Yelp Reviews!

[Boro]

Topic Originally Created on Tow411 in January 2015:

 

Has anyone had a problem with the yelp review service. It seems if you do not advertise with them they post only negative reviews and suppress the positive reviews. We have a terrible reputation on Yelp, yet it is based on 2 bad reviews and 1 neutral review.

 

Other great reviews are tagged as not recommended and hidden. They call us constantly to advertise with them and we always decline, see's they extort business's to advertise. I am truly not satisfied the negative reviews are even real or valid.

 

The way we operate is simple, you complain we fix the situation, no matter what, unless it is blatant fraud. I have not had a workmanship complaint in longer than I can remember, lots of complaints about how long it takes to complete a job, which is a valid complaint, but we are not a rush, rush production shop. Quality of repair is our mind set, we warranty workmanship for as long as the person owns the car. I want the car to look as it does now, ten, twenty, thirty years from now. We use the best possible products and materials.

 

We have won the National Super Chevy Title over 25 times. We screw it up, we fix it. Period, no hassle. I am going to try to file a lawsuit tomorrow, but so far my research shows most have been unsuccessful in suing them, and this practice appears to be the norm with YELP. 

 

Check yourselves on this site, has anyone else fought back and got something done? HELP Please!
Thanks for listening and any response.

 

carl4tow said:

yelp sucks they've been sued because of the s%%t they do

 

Borotow said:

yet they have prevailed in court, Supreme Ct decision says it is okay for them to trade advertising for positive reviews, and only show negative reviews if you chose not to advertise with them. I am not sure the neg reviews are legit, as we never had a complaint or anything of that nature brought to our attention. I sent messages to the so called complaintants numerous times offering to make what ever problems right, but recieved no responses. I think its bullshit.

 

BlackAutoload Said:

It is just the new bbb, pay up or wont get an a rating.
I am dealing with a 1 star review right now on yelp and am getting no where even thru the biz portal.

 

Supertower said:

I wish these reviews people post where somehow legitimized. We get people saying they called us and we never showed up or answered our phone. I found the same review about 5 other towing companys! Obviously a competator! Also had someone post all wreckers in west houston are scummy and can't get Google to pull it down. We are not scum and if you call us we will come! We are honest and reffer out any work we can't get to in the customers time frame.

John Payette, Owner, Superior Wrecker Service, Serving Houston Since 1991
TRAA Level 1 & 2 Certified, Wreckmaster Level 2/3 Certified #95734
 

Borotow said:

I complained to them enough that they dropped my bad reviews as well, then poof, as fast as they were dropped, they were put back up weeks later as recommended reviews, while all my good reviews were listed in fine print under NOT Recommended reviews. The more I learn about yelp the more I see they are dirt bags. Keep an eye on your reviews, they may pop back up.

 

LSChicago said:

I only had 5 star reviews, so I can't say if that's true.

 

DodgeTowGuy134 said;

Yelp and the BBB are just businesses that scam and try to extort real businesses

 

EKYtow55 said:

That's why I haven't used social media advertisement yet, when you are in a small rural area news carries fast, and envious competitors could ruin you with negative posts or reviews that were made up.

 

Borotow said:

That's all we had too, for a long, long time, was positive reviews. Then they started to call about advertisement, we declined and then the bad reviews popped up. When they called again we were told if we advertise with them they can make the bad reviews go away and they could develop great reviews for us. I have three local business's that have had the same issue, doesn't seem logical, ethical or fair. Your lucky all you have is five stars. Of the bad reviews I got I know at least 1 is BS. Someone wrote in and said I charged her for aftermarket parts and charged her for OEM. That is something I have never , ever done. Its also funny that of the bad reviews no one has ever complained to us, ever. I also posted on the site I would redo, refund, or anyway make right what they deemed we did wrong and got not one response. Its funny all my positive reviews are deemed not recommended and the two bad ones under the recommended review heading. Don't think its fair......................

 

carl4tow said:

you don't need to do any advertisement to get a review on yelp

 

Borotow said:

Completely true Carl, we don't do any advertising, I haven't even subscribed to the Yellow Pages in over ten years......but we get no lie about 2-5 calls a day with offers to sign up for advertisement that guarantees to double our business! Then Yelp calls and tries to BS us and bang.....................bad reviews.

 

Intow man said:

Extortion - the crime of obtaining money or some other thing of value by the abuse of one's office or authority.

Make sure you claim the business as yours on Yelp, and then reply to the bad reviews, either apologizing to the customer, or explaining your position on Yelp's tactics. It's always a good idea to reply to the bad reviews as it shows you are genuinely concerned about the customers bad experience even if it is complete BS. These social media reviews are becoming very popular, but what Yelp is doing should not be allowed!

Dennis@DentedDev

 

Borotow said:

 I do reply to every bad review, with offers to fix free of charge, pay for repairs or what ever it takes to remedy the situation. The problem is they get posted and within a few hours they are gone. Yelp is of no service as they themselves proclaim they can limit the bad reviews and also add good reviews to boost your business, IF you subscribe to their advertisement protocol. For well over 40 years I strive to have close to a 0 come back and was always close to successful, usually in the 1% area, then they sunk their hooks and slammed me. Pure bull............

 

Rod VT said:

In addition to towing I do some locksmith work. In my experience, locksmith customers check Yelp, tow customers, almost never. But tow customers do see Google reviews...

 

MOSS TOWING said:

I Just had it out with YELP same thing as most comments. They told me I was Paying per click and gave me a crazy number of clicks,but yet I don't think I have had a single call from them and paying $300 a month every month. Asked to verify some of the day's of the clicks couldn't do that, I said what about mobile numbers? couldn't do that . Told them to cancel and they charge $700. Don't sign up with them It's a Scam. I'm in a small town where we can monitor where our calls come from easier. They also told me my ad was appearing at the top of the page and I looked it up and it wasn't there. She looks it up and it's not there. Then she say's maybe your at your ad limit for the month. So I look it up and Nope only $150 worth so far and she say's well they may be saving some after she just told me it would run until it was all used up. I GOT BURNT DON'T LET YOUR COMPANY GET BURNT!!!!

 

Rod VT said:

Moss, thanks for the advice/explanation/warning. The Yelp salesguy calls every month or two and I keep telling him I am not interested in advertising with them. Actually, I am close to begging them to take down my listing since I think it gets me only calls out of my area. I need to start asking EVERY caller where they got my number, not just they ones I actually do work for.

 

TowmanBlue said:

I live out in the woods in Southwest Virginia and get an occasional call from Yelp or a Google search customer and most are price shopping and don't call back. If someone calls and wants a tow just like last night, he wants a tow and has a puckup with a right front wheel broken off pulling a 16 foot trailer. I gave him a price and he hesitated a few seconds and said come on. After loading up and hooking to the trailer, we started down the road and he said he searched Yelp for a tow company and I was second on the list with no fancy ad like the first guy and he clicked on my number and was surprised when I answered. I told him that we had no ad on their site and he said he didn't either and they call him all the time with a fancy plan. Delivered a happy customer and his wife with truck and trailer home safely. I don't have a web site or a do a lot of advertising because in rural areas almost everyone knows who is doing what and who they can depend on.