Restauranteurs and consumers alike are very aware of Yelp, a major online consumer reviews website. The website bills itself as a voice for customers, and a tool for businesses to improve and generate sales. Yelp's review management practices have generated quite a lot of controversy, both among restauranteurs and consumers. A new anti-Yelp documentary,
Billion Dollar Bully, by filmmaker Kaylie Milliken, looks to explore Yelp's review management practices and their effect on business owners. Though Milliken has never made a documentary before, the new film has already gained a lot of press, likely due to Yelp's less-than-stellar reputation among the restaurant industry.
Grub Street interviewed Milliken about
Billion Dollar Bully and her motivations for creating the film, and her responses are in line with what restauranteurs have been saying online for quote some time; Yelp seems to put pressure on businesses to advertise with the service, and when a business declines, their percentage of negative Yelp reviews seems to increase while positive reviews are "filtered".
Milliken says she was inspired by her highly-regarded doctor, who has had a negative experience with Yelp reviews. After looking into the issue and speaking with friends, she "realized it was a story that needed to get told".
On the subject of businesses feeling slighted by Yelp reviews and Yelp's policies, Milliken notes that "
Businesses feel helpless because once you are put on Yelp, you do not have the option to come off of Yelp. And a business is often not the one to put itself up there".- It is true, that consumers can add a business to Yelp for the purpose of leaving a review, and once posted, the business has no way to control how those reviews are curated and shown (though they do have the option to create a Yelp account and respond). Recent court cases have ruled that
Yelp has the right to manage user's reviews in whatever way they choose (aside from modifying the content of the review).
Having a place for consumers to leave honest opinions is indeed important, however, when a company starts to capitalize on those reviews, the integrity of the system is obviously subject to scrutiny. Yelp's "algorithm", which filters reviews it deems to be spam, has received a lot of criticism from business owners and consumers alike. What is your experience with Yelp? As a business owner or a consumer, what positive and negative things do you have to say about the service? Let us know what you think via Google+, Facebook and Twitter.
Source:
Grub Street
Image Credit (Flickr)
Tablebases.com
