Steve Tasker
Footballguy
My brother is "Elite" and goes to these free functions all the time and says they're awesome. He says he usually gets a +1, but I strangely never get the invite <_<[icon] said:
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Yelp is a freaking scam - small business owners agree? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Mad Cow
- Start date
Joe T
Footballguy
So you enjoy deciphering. I get it. It works for some people.
I have better things to do I guess.
The Big Guy
Fear the Blitz
This is where you use your internal fanboi filter and ignore this one and read the next one. But I am not going bananas researching a taco stand. I will read reviews before bigger purchases and before going on a vacation when looking for ideas.
Mad Cow
Welshers and Dawdlers Beware!
Ignoramus
Footballguy
![[icon]](/data/avatars/m/5/5167.jpg?1660313464){kind=avatar}
[icon]
Insoxicated
Yep.. I immediately ignore reviewers like that.
My review rate is slanted heavily toward positive reviews:
17 Five Star / 14 Four Star / 7 Three Star / 8 Two Star / 2 One Star
My 1 Star Reviews were for:
• A place that was closed down for good (listing now removed)
• A place where we went 20-30 mins without a waiter after initial drinks despite a visit to the host stand 10-15 mins in. Only reason we waited that long is one member of our group (buddy's GF) was dead set on trying the place so we were trying to appease her. Finally just left some cash on the table and walked out.
[icon]
Insoxicated
So how do you find restaurants when you're travelling (I'd like to have Thai tonight, where is a good thai spot?) or even locally (I wonder if that new spot "Hot New Restaurant" is any good... I wonder what kind of seating they have...etc)?
Just curious what superior options are out there.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Or, you know, the other alternative is for smart people to become aware of how garbage Yelp is in general and use competing rating services to get better info on local establishments.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
TripAdvisor and Google are both hugely superior. If it's a larger city then Frommers, Fodors, Zag at and the local paper's review section are always great resources.
urbanhack
Fight The Power!
FourSquare is now doing this. The "check-in" has now moved to Swarm and FourSquare is now being used for recommendations and ratings.
[icon]
Insoxicated
Still looking for evidence of Yelp being garbage short of anecdotal complaints? I think the one example raised in this thread showed that equal numbers of 5 and 1 star reviews were suppressed, and all were sketchy as hell so likely properly filtered.
Goole reviews is simply not active here.... my favorite restaurant in town (one of the city's 5 best) has 7 reviews with the most recent being 2 years ago. Most reviews are by "a google user" (anon) and arent in depth at all. Yelp has 57 reviews with the most recent being less than a month ago. Both have around the same cumulative rating (around 4.6 stars)
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Buckfast 1
Footballguy
The local paper.
I can't imagine how many good restaurant experiences you Yelp-haters are missing out on while flipping through your Frommer's guidebook and the local paper.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Funny that you dismiss tons of anecdotal evidence from folks complaining about Yelp, but think Yelp is just the Bee's Knees.Still looking for evidence of Yelp being garbage short of anecdotal complaints? I think the one example raised in this thread showed that equal numbers of 5 and 1 star reviews were suppressed, and all were sketchy as hell so likely properly filtered.
Goole reviews is simply not active here.... my favorite restaurant in town (one of the city's 5 best) has 7 reviews with the most recent being 2 years ago. Most reviews are by "a google user" (anon) and arent in depth at all. Yelp has 57 reviews with the most recent being less than a month ago. Both have around the same cumulative rating (around 4.6 stars)
Joe T
Footballguy
[icon]
Insoxicated
How "Elite" works:Elite user
1) one day you get an email that says "Congrats, you're Elite"
2) Here is a list of this months events where restaurants close down all or part of their shop to cater a tasting menu of everything their restaurant has to offer. There will also be beer or wine. Everything is free.
I'll take 1-2 free nights out with the GF every month at nice restaurants / events around town.Other events are cool too... rent out bars and have bands play with 2-3 local food trucks set up. Also are non-food events like private tours of Stax Museum, Center for Southern Folklore, etc. Again...all free.
It's certainly not a status thing or brag worthy as the standards for entry are really ####### low. Anyone can do it. But the perks are pretty slick, in my experience.
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[icon]
Insoxicated
This has been addressed above.. when most complaints are looked into, it turns out there is a lot more to the story.Funny that you dismiss tons of anecdotal evidence from folks complaining about Yelp, but think Yelp is just the Bee's Knees.Still looking for evidence of Yelp being garbage short of anecdotal complaints? I think the one example raised in this thread showed that equal numbers of 5 and 1 star reviews were suppressed, and all were sketchy as hell so likely properly filtered.
