Lots of small-business owners have experienced frustrations dealing with sites that post consumer reviews. In case you have ever been tempted to deal with those frustrations by soliciting positive reviews, an article published Thursday in The New York Times contains a warning: Yelp is running a sting operation to try to catch businesses that don't play by their rules. The story explains:
Like every Web site that depends on consumer critiques, Yelp has a problem with companies trying to manipulate their results. So it set up a sting operation to catch them. The first eight businesses - including a moving company, two repair shops and a concern that organizes treasure hunts - will find themselves exposed on Thursday.
For the next three months, their Yelp profile pages will feature a “consumer alert†that says: “We caught someone red-handed trying to buy reviews for this business.
Beyond the eight businesses sited, the story do es not indicate how widespread Yelp believes the practice of soliciting reviews to be. What do you think of the company's new, more aggressive stance?
And if you are looking for more information: Here's a small-business guide to managing your own reputation. And here's an interview with the founder of Yelp: “Talking to the Chief of Yelp, the Site that Business Love to Hate.†And here's a story of one restaurant owner's effort to deal with a bad review on Yelp: “Mr. Cohen Has a Beef.“
