Defamation of character and extortion; Yelp salesperson has friends leave bad reviews!

What people said

post_break · 2016-11 · Strong recommendation

Here is a great example of how Yelp tries to bully small businesses: [VIDEO] I suggest you watch this even if you like Yelp. It was definitely eye opening.

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save_ferris · 2020-04 · Criticism

Louis also found negative reviews from people who didn't live in his community and who were also friends with the Yelp salespeople who attempted to solicit business from Louis, which is so egregious. [VIDEO]

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ex3xu · 2018-11 · Criticism

You can try this guy for proof: [VIDEO] Though if you already have confirmation bias that anyone who complains of a large company of shady behavior is a crazy nut, maybe this conversation chain is simply a waste of time. Without access to Yelp internals, it's always possible to just write it off as hearsay. Especially when, if you read my post, the courts have ruled that this behavior is not racketeering, even if it passes the duck test for extortion in my view. The logical explanation offered in the video is that the salespeople themselves are the ones leaving the reviews, not sanctioned by Yelp higher ups. I worked a year doing web development and SEO for an agency that specialized in small local businesses, and enough of my clients had had similar experiences with the "Not Recommended" review algorithm after receiving harassing telemarketing calls from Yelp that I just assume that there's something shady going on. I honestly just think their business model is structured poorly. Too many perverse incentives involved. I won't be sad to see them go.

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