Goole reviews is simply not active here.... my favorite restaurant in town (one of the city's 5 best) has 7 reviews with the most recent being 2 years ago. Most reviews are by "a google user" (anon) and arent in depth at all. Yelp has 57 reviews with the most recent being less than a month ago. Both have around the same cumulative rating (around 4.6 stars)
I've never said yelp is the bees knees. I acknowledged flaws in the system. Where I live, there isn't' currently a better option. It's also generally been the best option (quality/quantity of reviews, pics, info, easy of use of App, etc) when I travel.
There are other solutions out there for the tinfoil hat crew though... that's the beauty of America.
shadyridr
Footballguy
You made Elite sound brag worthy then again everything you say in every thread sounds like youre bragging. Ive just come to the conclusion youre a pompous ###. And i assume you become elite worthy by posting a ton of reviews? It means you have a ton of free time on your hands that i dont. Id rather spend my free time doing useful things.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
It's a genius move by Yelp though. Super easy to create brand loyalty among the most influential users simply by pumping up their ego by calling them elite and then giving them free stuff all the time.
Another service could be ten times better, but if someone i stroking my ego and giving me lots of free food and entertainment, of course I'm going to be their cheerleader and scoff at everything else.
[icon]
Insoxicated
I have posted 48 reviews over the course of 3-4 years... average review takes about 2 minutes. So I've probably committed about 0.0001% of the time either of us has wasted on this website. I'll let you do the math on which is a better investment of time.
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Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Lots of hate here for Yelp users....I don't get it. Yelp is one of a handful of places I'll check if I'm considering going to a new restaurant or out-of-town. Word of mouth, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc. Yelp seems to have much more traffic around here than TripAdvisor does. Maybe Yelp has a younger audience? I do know that Yelp has made a major push here with local reps in the past 2 years or so. I do like TripAdvisor for hotel recommendations though.
Generally, Yelp reviews are pretty close to spot-on, per my experience, assuming a place has a significant number of reviews (not just 1 negative Nancy like Mad Cow's business). Some people come off as pompous #######s (you should read some of the reviews, it's ridiculous), but you can weed out the quality reviews from the crap ones. When I visited New Orleans, I relied on (1) one FBG's recommendations and (2) Yelp to find where to eat, and didn't have a bad meal in my entire visit there. I relied on exclusively these two things and had a great trip. I can understand the frustrations from Mad Cow's POV, but for a user like me, it's a very useful tool. I've found it to be a good tool for out-of-town trips and for scoping out local places I've never been to.
Generally, Yelp reviews are pretty close to spot-on, per my experience, assuming a place has a significant number of reviews (not just 1 negative Nancy like Mad Cow's business). Some people come off as pompous #######s (you should read some of the reviews, it's ridiculous), but you can weed out the quality reviews from the crap ones. When I visited New Orleans, I relied on (1) one FBG's recommendations and (2) Yelp to find where to eat, and didn't have a bad meal in my entire visit there. I relied on exclusively these two things and had a great trip. I can understand the frustrations from Mad Cow's POV, but for a user like me, it's a very useful tool. I've found it to be a good tool for out-of-town trips and for scoping out local places I've never been to.
[icon]
Insoxicated
Again.. the site is flawed. I've looked at other options (Google, Urbanspoon, FourSquare, etc) and none have the breadth of reviews and other info (photos, menus, etc) that yelp does in my current city or when I visit other cites. Not to mention the app is really easy to use and features like monocle are solid.
The tin foil hat was a joke about the "yelp is out to get me"crowd and was intended to be a playful jab. Shtick if you will.
Anyways... i'll leave the thread to you guys to continue with the rants. I'm glad there are alternate services that fit your needs.
Battles
Footballguy
I'm a builder. I despise how Angie's List operates and have shared that on here before. When you talk to most people about how corrupt it is, they are baffled and think you're hiding something by not getting in the system. I got that reaction posting about it on here a while ago. Angie's List, Yelp, etc have the market locked up through advertising and it will never matter how big of a scam it is.
EYLive
Footballguy
General Malaise
Footballguy
I'm writing a Yelp review about what a dildo you are for not returning my PM.Joe T said:
Joe T
Footballguy
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Mister CIA
Footballguy
I just bought yelpd.com
####, I'm outta Guinness!
