Yelp is such a freaking joke, Part II

[vraiblonde]

Reviews for Pax River Ale House:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/pax-river-ale-house-lexington-park

Note that the top reviews are from Texas, California...Hawaii (!?!). Man, ya'll came a long way for a beer and a burger. Okay, fine, people at Pax on travel maybe? Then you scroll down to the only negative review, which is hidden under "reviews not recommended".

Why didn't this guy make the cut? The review was well written, descriptive, comprehensive, and in fact it reflects what posters on here are saying. Kelli C. above him has the same zero other reviews, AND a vague one-liner, and that review made it in - I have to believe that it's because Kelli's review was positive, while Al J's was not.

So just a reminder: Yelp is biased toward their advertisers and they are blatant liars when they say they aren't. I'm pretty sure they use fake "reviewers" as well. Keep that in mind when looking for honest reviews and use TripAdvisor or another service instead. And business owners, be aware when the Yelp people come calling - they are dishonest frauds and that is how they do business, and how they will treat you as a customer.

 

[Bird Dog]

It's part of the marketing program...

but TripAdvisor doesn't even list th Ale House.....so a visitor might think the only thing we have is Olive Garden......just sayin'

 

[vraiblonde]

It's part of the marketing program...

Lying and making bogus entries is not a good marketing strategy for the long run. It's like those dating sites that make fake profiles to catfish men into forking over a subscription fee.

 

[Bird Dog]

Lying and making bogus entries is not a good marketing strategy for the long run. It's like those dating sites that make fake profiles to catfish men into forking over a subscription fee.

Or women putting on makeup.....

 

[vraiblonde]

Or women putting on makeup.....

Fail. I sit around au natural in front of Monello all the time. Tomorrow night we're going out with one of my girlfriends and I will be putting on makeup for her.

 

[Larry Gude]

...to catfish...

What does this mean?

 

[black dog]

What does this mean?

Angie's list is the same.

Catfishing

The act of setting up and running a false puppet social networking identity profile for fraudulent or deceptive purposes

 

[Larry Gude]

Angie's list is the same.

Catfishing

The act of setting up and running a false puppet social networking identity profile for fraudulent or deceptive purposes

Maybe I just don't know enough about cat fishing? I get the point. I just don't get how it relates to catfishing. Thanks, though.

 

[black dog]

Business's pay Companys like Yelp and Angie's list to bring them new customers by recommending them to the public.
These Companys will usually clean bad reviews from there sites for the Company's that pay them.
It used to be the consumer paid Angie's list and the like for information on business's with good reputations, it was not a good business model. Now the Company's pay to be recommended.
They give just the info they want you to have. Hence Catfishing.

Edit.. Angie's List hits the evening news out here often with so.e of there Corporate offices in Indy, it's also been said that if your company is not a customer of there's and your company has some bad reviews on there sites it will stay there until you decide to become a paying customer.
Sounds like Blackmail Catfishing.

 

[Larry Gude]

Business's pay Companys like Yelp and Angie's list to bring them new customers by recommending them to the public.
These Companys will usually clean bad reviews from there sites for the Company's that pay them.
It used to be the consumer paid Angie's list and the like for information on business's with good reputations, it was not a good business model. Now the Company's pay to be recommended.
They give just the info they want you to have. Hence Catfishing.

Edit.. Angie's List hits the evening news out here often with so.e of there Corporate offices in Indy, it's also been said that if your company is not a customer of there's and your company has some bad reviews on there sites it will stay there until you decide to become a paying customer.
Sounds like Blackmail Catfishing.

How is this unique to catfishing?

 

[vraiblonde]

What does this mean?

Creating a false identity on the internet to lure in the unsuspecting, typically used in online dating sites (and Yelp).

 

[vraiblonde]

How is this unique to catfishing?

From the movie Catfish. Per Wiki:

In the film, the husband of the "catfish", Vince, relays a story of how when live cod were shipped to Asia from North America, the fish's inactivity in their tanks resulted in only mushy flesh reaching the destination. However, fishermen found that putting catfish in the tanks with the cod kept them active, and thus ensured the quality of the fish. Vince made an analogy of how there are people in everyone's lives who keep each other active, always on their toes and always thinking, suggesting that people should always be alert while socializing through the internet.

 

[Larry Gude]

From the movie Catfish. Per Wiki:

In the film, the husband of the "catfish", Vince, relays a story of how when live cod were shipped to Asia from North America, the fish's inactivity in their tanks resulted in only mushy flesh reaching the destination. However, fishermen found that putting catfish in the tanks with the cod kept them active, and thus ensured the quality of the fish. Vince made an analogy of how there are people in everyone's lives who keep each other active, always on their toes and always thinking, suggesting that people should always be alert while socializing through the internet.

Thank you.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may...

I know! Let's everyone here do a Yelp review of SOMD Forums. Give ridiculously awful reviews and pound vrai so much so that others will flock here to see what all the fuss is about. This will help with her impression numbers for her advertisers (maybe she could charge more?) and maybe we'll get some new players here in the forums? Wouldn't that be grand?

Another idea. It might be a awesome idea for those businesses that have unwarranted low Yelp reviews to embrace it? Place in their advertising, and post a sign on their door and websites, proudly promoting their low review standing. Something like, "Want the worst service ever? Stop by and see us today. 10% off your purchase with printout of our Yelp review page." Or, "Our food is the worst. Buy one terrible entree, get the second of equal or lesser value 50% off with printout of our Yelp review."
Businesses could have a field day. And maybe for the truly deserving bad business, use this idea to turn their business around?

