Bad Reviews on Yelp? How Not to Respond...

Gotten a negative review on Yelp or another consumer-review site, remodelers? Um, don't take it this personally.




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Real Remodeling Reviews, False "Filtering"?

And speaking of online reviews ... does Yelp have something against small companies? 

A remodeler writes:

"We as a company have been asking our clients to review us online at various sites like Yahoo, Google, Houzz and Yelp. We have had two new reviews on Yelp's website in the past couple months, only to find that those reviews have been “filtered” by Yelp because they say these are fake or “less relevant” reviews. Although I have responded to Yelp with the clients' information (phone, address, project pictures, etc.) I cannot get even a response back.

"Some companies have noticed that only companies who pay to advertise on Yelp get to 'keep' all their reviews. This website has a link to a petition for the attorney general to investigate Yelp. Could you could rally the troops and gain some support for us and other remodelers around?"

Here is how Yelp describes "filtering," by the way.



So, what say you, remodelers:

Has Yelp filtered out any of your "less trustworthy" reviews? How have you responded? Please comment below.



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Is Yelp Mostly Irrelevant to Remodelers?

Remodelers might come out smelling like roses or stinking like rot when they're reviewed on Yelp -- as on Angie's List or Kudzu or Google + or so many other sites where consumers can post reviews of businesses. Over at GuildQuality, Geoff Graham makes a compelling case for why Yelp isn't terribly relevant to the building and remodeling industry. Which is not to say that remodelers shouldn't be aware  of what's being said about them.

"... Yelp works well for prospective customers seeking feedback about businesses with a large volume of customers. Restaurants (their biggest market) may serve hundreds of people in a day. With a very large volume of customers, over time a business will attract a meaningful number of reviews on Yelp. This is good for customers, and it's also good (in the long run) for elevating professionalism in the restaurant industry. It shines a spotlight on great restaurants, and makes it tougher for less-than-great ones to attract customers."

"...Yelp, Google, Angie's List, and others all face the same problem: the way they gather information and communicate quality is inherently biased in favor of businesses with large volumes of customers and against those with small volumes of customers." 

Read the rest of Geoff's post here.

In the meantime, we at d5R have covered online reviews a number of times, most recently tracking the story of a DC-area remodeler who sued a client for posting inflammatory reviews. (See that thread here.) And on Wednesday, we'll publish a big story about the potential hazards of online reviews: how to get good reviews, how to avoid negative reviews, and how to mitigate the damage of negative reviews when and if they happen.

If you'd like to share your experience in avoiding and mitigating damaging reviews, post a comment below, or email me: leah@daily5REMODEL.com.



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"We Can't Be Bullied Around," Cont'd

The saga of remodeling contractor Chris Dietz vs. one very displeased former client took a negative turn against the remodeler last week when the Virginia Supreme Court overturned a preliminary injunction against that client, whom Dietz had sued for defamation.

image from www.helloari.com

In that preliminary injunction, the client, Jane Perez, had been ordered to remove some claims on popular consumer-ratings sites Yelp and Angie's List about Dietz and his work. Under the latest legal decision, Perez may now keep her reviews online in their unaltered original state.

As I wrote in December, after talking with Dietz:

"The problem is, the homeowner's allegations weren't true.... Not only did the woman never pay him for the work he did do -- for a project that totaled a whopped $9,340 -- but her words scared away other homeowners who were ready to sign projects worth several hundred thousand dollars, he said."

That post generated dozens of comments on d5R, along with several calls to support Dietz by contributing to a legal defense fund or getting NARI or another association to provide him with legal support. Check out those comments here, including a response from NARI President Dean Herriges and from a few lawyers who work closely with remodeling contractors.

Add your thoughts to the discussion, if you like. Or share your thoughts below on the perils of online reviews, and steps you have taken to avoid or mitigate them.


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