Yelp.com

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/10/26) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Spa Repair & Service.
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.
With regards to your comment, "It appears as though they will only post Negative reviews and never positive reivews," we want to clarify that the software affects both positive and negative reviews and that it applies the same analysis to everyone. You asked that we "put up the 5star review," 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 [redacted] G. As you may recall from the message you've received from the Yelp Support team, 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. 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.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2015/10/28) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
once again I never met this person he went on second hand information which was completely incorrect This is not the terminator years where algorithms take over By the way when I was told to pay as an advertiser the one star would go away You can do what ever you what yelp is meaningless to me I HAVE 155 5STARS ON HOME ADVERTISER THE ONLY TRUE FAIR AND BLANCHED REVIEWS BUT I DO UNDERSTAND WHY YOU LOST 62% OF YOUR STOCK IN THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2015/11/05) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
You have again expressed concern with [redacted] G's review. Our Support team has taken a second look at the review, and has reached the same conclusion as before and are unable to remove the review. We don't take sides in factual disputes; 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. These decisions aren't always easy, but please know we looked at this review closely before reaching our decision.
You also wrote, "I was told to pay as an advertiser the one star would go away." 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 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.
Thank you.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/30) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted].
You stated that this business has changed ownership and expressed concern with some of the...

reviews. As you noted, we do not create new listings or remove reviews for businesses that change ownership or management but continue to use the same business name used by prior ownership or management. From a consumer perspective, the businesses appear to be the same. That said, as you may recall from the correspondence you've had with my colleague [redacted], we have removed the public comments posted by [redacted] P so that you can post new public comments, which it appears you have done.
With regards to the photos, after further evaluation, we have removed the photos by [redacted] O because they fall outside our Content Guidelines.
Additionally, you suggested that we have "A place on the business page front and center when someone looks at it that indicates UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP and a date." While we don't currently have such a feature, we'll make sure to forward your note to our product team so that they can take your suggestion into consideration.
You also wrote, "I decided to start asking my customers to yelp about us..good, bad or ortherwise." As you noted, we do not encourage business owners to ask for reviews, but there are ways to let your customers know you're on Yelp without being overly solicitous. With regards to your comment, "don't you guys actually supply businesses with tags for our website and stickers for our door stating see us on yelp," we do send "People Love Us on Yelp" window clings in an automated direct mail batch twice a year to businesses that qualify for this program. We don't issue (or re-issue) these window clings upon request, but if your business qualifies next time around you can be sure you'll be receiving one. You can learn more about our guidelines for using Yelp's logos, reviews, and star ratings (and request other Yelp materials for your business) here: http://www.yelp.com/brand
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/05/18) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Hi
First I want to say thank you for doing 2 things.
1. taking down irrelevant photos
2. Removing [redacted]'s comments, so I could leave comments that we are under new ownership.
It is a shame that it took a Revdex.com complaint to get this done, because all of this was requested many months ago and it wasn't until I filed the complaint, that this actually occurred.
However there is a larger issue that had not been addressed and that is the fact that I have 11 reviews in the "unrecommended" section. Mostly all positive and all but I think 2 were left AFTER I took over.
Now before you tell me about your computer generated system for recommending reviews. I know that already and it is truly a bad system. Because right now not only do you have outdated reviews, your "computer system" seems to only like negative reviews.
Just yesterday a review was left. 1 star. someone who just signed up for yelp and has only left 1 review.
I have several positive reviews from people who also have only left 1 review.
Can you explain to me why all my positive reviews are hidden and the negative review..which by the way is clearly bogus based on the info they provided is right on the front page.
Also, I find it again extremely anti business that the "not- recommended" reviews do not allow you to make if you find them helpful, funny or cool...why is that????
I have flagged this one star review, because if you look at my response you will see not only does it contain mis information, it co-incides with a law suit I am involved in with the former owner and an employee that I recently let go and they are both launching negative attacks on facebook reviews, google reviews and now yelp.
This is where yelp shows how much it does not care about small businesses.
Do you realize you can help put someone out of business because of fake reviews?
We work very very hard at this bakery and for yelp to allow a bogus review saying damaging things like we sell moldy cakes is honestly baffling.
Meanwhile my valid positive reviews are hidden away. valid customers who know we sell a good product.
Also, it is very suspicious seeing that prior to all of this. I had a very long conversation with a sales person and when I decided to not buy your very expensive advertising....I have a bunch of wonderful valid reviews from customers that remain hidden....
Oh, and your theory that in the customers eyes when a business changes ownership from a consumer perspective nothing changes??? Has anyone at yelp owned a small business????
