6 ms·

http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=hnH6RaPkJ2Tfw9ZkKMfLmg http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=hnH6RaPkJ2Tfw9ZkKMfL... see how many bad reviews he alre

by usaphp 13y ago

http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=hnH6RaPkJ2Tfw9ZkKMfLmg http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=hnH6RaPkJ2Tfw9ZkKMfL... see how many bad reviews he already wrote for Sause! I think his profile should be flagged, you can't trust a person who does this kind of things. Edit: He just changed his name to West C. what a guy :) Another Edit: Just look at his reviews date - they all are written on July 29-30 - why would anybody write so many reviews unless you receive a commission to do so?

Irishsteve 13y ago
So I guess Negative reviews = No sale Positive review = Sale Indifferent review = ???
- ronilan 13y ago
  Indifferent review = actually went there. You should patent this: "a system and method to filter Yelp reviews based on Groupons offered in locale" :)
  - rohamg 13y ago
    0xfe your account is dead. but your comment is accurate: > Interesting. He just got one of his cronies to write a review: http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVinuuuFVCAr77TnI9kyw http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVinuuuFVCAr77TnI9k... I wonder how long it's going to take before he realizes he is fucked?
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
    - WarDekar 13y ago
      The funny part of this is that if you look at his list of reviewed places he has a bunch from Chicago, IL, then the 2 for the 2 locations of Sauce in SF, then another place in Chicago on the SAME DAY. Now I know that you could wait to review places, but that certainly seems like a suspicious line. Also 2 of the 3 total reviews he's ever given a 1 star rating to are Sauce (out of 71 total reviews).
    - h4pless 13y ago
      I thought the same at first and honestly expected that the guy had just flat out committed libel. But after a tiny bit of research, I found that his claims about the restaurant's cleanliness were in fact accurate. (http://bit.ly/16xkdCO http://bit.ly/16xkdCO) So while he probably was just writing the review to help his friend, his review is informative and factually based so really, there is no reason to remove it or the guy's account as far as I can tell. This also makes Andy J's threat to make his active Yelp friends aware of his discontent with the restaurant make all the more sense as they are obviously better at it than him.
      - DanBC 13y ago
        He has cherry picked some lines from the report, and ignored the 'confirmed fixed' date, and the follow-up visits. So, while true, it is a bit misleading.
  - protomyth 13y ago
    Actually, I could see small businesses paying for a service that tracks Yelp and other review sites for "interesting" activity based on patterns like this one. Perhaps getting information from other sites to figure out who the reviewer works for.
- trimbo 13y ago
  Other than sauce, his reviews seem good to me (I've been to most of the places in his reviews... coincidentally, while I worked for Groupon and had to travel to Chicago)
  - usaphp 13y ago
    Just look at the dates he wrote those positive reviews, he is writing about 20-30 new reviews per day...
0xfe 13y ago
Interesting. He just got one of his cronies to write a review: http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVinuuuFVCAr77TnI9kyw http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVinuuuFVCAr77TnI9k...
stugs 13y ago
Great catch. Flagged
ams6110 13y ago
Does anyone really take unscreened "review" sites like Yelp seriously? I never even bother looking at them.
- jrockway 13y ago
  Yes, some people take them seriously. What do you use instead?
  - ams6110 13y ago
    That's the trouble. Consumer reviews are just not credible to me. They are anecdotes. I find the entire concept to be unworkable.
    - smtddr 13y ago
      Anecdotes maybe, but supposedly all anecdotes from the same source. Instead of stuff that's like "my friend" or "I know lots of people that...", which is different from person to person, a bunch of people reviewing the exact same location is a bit more accurate. Also, after awhile you can usually separate the quality comments from the noise. Kinda like we all do on HN or any other forum. I think I can mostly tell when someone is just pushing an agenda/cherry-picking facts to support a particular claim, versus a comment giving a mostly objective review. Particularly when they point at facts & actual events rather than vague feelings.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
  If I am in an unfamiliar town, sometimes I use "sites like Yelp". I definitely take reviews with a grain of salt. Sometimes it [might be] better than nothing.
  - pseut 13y ago
    "I don't normally like [style of restaurant] but this one was fantastic!" is usually informative but not as intended.
- 13y ago
pwenzel 13y ago
"This Yelper's account has been closed."
sklivvz1971 13y ago
Account has been closed.

