice gesture. Our attorney and our family think it's really more about legal ground for Yelp. They knew our plan on placing signs around our sign company's exterior sharing our experience with Yelp's less than shining example of how NOT to treat a customer. Add into that, we made mention that we were contacting the Revdex.com. This is someone you don't want on your back as a business big or small. We respect the Revdex.com. Most businesses do and know their power. Need we say more?
5) Our attorney suggests A) take the money but get all $600.00 back. Yelp did not provide a reasonable expectation of services and it wouldn't be difficult to prove that in a court. 1-3 customers for $600 over the course of 2 months of advertising is:: $200 per lead. None of which would be deemed 'reasonable' or even on a national average for search engines. B) Request a do-over from Yelp to prove that Yelp in fact can and will deliver what they say for 2 months time, allow Yelp to keep the $600 and earn your trust back.
We would choose this method. ** NEVER has been about the money though, admittedly it makes a company angry to spend $600 for worse than terrible odds. No company or person should be 'okay' with that.
In the end, Yelp would have to redeem itself with our company. This would all go away if Yelp would have delivered a reasonable amount of customer leads to our email, retail store or website. Even 15-20 a month would have been reasonable. As of 6/18/2015 - not a single sale has been generated for the 2 month campaign we paid $600.00 for.
Would you be okay with that as a business owner?
[redacted]

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for Bayview Photography.We forwarded your message to the appropriate parties. As you may recall, a manager, [redacted], reached out to you via email on November 21 to...

address your concerns. If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out to [redacted] directly.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:the fee was caused by Yelp taking money that wasn't authorized. This only happens because Yelp withdrew the money and Yelp should repay me to make this situation right. I will be reaching out to the [redacted] attorney general as well. Sincerely,[redacted]