If you went to a restaurant and they were horrible, and new owners took over..wouldn't you want to go to see if it got better?
That is what I am contending with. There was an owner here who was rude, nasty and sold less then fresh baked goods. We are the complete opposite and the "consumers" that we have spoken with in the area are thrilled to hear it is under new ownership and are trying us again to great results.
So yelp has this completely wrong, people DO want to know
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/06/01) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing again.
You expressed concern with the recommendation software and asked, "Can you explain to me why all my positive reviews are hidden and the negative review..which by the way is clearly bogus based on the info they provided is right on the front page." Please note we don't go into detail as to why a review is or is not recommended. We intentionally make the recommendation software difficult to reverse engineer otherwise, we would be overrun by reviews written by people hoping to game the system. So while it may be tough to decipher how the recommendation software works, the rules are actually the same for every business and every review. The software (which affects both positive and negative reviews) looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp.
To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US
You also expressed concern that reviews that are not currently recommended cannot be marked as Useful, Funny, or Cool. We appreciate your feedback regarding this feature, and will forward your note to our product team so that they can take your suggestion into consideration.
With regards to your concerns about a one star review, we assume you are referring to the review by [redacted] R. As you may recall from the message you received from the Yelp Support team, the review has been evaluated by the Yelp Support team and left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. You claim that this review is fake; however, Yelp does not take sides in factual disputes. Based on what we see in the review, we can't confirm that the user has a conflict of interest with the business. 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.
With regards to your comment, "it is very suspicious seeing that prior to all of this. I had a very long conversation with a sales person and when I decided to not buy your very expensive advertising," 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. 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 a 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.
Finally, you expressed concern with "your theory that in the customers eyes when a business changes ownership from a consumer perspective nothing changes." While we understand some aspects of a business may change when a business changes ownership, if the core customer experience and the core elements of the business's brand remains the same under the new management, there's generally no need to create a new business page to reflect the management change. Thanks for understanding.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/06/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
It is very clear that YELP is a company that likes to support cyber bullying.
You are always scripted in your responses which tells me that YELP has no human intellect involved in making decisions and once again..the small business world is at your mercy.
I again bring up the BOGUS 1 star review from [redacted] R.
Had an intelligent human being reviewed my complaint they would have clearly seen it is false, but I am guessing you like negative reviews because that one sits right up front when my positive reviews are all hidden.
[redacted] R's review was left the day after a former disgruntled employee, another ex- employee and the former owner who I am in a legal dispute with had dinner. I clearly explained that the point about the "manager" was something only discussed with that former employee prior to her quitting..no one in the public had any knowledge of this fact because she quit 1 week later.
The former owner has taken to facebook and slandered me and here you are allowing slander to occur again!
moldy cakes??? We DO NOT sell moldy cakes and again, any intelligent human being would read the fact that "[redacted] R" was not bothered for that 'mistake" of getting a moldy cake, but that her was more upset I was supposedly not around???
Let me ask you this...wouldn't you be very upset you got a moldy cake? Wouldn't you want your money back?
As of today '[redacted] R" has neither contacted me, asked for money back and at no time have I not been at the bakery because I am short handed because my disgruntled former employee quit!
To say you don't "take sides" no one is asking you to take sides, but to allow a slanderous comment that is not true to stay up on your site when I clearly explained myself and any intelligent person reading the review can see it is not valid as it does not reference anything specific and is written in such a way to be absurd is taking sides.
I should say the correct term is LIBEL...putting something in writing that is not true with intention to inflict harm
So why are you allowing someone to libel my business?
NO ONE complained about a moldy cake..that is a lie...the review is libel.
And as for your response about a business changing hands, obviously no one at yelp has every owned a small business, because it is ignorant to think that when a business changes hands it stays the same???
This is where you are wrong, but again, you guys have no concept on running small businesses. for you to say
"the core customer experience and the core elements of the business's brand remains the same under the new management, there's generally no need to create a new business page to reflect the management change"
is so far off the mark. It IS a new brand, there IS a different customer experience and core elements HAVE changed. The only thing that remains the same is we make baked goods and the name. THATS IT.
I have had to change everything because the old owner ran the business into the ground with her poor customer service and poor quality products.
So I will ask again..why are the comments still up from the old owner when I have changed the brand, the core customer experience and core elements?
Clearly the person who reviewed and took down all the photos that were of product we no longer make understood that our core elements changed.
We don't make the same things the old owner did....how is that NOT changing the customers "core experience" and how is that NOT changing the "brand"
Yelp is just a playground for cyberbullies and it is sad that you are so against small businesses