by usaphp 13y ago

Irishsteve 13y ago

So I guess Negative reviews = No sale Positive review = Sale Indifferent review = ???

ronilan 13y ago
Indifferent review = actually went there. You should patent this: "a system and method to filter Yelp reviews based on Groupons offered in locale" :)
- rohamg 13y ago
  0xfe your account is dead. but your comment is accurate: > Interesting. He just got one of his cronies to write a review: http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVinuuuFVCAr77TnI9kyw http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVinuuuFVCAr77TnI9k... I wonder how long it's going to take before he realizes he is fucked?
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - WarDekar 13y ago
    The funny part of this is that if you look at his list of reviewed places he has a bunch from Chicago, IL, then the 2 for the 2 locations of Sauce in SF, then another place in Chicago on the SAME DAY. Now I know that you could wait to review places, but that certainly seems like a suspicious line. Also 2 of the 3 total reviews he's ever given a 1 star rating to are Sauce (out of 71 total reviews).
  - h4pless 13y ago
    I thought the same at first and honestly expected that the guy had just flat out committed libel. But after a tiny bit of research, I found that his claims about the restaurant's cleanliness were in fact accurate. (http://bit.ly/16xkdCO http://bit.ly/16xkdCO) So while he probably was just writing the review to help his friend, his review is informative and factually based so really, there is no reason to remove it or the guy's account as far as I can tell. This also makes Andy J's threat to make his active Yelp friends aware of his discontent with the restaurant make all the more sense as they are obviously better at it than him.
    - DanBC 13y ago
      He has cherry picked some lines from the report, and ignored the 'confirmed fixed' date, and the follow-up visits. So, while true, it is a bit misleading.
- protomyth 13y ago
  Actually, I could see small businesses paying for a service that tracks Yelp and other review sites for "interesting" activity based on patterns like this one. Perhaps getting information from other sites to figure out who the reviewer works for.
trimbo 13y ago
Other than sauce, his reviews seem good to me (I've been to most of the places in his reviews... coincidentally, while I worked for Groupon and had to travel to Chicago)
- usaphp 13y ago
  Just look at the dates he wrote those positive reviews, he is writing about 20-30 new reviews per day...

0xfe 13y ago

Interesting. He just got one of his cronies to write a review: http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVinuuuFVCAr77TnI9kyw http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVinuuuFVCAr77TnI9k...

stugs 13y ago

Great catch. Flagged

ams6110 13y ago

Does anyone really take unscreened "review" sites like Yelp seriously? I never even bother looking at them.

jrockway 13y ago
Yes, some people take them seriously. What do you use instead?
- ams6110 13y ago
  That's the trouble. Consumer reviews are just not credible to me. They are anecdotes. I find the entire concept to be unworkable.
  - smtddr 13y ago
    Anecdotes maybe, but supposedly all anecdotes from the same source. Instead of stuff that's like "my friend" or "I know lots of people that...", which is different from person to person, a bunch of people reviewing the exact same location is a bit more accurate. Also, after awhile you can usually separate the quality comments from the noise. Kinda like we all do on HN or any other forum. I think I can mostly tell when someone is just pushing an agenda/cherry-picking facts to support a particular claim, versus a comment giving a mostly objective review. Particularly when they point at facts & actual events rather than vague feelings.
fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
If I am in an unfamiliar town, sometimes I use "sites like Yelp". I definitely take reviews with a grain of salt. Sometimes it [might be] better than nothing.
- pseut 13y ago
  "I don't normally like [style of restaurant] but this one was fantastic!" is usually informative but not as intended.
13y ago

pwenzel 13y ago

"This Yelper's account has been closed."

sklivvz1971 13y ago

Account has been closed.