3 ms·

Yeah I find it a bit hard to believe. If you really think reviews are inauthentic it’s not hard to click on their profiles and see. I find it hard to see much e

Yeah I find it a bit hard to believe. If you really think reviews are inauthentic it’s not hard to click on their profiles and see. I find it hard to see much evidence for astroturfing. If anything I think it’s fairly generous about not putting negative feedback front-and-center. That, and, as the article details, and I’ve seen in my own personal experience, business owners are extremely aggressive about trying to get you to take down negative reviews, which I’m sure not only gets people to take them down but also discourages people from writing them in the first place.

Solvency 3y ago
I am friends with 3 different businesses in my town. A baker, a cafe, and a small restaurant. All three of them have experienced the exact same thing. I've seen it happen first-hand on their accounts.
- jaktet 3y ago
  So just to be clear, you unselected the default “yelp sort” and sorted by either review date or best or worst and they don’t show up?
  - emodendroket 3y ago
    Sorry, not sure I understand the question. Part of what I’m saying is the default sort tends to be fairly generous to the business.
- CoastalCoder 3y ago
  If this is sufficiently widespread, seems like there's an opportunity for a honeypot operation. I.e.: (1) Guess at what information triggers this kind of shakedown by Yelp for a new business. E.g., credit-card sales data for new restaurants. (2) Set up a fake business that pushes all of those buttons. E.g., register a new restaurant business in the state; temporarily rent a space and maybe put up signage; generate realistic credit-card purchase data and/or cell-location data for fake customers. (3) Wait for the Yelp reviews to come in. [Possibly legal offence #1] (4) Wait for the Yelp sales call. [Possibly legal offence #2] (5) Turn down the sales offer. (6) Wait for the negative reviews. [Possibly legal offence #3] (7) Ask prosecutors to pursue criminal charges, and/or file a civil suit. Either way, get to the point of legally compelled discovery. I wonder if this would be a fun first project for a newly minted government prosecutor.
  - trillic 3y ago
    Back in the 70s, the Chicago Sun-Times did this with corrupt government agents by purchasing a bar. https://interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/mirage-tavern https://interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/mirage-tavern
  - erehweb 3y ago
    Seems like a lot of work for a speculative theory, given all the stuff government has to do.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      It’s exactly the shenanigans investigative journalism used to do.
stronglikedan 3y ago
> which I’m sure not only gets people to take them down but also discourages people from writing them in the first place. I leave negative reviews for places that deserve them, and there's nothing they could ever do to get me to take it down, or discourage me from doing it. I doubt they could ever do anything that would make most people feel differently from me about that. In fact, I'd be pissed and just start leaving more negative reviews if they even thought of getting aggressive.
- emodendroket 3y ago
  Well, sure, some will react that way. But some guy kept calling my wife and trying to intimidate her over my review. That probably works at least some of the time. And how many people want to go to court to defend themselves over a review? Seems like it’s not worth the effort.
  - stronglikedan 3y ago
    Oh, I thought you were talking about anonymous reviews, where the the businesses can respond but not contact me directly. I wouldn't leave a review where they would be able to contact me. And even if they did, I'd handle that scenario a bit differently. Sorry that happened to you.
    - emodendroket 3y ago
      Yelp has a big sideline in helping to find contractors. So obviously if you then review them after finding them through Yelp they know who you are.

Solvency 3y ago

I am friends with 3 different businesses in my town. A baker, a cafe, and a small restaurant. All three of them have experienced the exact same thing. I've seen it happen first-hand on their accounts.

jaktet 3y ago
So just to be clear, you unselected the default “yelp sort” and sorted by either review date or best or worst and they don’t show up?
- emodendroket 3y ago
  Sorry, not sure I understand the question. Part of what I’m saying is the default sort tends to be fairly generous to the business.
CoastalCoder 3y ago
If this is sufficiently widespread, seems like there's an opportunity for a honeypot operation. I.e.: (1) Guess at what information triggers this kind of shakedown by Yelp for a new business. E.g., credit-card sales data for new restaurants. (2) Set up a fake business that pushes all of those buttons. E.g., register a new restaurant business in the state; temporarily rent a space and maybe put up signage; generate realistic credit-card purchase data and/or cell-location data for fake customers. (3) Wait for the Yelp reviews to come in. [Possibly legal offence #1] (4) Wait for the Yelp sales call. [Possibly legal offence #2] (5) Turn down the sales offer. (6) Wait for the negative reviews. [Possibly legal offence #3] (7) Ask prosecutors to pursue criminal charges, and/or file a civil suit. Either way, get to the point of legally compelled discovery. I wonder if this would be a fun first project for a newly minted government prosecutor.
- trillic 3y ago
  Back in the 70s, the Chicago Sun-Times did this with corrupt government agents by purchasing a bar. https://interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/mirage-tavern https://interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/mirage-tavern
- erehweb 3y ago
  Seems like a lot of work for a speculative theory, given all the stuff government has to do.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    It’s exactly the shenanigans investigative journalism used to do.

stronglikedan 3y ago

> which I’m sure not only gets people to take them down but also discourages people from writing them in the first place. I leave negative reviews for places that deserve them, and there's nothing they could ever do to get me to take it down, or discourage me from doing it. I doubt they could ever do anything that would make most people feel differently from me about that. In fact, I'd be pissed and just start leaving more negative reviews if they even thought of getting aggressive.

emodendroket 3y ago
Well, sure, some will react that way. But some guy kept calling my wife and trying to intimidate her over my review. That probably works at least some of the time. And how many people want to go to court to defend themselves over a review? Seems like it’s not worth the effort.
- stronglikedan 3y ago
  Oh, I thought you were talking about anonymous reviews, where the the businesses can respond but not contact me directly. I wouldn't leave a review where they would be able to contact me. And even if they did, I'd handle that scenario a bit differently. Sorry that happened to you.
  - emodendroket 3y ago
    Yelp has a big sideline in helping to find contractors. So obviously if you then review them after finding them through Yelp they know who you are.