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:, Yelp continues to take the stand that so many business people complain about, inflexible, unwilling to adapt and be fair, and arrogance about how they have the right to publish your company with good or bad information as they see fit and nothing you as a business person can do about it. I know for a fact they have been challenged in court more than once over this issue, they win because they have deep pockets to fight with expensive attornies and us little business people who do not have the funds to higher good lawyers and fight in court over this.
So instead we just go out of business because they have the control over us.
My request to have my business information removed was basic and simple, yet they continue to deny doing it for their own publication benifits, again- “Proof” of Yelps arrogance, Revdex.com seems to have no power over them, Lawyers do nothing, so what is a small business man who can barely make a living to do when being bullied?
they publish what they want to publish, PERIOD
THSI IS A WASTE OF MY TIME, I only call on my small business brothers and sisters to take a stand, be heard, file complaints with Revdex.com and other web sites and do reviews all over the web about about Yelp, let yelp get a taste of their own medicineFrustrated small business owner: Richard [redacted]

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 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.With regards to your comment, "I am unable to delete or change my business photos, etc," please note that you can remove photos that you’ve posted to your business page, but we won’t remove a photo that someone else has posted to your page unless it violates our Content Guidelines. In this case, it looks like the photos currently on your business page were uploaded by you through your personal user account instead of your Business Account, so you can remove these photos by logging in to your user account at [redacted]To remove your photo(s) from yelp.com:1. Go to the Business Photos section ([redacted]) of your user account2. Select the photo you want to remove3. Click Delete photo4. Click RemoveTo remove your photo(s) from an iPhone or Android device:1. Locate the photo on the business page or in your profile2. Tap the More Options icon on iPhone or Overflow Menu on Android (the three dots)3. Tap Delete PhotoWe also want to address your comment, "the owner must post an approved photo from you to respond to a review. [...] Meanwhile, the reviewers do not have to submit their photo with a comment." We appreciate your feedback, but 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. 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.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 the messaging feature of your Business Account for [redacted]. We're sorry to hear you ran into trouble. If you're still encountering this problem, could you please...

provide us with a screenshot of the error you're seeing? Please also provide us with your browser information by sending us the custom link generated at [redacted], which would help us determine if you're encountering a browser-specific issue.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/05/15) */
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] K's review of your business. As you may...

recall from the correspondence you've had with 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 person never visited our establishment"; 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. Additionally, while we recognize that each person has a different tolerance for strong language, Yelp generally lets reviewers tell their own story in their own words.
We encourage you to send a private message to the reviewer or post a public comment using a 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.
To create a free Business Account, visit https://biz.yelp.com/
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/05/18) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The issue has not been resolved. Unacceptable
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/05/29) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
Removing reviews is not something we take lightly, and it is only done when it violates our Terms of Service or Content Guidelines. We understand that you may be frustrated with our decision to keep [redacted] K's review up, but our position remains the same.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2015/06/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The complaint has not been resolved.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
 
You are asking for more money? Really? You have already charged me a $700.00 cancellation fee and closed my account? How would I owe you for any more services? The "you cant control" who clicks through my site argument is very weak.  I had never experienced any contact via email or activity on my website that can be sourced to yelp.  The only thing Yelp provided was solicitations and telemarketers directed to my site.  I have recordings of every robot caller hanging up.  
In addition to this I have provided a snapshot of my inbox with repeated attempted charges to my credit card from Yelp after they charged me a 700$ cancellation fee and closed my account.  Is it normal for Yelp to hit a credit card five times after they have charged a shockingly high cancellation fee with account closure? Are these the actions of an ethical company?  
Considering your false advertisement, your over charging, and repeated attempts to charge my card after account closure I do not accept these terms and stick to my original request of a 2500.00 refund.  
 
