Yelp Communication

I am still upset with Yelp for taking my review down, so I decided to contact them. Following is our correspondence.

********@*******.com
Yelp! Feedback: My reviews
Subtopic: my-reviews
Comments:--------------------------------
How come my reviews only show up on the business pages when I am logged in? Why can't other users see my reviews?



~~~~~~~~~~~~YELP REPLY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: Tue, 5 May 2009 20:16:28 +0000
From: support@yelp.com
To: ********@*******.com
Subject: Message from Yelp HQ [ ref:00D3vCN.50047gK8t:ref ]

Hi,

Thanks for contacting us about your reviews.

We decided early on that Yelp wasn't going to be another anonymous review site where everyone is given credibility whether they've earned it or not. We created an automated system that decides how much trust to instill in a particular reviewer. If the reviewer isn't involved with Yelp, it's awfully hard for our software to have much confidence in the reviewer and so it may not display that review (as is the case here).

While this is may seem unfair to you, it's a great relief to a business owner that is targeted by a competitor with a fake review, or to a consumer who may be tempted to trust a fake review written by a business. It's worth mentioning that your review is always in your personal profile, which is still publicly posted and therefore publicly visible, and it may reappear on the business listing over time.

Regards,
Edgar
Yelp User Support
San Francisco , California
Yelp Official Blog http://officialblog.yelp.com/
Yelp Frequently Asked Questions http://www.yelp.com/faq
Yelp for Business Owners http://www.yelp.com/business




~~~~~~~~~MY REPLY TO EDGAR~~~~~~~~~~~

RE: Message from Yelp HQ [ ref:00D3vCN.50047gK8t:ref ]

Hi Edgar,
Thanks for replying to my message. I find it interesting that you say that my review isn't publicly available on the business webpage because I am not "involved with Yelp." I have 18 reviews so far and have had a Yelp account since January of 2009. Other reviewers who have reviews listed on the business page from which my review has disappeared have only 1 review (7 of the 11 reviews to be exact). Why are their reviews still publicly available on the business page and mine is not? What makes their Yelp account, with only 1 review, more valid than mine?

I find the timing in which my review was removed from the business page to be extremely suspect. I left my review on Friday, April 24. On April 25, I was contacted by the business owner, who was upset with my review and sent me a 9 paragraph missive about it. However, my review is accurate and I let her know that I will not be changing it. By the next Wednesday (April 29th), my review was gone from her page. Do you find this timing suspicious as well?

I have a feeling that this article from the Chicago Tribune is spot on (http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/mar/09/business/chi-0309-yelpmar09). I think that the business owner contacted Yelp with her concerns over my review. I think that Yelp arranged a deal to remove my review from her page in exchange for something. This is disgusting and completely against the whole premise of Yelp. What is the point of leaving reviews if the business owners can contact Yelp and have them removed? I don't even know what to think anymore.

Can you please let me know why reviewers with 1 review can still have their reviews visible, while mine has been taken off the page?

Regards, rm






~~~~~~~RESPONSE FROM YELP~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: Thu, 7 May 2009 19:13:48 +0000
From: support@yelp.com
To: ********@*******.com
Subject: Message from Yelp HQ [ ref:00D3vCN.50047gK8t:ref ]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Unfortunately, I can't provide details as to how our algorithm works because that reduces its effectiveness at protecting against spam, fakes, etc. I can tell you that the system operates without regard to communications between business owners and reviewers, star rating, or anything else. While I understand your concerns regarding the timing of the reviews, the correspondence and the suppression, it is not the result of any deal with this business owner. The business in question is not a Yelp sponsor, but even our sponsors must sign an agreement stating that they understand their sponsorship status will not affect their reviews before we will conduct business with them.

I will send your information to our engineering team so they can make sure everything is working properly. They are always refining our system and sometimes it does misfire, so your feedback is very helpful and will go towards improving the system.

Thanks again for expressing your opinion and for trying to make Yelp better for everyone.

Regards,
Edgar

Yelp User Support
San Francisco , California
Yelp Official Blog http://officialblog.yelp.com/
Yelp Frequently Asked Questions http://www.yelp.com/faq
Yelp for Business Owners http://www.yelp.com/business