Bad Yelp review

[valeri_hoffman_bradford]

<p>Hello!</p>

<p>I'm new here & have an issue that I've had no one able to give me good advice on locally, so I thought I'd give this a shot. I had a bride-to-be inquire about a wedding. She wanted a custom quote as it was to be just them and the officiant & photographer, at an inn that's in a tourist area fairly close to me. I gave them a quote(very deep discount), she accepted, so I forwarded my contract & retainer information. This is where the problem arose. She informed me that they do not pay retainers, the contract is sufficient. I replied that I don't work without a retainer, have been using the same procedure for over 10 years, and if they were not willing to go by my policy(which is standard), they were welcome to find another photographer who would be willing to do things the way they wanted to. She replied that if I were willing to change my policy, they would still want to hire me as their photographer.<br>

I recently had a past client direct me to Yelp because of a horrible review. At first I didn't know who it was from--but determined that it was the groom in the scenario. I did a little on-line research on my own & found that I can reply to the review(which I did) but that's it. I also discovered that the couple did not get married where/when they had told me they were going to, but at their home(they posted on You Tube) & not on the date of the inquiry. I'm left wondering if this is someone doing this for another photographer or someone really got that upset about not allowing myself into being bullied. I've now had two more people comment on the review--I didn't even realize people used it for photographers(my only review with them), but apparently they do. I have great reviews on Wedding Wire & A+ with the BBB--no unhappy clients that I'm aware of.</p>

<p>Anyway, any advice on how to handle the damage control/get it removed would be much appreciated.</p>

<p>Thank You!<br>

Valeri Hoffman Bradford<br />

[bill_burke1]

<p>Hello Valeri,<br>

Unfortunately (and others, please correct me if I'm wrong), there's no way to remove a review from YELP (positive or negative). The only recourse you have is what you've already done in responding. It's an unfortunate scenario that someone can post such a review even if its unsubstantiated and there's nothing that can be done to remove it; but then again, if negative reviews could be removed, there wouldn't be any negative reviews at all. The only other strategy that can be used is to connect with the client and attempt some form of service recovery (apology, discount on future services, etc) if the reviewer posts some form of retraction on the thread. Its hard to eat crow- very hard to do if the negative reviewer is wrong, but from a customer service perspective, we're all forced into the old addage "the customer is always right". I know it's painful, but that's how it goes.</p>

[julie_a.]

<p>The above post is true, however, if you contact Yelp and inform them that this person was not a customer, it may be a breach of their terms (you'd have to check), and a valid reason for removal.<br>

I had a photographer posted her photos to MY yelp (it was confusing... we have the same name in different cities, but it seemed deliberate, and communication with her was ignored). The first time I contacted them they said I could not have a photo removed. Once I wrote back that it violated their terms of use, they removed it. <br>

Worth a shot, at least. Good luck.</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>She may not have been a customer but probably was a valid potential customer - especially since they did end up getting married. </p>

<p>Maybe they looked around and decided to change plans because everyone from the florist to the hotel to the photographer wanted a deposit / retainer. Just saying... </p>

<p>Keep in mind that most people are getting married for the first time - and unless they have a planner or friend that has been married - it is a foreign thing to them. Unless you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a competitor doing it to annoy you, then you're better off not making that type of accusation. </p>

<p>As for the bad review - my understanding is that if you write out a check to yelp for advertising they will bump you up in seniority / priority in which case you can remove or hide reviews. At least that was their model a couple of years ago. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>If someone did not use your service, Yelp will delete their review if that's clear from the review, and you point that out to Yelp.</p>

[danmarchant]

<p>Did the review claim that they were a customer and were unhappy with the service? Did they, in effect lie, or just say that your contract terms weren't agreeable to them? If they stated or implied that they were customers then you should certainly be able to get the review removed.</p>

[bethe_fisher]

<p>You can also encourage happy customers to write good reviews on Yelp.</p>

[bobbollinger]

<p>Hi, Valeri,<br>

I just tracked you down on Google, read the bad Yelp review, and your measured and calm response to it. Your response was perfect, and the guy "Frank" comes across in the post as a real jerk. All those big words he used......I have an excellent vocabulary myself, but people normally don't use those words in something as pedestrian as a web post, and it simply reinforces my impression that the guy is an unmitigated jerk. I am a lawyer by profession, not a pro photographer, and getting unfairly negative reviews on the web also scares the crap out of me (as it should anyone in a professional service business) because I rely heavily on the web for marketing. <br>

