Your Thoughts about YELP!

[Matt Berg]

I did a search for this forum and couldn't find anything but what is your opinion about yelp? It seems to work against businesses Instead of with. I know we have great reviews on it but they remove them and keep mostly negative. I keep getting emails asking to advertise with them, I wonder if this is the trick to better the reviews.

Whats your take on yelp and have you tried to market with them?

[drfrightner]

I'll tell you what I think... YELP SUCKS!

Your best bet is to NOT pay attention to it. Ignore it and forget it exists. Yelp in my opinion is just another way for customers who have nothing better to do than torture a business. As we all know you can't make everyone happy but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. We try as I'm sure almost everyone does... but there are those people who just can't be pleased. SO in my opinion those are the people who live and breath on YELP.

There are people on YELP with like 10,000 reviews how could they review 10,000 things? They live on the site merely to act like they have a say in how your business succeeded or failed. I have heard horror stories from responding to YELPERS because they will simply hammer you if you respond... so I personally just ignore it.

Its pretty much the same now with BBB who even pays attention to that stuff? Just ignore it and keep your mind POSITIVE and FOCUS on doing everything RIGHT and you'll find very few YELPERS who want to trash you.

Larry

[UnDeRTaKer313]

It's a scam and makes me really mad.
We have hundreds of 5 star reviews but yelp puts them on the second page and doesn't include them in overall ranking. Just the bad reviews are on the first page.
BUT I don't think you should ignore it, if we can figure out a way to beat the system that would be great, or just a way to get new reviews to stick would help. The reason I don't completely ignore it is when you search our name on google our yelp page is the second result with a pathetic rating. I Even have some statistics on how much traffic our yelp page got pat year and it was a few hundred visits, definetly trying to find a solution.

[Jim Warfield]

Last Time I Checked....

We had only very positive reviews there.
I have a distinct feeling though that most of our positive reviews all probably came from people who happened to come here all during the rest of the year when we often tailor the house tour just to them trying to exceed and to pass any expectations they may previously had. (Can't really do that in the Fall)
This month one small group ,of mostly newbies, had a three hour house tour, loved it!
Like the old saying:"You only get one chance to make a good first impression"
Our previous customers do the huge majority of our "Advertising".
If They brag it up too much, well, then We didn't over-sell it, now did we?
There will always be some cranky people out there who usually have a problem with any haunt because their friends drug them in the door.
When we get that "Friend" to jump and scream, it makes it So much better for the one protesting being here (and US!)