####, I'm outta Guinness!
jhib
Footballguy
Do you and/or other elite members then leave reviews for these restaurants and other establishments? Is there a yelp equivalent of Amazon's "Vine Customer Review of Free Product" labeling?How "Elite" works:Elite user
1) one day you get an email that says "Congrats, you're Elite"
2) Here is a list of this months events where restaurants close down all or part of their shop to cater a tasting menu of everything their restaurant has to offer. There will also be beer or wine. Everything is free.
Other events are cool too... rent out bars and have bands play with 2-3 local food trucks set up. Also are non-food events like private tours of Stax Museum, Center for Southern Folklore, etc. Again...all free.
It's certainly not a status thing or brag worthy as the standards for entry are really ####### low. Anyone can do it. But the perks are pretty slick, in my experience.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
I have only posted one review on Yelp. It was very negative. Was visible for a while. I was contacted by the company I reviewed as my situation was obvious. They actually threatened me with legal action. Said if I didn't have the review taken down, they would. Next thing you It was filtered and there were several more positive reviews. I was pretty annoyed. So I contacted Yelp. They emailed me back and basically told me I had to get more active, enhance my profile etc. So I did. Weeks later review was still filtered. Traded messages with yelp back and forth several times. I provided some pretty concrete proof that I had in fact been ripped off and eventually was refunded my money by my credit card company.
Review remained filtered. I kind of always wondered if the company had somehow paid Yelp to have it hidden and have the positive reviews unhidden. I guess this thread confirms my suspicions. I get the need to have filters, but if Yelp was willing to message back and forth with me several times, there is no reason they shouldnt have been able to confirm my review was legit and manually override their alleged algorithm.
Review remained filtered. I kind of always wondered if the company had somehow paid Yelp to have it hidden and have the positive reviews unhidden. I guess this thread confirms my suspicions. I get the need to have filters, but if Yelp was willing to message back and forth with me several times, there is no reason they shouldnt have been able to confirm my review was legit and manually override their alleged algorithm.
fantasycurse42
Footballguy Jr.
I interviewed at Yelp about a year ago and also know someone that works there. Small business owners basically are paying them to have good reviews near the top, their listings come up first during searches, and have negative reviews filtered... This really isn't a surprise so a lot of stuff posted in here is fairly accurate. What do you think their key revenue drivers are?
The company from an interviewees perspective was a ####show. Their recruiters and employees are morons from my experience. It was them who contacted me, I had a phone screening and at the end of the call explained how I consider my time valuable and wouldn't want to waste it, nor theirs either. She asked about compensation and I explained, she said they would beat what I was currently at without a problem (lie number 1). I was told they'd be in touch in a few days, didn't hear back for 3 weeks, didn't care bc I was very content at my current job. When I hear back weeks later, we scheduled interview 1, which was basically meeting someone I was going to be reporting to at a local coffee shop. Met him a wek later, good conversation, "you'll hear back in a day or two". Weeks later I hear back for the next round. We come up wth a date and they tell me I need 2 full hours and she sends me a schedule with who I'm meeting and in what order.
I arrive at their office and I'm not on the security list, I email the recruiter and don't hear back. After standing there for 15 minutes, some VP from another department walks in and the security guard explains, the guy introduces himself, takes me with him and brings me into the office. Their NYC office has about 7 floors and is a frat house. Bunch of young kids, music playing, all just hounding SMBs all day. Exactly what you would expect. He takes me into this little ####ty tiny room and says goodbye. I sit there for another 20 minutes (my two hours is already 40 minutes and I haven't met anyone). Finally the first of 4 walks in, I introduce myself thinking it is the first person the schedule is supposed to have me meet (he just said nice to meet you, but gave no name)... At the end of our conversation he leaves his card and it was someone else, they've changed the order, fine whatever. Someone else comes in, we talk, she leaves... Two down, I'm there for almost 2 hours already and still have another two to meet with.
The original person I met at the coffee shop comes in and says I'm going to have a code conference with his boss in San Francisco and we need to go up to another conference room with vide conferencing. We head up and he asks what I think of the office. My real thoughts are terrible, maybe if I was younger and not married I can nail some of the young girls running around, but this scene is more distracting for what I do and I couldn't imagine working there. Up in a new conference room and we're already 30 over schedule these two guys can't get the video conference to work. After another 10 minutes we just do it over the phone. When I'm done with the call, the same guy who took me up there comes in to finish it off. I tell him I really need to go as it's been over 3 hours, he says just a few more questions (fine whatever)... Takes another 30 minutes
By the time I left I was so unimpressed by this company, they'd basically have to dump gold by the metric ton on me to get me to accept a job there. The only chance this company succeeds is by getting bought out, what a mismanaged nightmare of a company.