 
Sincerely,[redacted] Desisto

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/16) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] International, Inc.
We first want to clarify that Yelp is primarily intended for the review of...

local consumer oriented businesses. Generally if a business is an online business it will not appear in our directory. As it appears that the page for your business was approved in error, we wanted to let you know that we are refunding you $672.97 for all the charges you incurred while advertising. Please allow 2-3 weeks before you see the credit.
Please note that your business page will no longer appear in Yelp's search results and your business account has been closed. For more information about what kinds of businesses are eligible to be listed on Yelp, please visit our Support Center: http://www.yelp-support.com/article/What-kinds-of-businesses-are-eligible-to-be-...⇄ /> We apologize for the confusion and for any inconvenience.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/07/17) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Thank you.
I look forward to receiving the credit as promised.

Hi Dr. [redacted],Thank you for your response.Please be assured that we've evaluated the content of [redacted]'s review are allowing the user to stand behind their review. We're unable assist you further in this matter.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because
I was never delivered any of the items that were promised to me by the Salesperson.  The salesperson did not understand what Yelp could actually deliver to a business owner, and I was promised many things that were not possible.  I did not find out that I was sold things that would not be possible until after I signed the contract and paid for the first month.  And, my account wsa set up incorrectly.  Simply put, what I was promised was not delivered. [redacted]

Complaint:[redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
As a sole proprietor, I do not have the luxury of being able to pay for advertising while my business is closed through no fault of my own.  I wonder if Yelp would have made any accommodation if my business had been destroyed by a hurricane, of if I had been killed in a traffic accident?  If Yelp does not have a "policy" for dealing with situations involving catastrophic events to their clients, then I think it is high time that they develop one.  The fall that dislocated my shoulder, tore my rotator cuff, and now requires the surgery was no more planned for than a hurricane.  I have been told by my surgeon that if I put the surgery off, I will most likely require a shoulder replacement, which will limit my lifting ability to 30 pounds for the rest of my life, which would effectively end my career.  I plan to return to work as soon as possible, and I do not think that it is unreasonable to request that a hold be put on my advertising while I am unable to conduct business.  Since I have never asked to terminate my contract, I feel that paying an "Early Termination" fee is both unreasonable and onerous.  
Regarding the stop that I placed with[redacted]: When I first contacted Yelp about this matter I was assured that the hold would not be a problem and that the upcoming payment would not be charged until the hold was lifted.  When they charged my credit card without notifying me, and adopted their current attitude, I made sure that they could not charge me again without my consent.  I am prepared to resume the contract as soon as I am able to return to work.
Throughout this dispute, I have always maintained that I want to complete the contract.  But Yelp has adopted a "No Tolerance" policy that I find unfair, unreasonable, and reprehensible.Sincerely,
Steven [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/05) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding the advertising programs for [redacted].
You wrote, "these two stores have different owners" but according to our records, it appears...

that both business pages have been claimed by your colleague [redacted], who also signed the advertising agreements for both the [redacted] and [redacted] locations.
Our records indicate that we charged $300 on September 16, 2015 and $600 on October 1, 2015 to the credit card on file for the [redacted] location. These charges were for advertising services delivered in August, September, and October 2015 for that location.
As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the advertising agreements, and as it appears these businesses are affiliated, we will not be able to offer you a refund. Thanks for understanding.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/01/06) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They two stores have different owners, different Federal and State Tax Identifications. Also they have different business licenses in different cities.
[redacted] was legally separated (sold) in 2014. [redacted] name is a franchise!!
The customer manager, [redacted]. Was very well aware of this. We have emails from Yelp reporting business statuses to the two different owners for their respectively stores separately.
Prior to this unauthorized charge, Yelp was collecting their fees from two different bank accounts. So they were well aware that the business were owned by a different person.
Even though, Yelp states that "it appears these businesses are affiliated" Yelp can not legally take money based on an assumption. Each business is owned by a different person, which happen to be brothers. Being brothers means that there is a family affiliation. Legally it does not bind two people in a business matter.
To clarify the situation, I offered to send documentation to Yelp showing the licenses, tax Ids and e=mail received to prove that Yelp was aware that were two different owners, but the representative [redacted] did not want me to provide them, and actually hung up the phone on me.

Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2016/01/25) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for the additional information.
We appreciate your feedback, and have forwarded your messages to the appropriate parties. It looks like an account manager, [redacted], has recently reached out to your colleague [redacted] to inform him that we will be refunding the $900 that was charged to his credit card.
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 regarding your advertising program, and have forwarded your message to the appropriate parties for their consideration. In the meantime, we would like to provide some clarification regarding your advertising program.As you noted, 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 $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 only be turned off by the business through the Yelp for Business Owners Account. If at any time you were not satisfied with your advertising program and wanted to end it, you could have logged in and ended the program. In Step 3 of your ad setup there were Q&A's on the right side of the page explaining that you could stop your ads any time through the Yelp for Business Owners site: "Can I stop any time? Yes. There's no commitment or obligation. Just come back to the Yelp for Business Owners site and stop your ads. You will be billed at the beginning of the next month for any clicks you bought before you cancelled."Below is a more detailed description of how the promotion was applied:August 12 - 31, 2016- You received 1 ad click which cost a total of $17.73- $17.73 of your $100 credit was used and you paid $0September 2016- You received 6 ad clicks which cost a total of $300- You had $82.27 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was partially used in August- The costs did not exceed your selected $300 monthly budget- You paid $217.73 for advertising services delivered in September.October 2016- You received 8 ad clicks which cost a total of $300- You had $0 remaining promotional credit for this month because it was used in August and September- The costs did not exceed your selected $300 monthly budget- You paid $300 for advertising services delivered in October.November 1 - 21, 2016- You received 5 ad clicks which cost a total of $142.76- You are responsible for $142.76 for advertising services delivered in November.You also expressed concern with the amount of variation you saw in the price per click. While you may have seen an estimated price per click when signing up, it's important to keep in mind that cost per click may change over time based on demand. As noted in the Ads and Upgrades Terms ([redacted]) you agreed to when signing up for ads, "You agree[d] to allow Yelp to implement an auto-bidding strategy whereby your bid price per click varie[d] based on relevance, competition, and other factors, in an effort to maximize the number of clicks you receive[d] within the budget specified in the Checkout Form." However, the price you pay will always be the lowest price possible to win the click. For a more detailed description of how CPC ads work, including a video explanation, please visit: [redacted]With regards to your concern that your maximum budget was fulfilled, we aim to maximize the number of clicks you get for your budget over the course of the month. Occasionally competitive demand prevents this, and if that was the case you would only be billed for the cost of the clicks you received in that monthly billing period.You ended your advertising program on November 21, 2016. As advertising services have been delivered in accordance with the Terms you agreed to, at this time we will not be able to waive the outstanding balance of $142.76 for advertising services delivered in November. That being said, we have forwarded your feedback to the appropriate parties for their consideration.Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/27) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your advertising program for [redacted] Therapy.
You expressed concern that you have been having trouble getting your...

advertising program cancelled. Please note that your advertising agreement indicates that you must provide written notification to your account manager on or before the 15th of the month in order to to terminate advertising at the end of that month. If the request is provided after the 15th of the month, then the advertising will be cancelled at the end of the following month. As it appears the first cancellation request your account manager received from you was in late March, your advertising program is set to cancel as of April 30, 2015.
As advertising services are being delivered in accordance with your contract, we will not be able to offer you a refund. You are responsible for an outstanding balance of $554 for advertising services delivered in March and April. Once this is collected, you will not incur further charges.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2015/05/27) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for your response.
As indicated in our previous response, we require written notification to your account manager in order to cancel advertising. This information was included in Section V (Term and Termination) the advertising agreement you signed: "Client may terminate a Purchase Order effective at the end of its Commitment Period or any renewal period by providing written notice to your Yelp account representative on or before the 15th day of the month in order for the Purchase Order to terminate at the end of that month. If Client provides written notice after the 15th day of the month, then the Purchase order will terminate at the end of the following month." Your account manager's contact information appeared under the Billing tab of your business account, and according to our records, it appears that [redacted] repeatedly informed you to email our account management team at [redacted]@yelp.com.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Hi [redacted],Thank you for writing about your advertising program for [redacted].As you may recall from our previous correspondence regarding the prior Revdex.com complaint you filed in February 2016, while of course it is our hope that our ad programs will result in an increase of business for Yelp...