I would suggest you ask a couple of clients who you know will give you a first class, 5 star review, to post something about you on Yelp and Google reviews as well. I think that will be the best way to overcome this guy's remark. But I really don't think his remarks, read with your response, is all that persuasively negative. Your reponse lets any intelligent reader know that he was a prick when he was dealing with you, consistent with the way he comes across in the review. Good luck. Don't lose any more sleep over it, either!</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>They never claimed they were a customer. "Frank" points out several times in his review of her that it never got to that point since they were not happy with her business practices. </p>

<p>I don't see anything in his review that would indicate he is a "plant" or a competitor out to get you or drive business away. He is however very vague as to what tripped his trigger - which you did a nice job in the response, of answering. </p>

<p>I find it hard to believe that any wedding photographer would work without a retainer - which is another reason why I don't think it is a "plant". Retainers are pretty much a given in the wedding industry to hold the date and to prevent the couple from continuing to shop after they book a vendor. </p>

<p>Since he said he wasn't a customer - I don't know what, if anything Yelp will do for you. He didn't misrepresent himself, saying that he was a customer, when in fact he wasn't. He is writing as a potential customer, warning other potential customers that you (to him at least) aren't operating in a favorable way. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

[goldbergbarry]

<p>This comes up very often, especially with all of the review sites. A few other options:<br>

1. Have everyone you know click the "Flag this" link on the Yelp review. The more people that flag this increases the chance of Yelp removing it.<br>

2. You can write to the poster and ask them to remove it. This might be a long shot. I recently posted a bad review of a local restaurant and the owner sent me a message offering to give me a free meal to give them another chance.<br>

3. As others have said, get as many of your real customers to post positive responses. This will minimize the affect of this one bad review. Maybe offer people a free print if they post a review.<br>

4. As a business owner, you need to aggressively monitor all of the reviews sites like Yelp, Yahoo and Google. Most of these also allows you to post a description of your business. Do this!</p>

[bill_james5]

<p>Has anyone every tried to bury their bad reviews from the search engine results page?<br>

http://bury-bad-review.blogspot.com/2012/09/remover-bad-reviews-from-serps.html</p>

[zoe_mcalister]

<p>There <em>are</em> ways to remove bad reviews from Yelp, but they are certainly breaking the terms of service. I recently wrote a news story that was published on newswire about some of the shadier ways to do this and what that means for businesses like yours, Valeri.<br>

I'm certainly sorry to hear you are having these issues, but don't despair. If your Yelp listing is not high on Google when people are searching for wedding photography, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Newlyweds don't use Yelp by and large to find photographers - as you probably know most of that stuff comes through strategic partnerships you will develop with Catering businesses, Wedding planners, a word of mouth etc<br>

-Zoe

[William Michael]

<p>I too read the post by “Frank R.”, posted on Yelp. I did not read your reply.</p>

<p>I have experience with “Yelp”, in my geographical area – and – as such I believe I do understand, explicitly, their terms under which a <em><strong>customer</strong></em> may post a “review”.<br>

Yelp is: “<em>not a place for rants about business practices</em>” and Yelp is a place for comment about “<em>consumer experiences</em>”.<br>

As such, it seem to me, that the USA version of Yelp would be similar and therefore as a rant about “practices” by one who was not “a consumer” - I reckon that Jeff’s comment is spot on.</p>

<p>In simple, terms as I understand it - a ‘tyre-kicker’ looking from the outside, on the sidewalk - can’t place a “review of a restaurant” slamming the fact that the restuarant has a policy of “respectfully declining patron’s requests for any alterations to the menu” . . .</p>

<p>I suggest that you contact Yelp and ask for the “review” (and your response) to be deleted: if you really think the "review" is damaging to your business.</p>

<p>I also looked at the link you provided to your “Personal Home Page” – and in consideration that you’ve been in business for 10 years - I think you are being over concerned and are too worried about that one comment on Yelp . . . but that's just my perspective.<br>

If you are concerned, I don't think it will be too difficult getting the "review" removed, if you get hold of the TERMS for posting review on Yelp and follow the line of argument that these people were never ever consumers in the first inst. and that they are commenting on the menu which was advertised and not their customer experience of the dinner. </p>

<p>WW</p>