Oh yea, the recruiter got back to me a month later to discuss an offer... They were going to beat my current pay with an offer that was heavily stock incentivized. Glad I passed as their stock is worth half today and it would've equaled a pay cut.
Seriously, this company is a ####### disaster and I wouldn't put much stock into their reviews. Unfortunately most consumers don't have my experience, but soon enough more than less will have them figured out.
(This novel was just typed on an iPhone.)
The company from an interviewees perspective was a ####show. Their recruiters and employees are morons from my experience. It was them who contacted me, I had a phone screening and at the end of the call explained how I consider my time valuable and wouldn't want to waste it, nor theirs either. She asked about compensation and I explained, she said they would beat what I was currently at without a problem (lie number 1). I was told they'd be in touch in a few days, didn't hear back for 3 weeks, didn't care bc I was very content at my current job. When I hear back weeks later, we scheduled interview 1, which was basically meeting someone I was going to be reporting to at a local coffee shop. Met him a wek later, good conversation, "you'll hear back in a day or two". Weeks later I hear back for the next round. We come up wth a date and they tell me I need 2 full hours and she sends me a schedule with who I'm meeting and in what order.
I arrive at their office and I'm not on the security list, I email the recruiter and don't hear back. After standing there for 15 minutes, some VP from another department walks in and the security guard explains, the guy introduces himself, takes me with him and brings me into the office. Their NYC office has about 7 floors and is a frat house. Bunch of young kids, music playing, all just hounding SMBs all day. Exactly what you would expect. He takes me into this little ####ty tiny room and says goodbye. I sit there for another 20 minutes (my two hours is already 40 minutes and I haven't met anyone). Finally the first of 4 walks in, I introduce myself thinking it is the first person the schedule is supposed to have me meet (he just said nice to meet you, but gave no name)... At the end of our conversation he leaves his card and it was someone else, they've changed the order, fine whatever. Someone else comes in, we talk, she leaves... Two down, I'm there for almost 2 hours already and still have another two to meet with.
The original person I met at the coffee shop comes in and says I'm going to have a code conference with his boss in San Francisco and we need to go up to another conference room with vide conferencing. We head up and he asks what I think of the office. My real thoughts are terrible, maybe if I was younger and not married I can nail some of the young girls running around, but this scene is more distracting for what I do and I couldn't imagine working there. Up in a new conference room and we're already 30 over schedule these two guys can't get the video conference to work. After another 10 minutes we just do it over the phone. When I'm done with the call, the same guy who took me up there comes in to finish it off. I tell him I really need to go as it's been over 3 hours, he says just a few more questions (fine whatever)... Takes another 30 minutes
By the time I left I was so unimpressed by this company, they'd basically have to dump gold by the metric ton on me to get me to accept a job there. The only chance this company succeeds is by getting bought out, what a mismanaged nightmare of a company.
Oh yea, the recruiter got back to me a month later to discuss an offer... They were going to beat my current pay with an offer that was heavily stock incentivized. Glad I passed as their stock is worth half today and it would've equaled a pay cut.
Seriously, this company is a ####### disaster and I wouldn't put much stock into their reviews. Unfortunately most consumers don't have my experience, but soon enough more than less will have them figured out.
(This novel was just typed on an iPhone.)
Joe T
Footballguy
fantasycurse42
Footballguy Jr.
Ouch, stock is getting slammed like a prostitute.
Quez
Footballguy
Just think of all the good threads in the FFA you missed out on while wasting your time interviewing for Yelp.
It is probably a reasonable review. If you love Taco Bell, this place is really awesome. At least he gives a reference point,
coyote5
Footballguy
You realize that at the end of the news story in your link there is an interview with an ivy league professor who participated in a 3 year study that was unable to find any substance to the accusations that Yelp filters reviews based on whether business's advertise with them right?
Joe T
Footballguy
coyote5
Footballguy
Johnny Rock
Footballguy
So if you only give one review and it's filtered, then do four more reviews, are the first first reviews unfiltered because they're now considered "legitimate?"
[icon]
Insoxicated
Couple great "elite" invite events this week. Tonight, a free dinner at Tanoor Mediterranian Grill with drinks included. Tomorrow night the GF will be going with 4 guests ladies to a local massage place for free finger foods, wine, massages, and live music.
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Cold Dead Hands
Footballguy
Sounds like a casting couch con.Couple great "elite" invite events this week. Tonight, a free dinner at Tanoor Mediterranian Grill with drinks included. Tomorrow night the GF will be going with 4 guests ladies to a local massage place for free finger foods, wine, massages, and live music.
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