advertisers, ultimately, we cannot guarantee results of an advertising program. 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."With regards to your comment, "Also, only ONE out of six great reviews by my LONGTIME vocal students were deemed, "recommended". No wonder I got NO RESPONSE," we want to be clear that the recommendation software operates independently of a business's advertising status. 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.While we are sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your advertising program, advertising services were delivered in accordance with the agreement you signed, so we will not be able to waive the remaining balance of $641.68 for advertising services delivered from February 1 - March 2, 2016. However, the early termination fee of $700 was waived. For further assistance with the remaining balance, please reach out to TrueAccord, a third party collection agency we are using, at [redacted].Regards,[redacted]Yelp Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/10) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns regarding your business page for [redacted] Connection.
You expressed concern with the competitor ads displayed on your business...

page. Yelp has advertising programs that allow businesses to display their listings on search results and on related business pages. This is meant to enhance the user experience by suggesting relevant businesses that Yelp's users may not have previously considered. Yelp also offers programs that will remove competitor ads from your Yelp business page. If you are interested in these advertising programs, please visit https://biz.yelp.com/support/advertising
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. More importantly, we believe that the public benefits from sharing their experiences with local businesses.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/07/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They are holding my business hostage by requiring me to buy advertisement in order to get other advertisement off of my yelp page. While my business is a public record, it is not they who put the yelp page together it is I, which means I should also be able to remove such a page if I choose to. I will keep my complaint on this business active unless they find a way to work this out with me. It is a very unfriendly business approach and I will warn others about using them to promote their business.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/07/22) */
Hi [redacted],
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).
Thanks for understanding.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/07/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
My request was to either remove my listing or remove the ads that compete directly with my business. You have not addressed the second option of my request.

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 regarding your business page for [redacted] Family Medical.
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, 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 asked that we "allow other reviews to be posted to bring up our rating," 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
With regards to [redacted] W's review, the review has been evaluated by the Yelp Support team and left up, as it was not found to be in violation of our guidelines. 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 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.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
I have tried to follow the steps about reporting slanderous content and I was unsuccessful. The review was a false statement against me for "[redacted] " [redacted]. The review was given by [redacted]. Her statement was not only defamatory, this person is not using her real name. Her real name is [redacted]. She did not pass her CST exam even though [redacted] paid  twice for her to try to pass. Her statements are not only defamatory, they're lies.Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/28) */
Hi [redacted],
Thank you for writing. We are glad to have this opportunity to address your concerns.
We first 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 http://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq and http://officialblog.yelp.com/2013/05/no-yelp-doesnt-extort-small-businesses-see-...⇄ to learn more.
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 [redacted] take appropriate action, such as removing the review. That said, 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.
In this case, it looks like your review of [redacted] is currently not recommended. 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. 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 [redacted] be less likely to be led astray by bogus reviews) and business owners (who [redacted] spend less time worrying about whether their competitors are writing negative reviews about them).
The software applies the same analysis to everyone, and that it affects both positive and negative reviews. It's also important to note that if a specific review isn't currently recommended, users can still find it at the bottom of the Yelp listing or on the user's profile page. You asked that we restore your review, but please understand that the recommendation software is automated: we cannot manually override the software to recommend or not recommend a review. However, the system is not static reviews may become recommended or not recommended over time as the system continues to make decisions based on a variety of factors.
To learn more about recommended reviews, please visit: http://www.yelp-support.com/Recommended_Reviews?l=en_US
Regards,
[redacted]
Yelp Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because Yelp lured me in using deceptive and unfair marketing practices. It was anything but clear that the advertising would continue past the promotional period.  I was lured in based on a claim of free advertisements.  I received no notification once the promotional credit ran out.  I was only notified once I had accumulated an alleged $80+ bill.  I had initially responded to an email that stated "[redacted], last chance to claim $100 in free Yelp Ads".  Now Yelp is trying to charge me big money for these so-called "free" ads.  Furthermore, I did not have a single person contact me based on the Yelp advertising, and I have no way to verify that any consumers actually clicked on the link to my website.  I believe this promotion is a bait-and-switch scam, designed to lure unsuspecting business owners in and then charge them before there is a chance to cancel.  Business owners have no way of knowing that their promotional credit has expired until they receive the first bill.  I believe that Yelp should void the outstanding invoice, and discontinue these misleading practices.
 
Sincerely,[redacted]