 

[vraiblonde]

If I may...

I know! Let's everyone here do a Yelp review of SOMD Forums. Give ridiculously awful reviews and pound vrai so much so that others will flock here to see what all the fuss is about. This will help with her impression numbers for her advertisers (maybe she could charge more?) and maybe we'll get some new players here in the forums? Wouldn't that be grand?

See, we're not selling a product, though. Plus, while I'd think it was funny, David would explode and he is not expendable. Trust me when I tell you, you don't want him on the warpath.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

See, we're not selling a product, though. Plus, while I'd think it was funny, David would explode and he is not expendable. Trust me when I tell you, you don't want him on the warpath.

However, you are selling a service. It was tongue-n-cheek don't cha know? Not the second part though.

 

[BernieP]

I always ask "locals" for recommendations. If not someone I work with, the hotel people are typically a good source of information.
Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc. can be out of date - like "Oh yeah, that place closed a year ago" out of date.
As Vria said, they promote their advertisers.

 

[lovinmaryland]

Reviews for Pax River Ale House:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/pax-river-ale-house-lexington-park

Note that the top reviews are from Texas, California...Hawaii (!?!). Man, ya'll came a long way for a beer and a burger. Okay, fine, people at Pax on travel maybe? Then you scroll down to the only negative review, which is hidden under "reviews not recommended".

Why didn't this guy make the cut? The review was well written, descriptive, comprehensive, and in fact it reflects what posters on here are saying. Kelli C. above him has the same zero other reviews, AND a vague one-liner, and that review made it in - I have to believe that it's because Kelli's review was positive, while Al J's was not.

So just a reminder: Yelp is biased toward their advertisers and they are blatant liars when they say they aren't. I'm pretty sure they use fake "reviewers" as well. Keep that in mind when looking for honest reviews and use TripAdvisor or another service instead. And business owners, be aware when the Yelp people come calling - they are dishonest frauds and that is how they do business, and how they will treat you as a customer.

I use Yelp all the time and I think maybe once or twice I was disappointed w/ places I found using Yelp. I have noticed what you are talking about because a review of mine went to the not recommended section of a restaurant so I assumed the restaurant paid some type of fee w/ Yelp to hide negative reviews.

I will say when I use Yelp though I pay attention to several factors 1) most recent reviews 2) lowest reviews (do they all have the same comments like bad service or flavorless food or is it someone w/ zero friends or reviews on yelp who had a bad experience) 3) how many reviews people have...if they have a lot I take a quick glance at their other reviews and see if they have the same tone (especially if its a negative review because sometimes theres just no pleasing certain people)...a lot of times if they only have one review I completely dismiss their review a perfect example is Pax River Ale House. How many of those 5 star reviews are from people who have ZERO previous yelp reviews??? This tells me its *probably* friends, employees, etc... of the Ale House.

 

[vraiblonde]

I will say when I use Yelp though I pay attention to several factors 1) most recent reviews 2) lowest reviews (do they all have the same comments like bad service or flavorless food or is it someone w/ zero friends or reviews on yelp who had a bad experience) 3) how many reviews people have...if they have a lot I take a quick glance at their other reviews and see if they have the same tone (especially if its a negative review because sometimes theres just no pleasing certain people)...a lot of times if they only have one review I completely dismiss their review a perfect example is Pax River Ale House. How many of those 5 star reviews are from people who have ZERO previous yelp reviews??? This tells me its *probably* friends, employees, etc... of the Ale House.

I do that with all review sites, including Amazon. If the review is over the top gushing and appears to be professionally written, I disregard it. If it's a 100% negative screed where absolutely everything was horrible and something improbable happened ("the server called my child ugly and punched my wife") I disregard those as well.

I use TripAdvisor because they don't filter their reviews. You get to see all of them, not just the ones that they want you to see. Certainly Yelp can run their business however they please, but it aggravates me that they say "we do not censor our reviews" when they clearly do and any dummy can see it right for themselves.

 

[lovinmaryland]

I do that with all review sites, including Amazon. If the review is over the top gushing and appears to be professionally written, I disregard it. If it's a 100% negative screed where absolutely everything was horrible and something improbable happened ("the server called my child ugly and punched my wife") I disregard those as well.

I use TripAdvisor because they don't filter their reviews. You get to see all of them, not just the ones that they want you to see. Certainly Yelp can run their business however they please, but it aggravates me that they say "we do not censor our reviews" when they clearly do and any dummy can see it right for themselves.

Exactly. I like to go between Yelp and TA because I think both have good aspects. I typically use TA more so when I'm going out of town. For local stuff in the DMV I use Yelp.

I totally agree about the hiding reviews. My review was a negative for a newly opened deli in LP/Great Mills area. It was newly opened and only had one other review at the time. It ended up being terrible so I reviewed it... went right to the not recommended. When I noticed that (like a week later) I noticed there was like 5 or 6 other "not recommended" reviews that had terrible reviews also. So now if its a new place I always check that not recommended area.

As you can see Yelp has them at almost 5 stars...now go look at the 23 not recommended reviews almost every single one of those 23 reviews is a 1 star review. https://www.yelp.com/biz/showtime-deli-lexington-park