Yelp,

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website,canmdkeor break
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A fewof thehundreds of
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P H O T O G R A PB
HYST I M O T HA
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I YOU'VE
BEENYELPED

n October30,2009,DianeGoodman sages.Shewarnedof a "\r'orld of pain.""Goodbyepussyboy I

loggedon toYelp.com.Likemany will be contactingyour employers," shesaid.And:"Your mom
businessownersin citiesacrossthe wasa bitch and shedidn't teachyou how to behave.That's
country,Goodmanhad latelydevel- why your life is sucha messright now."
opeda smallobsessionwith the web- SeanC. went back to the Yelppagefor OeeanAvenue
site,whichallowscustomersto publish Books,amendedhis reviewof the store,and attachedthe
critiquesof localbusinesses. Shehad e-mails.He alsoattachedthe e-mailsto a post on Yelp'smes-
beenvisiting her company'sYelppage sageboardsunder the subject"Gettingthreateningand cra4l
everydayto seewhat her customers e-mailsfrom businessowner."Dozensof the amateurcritics
had written about her bookstore. who write reviewson the sitejumped to his defense.Someone
Goodmanfound readingYelpreviews namedMorgan M. wrote,"That owner is fucking crazy)'and
to be emotionallywrenching-but shealsocouldn'tlook away. PatriciaH. wrote,"Wow what a nut job!"A few attemptedto
Scanningthe page,Goodmandiscoveredthat an amateur defusethe dispute."Leavethe small [companies]alone,"wrote
critic-a Yelper-had written a new reviewof OceanAvenue VeronaN. "They arealreadystrugglingto keeptheir heads
Books,the smallstorein SanFranciscowheresheis the owner abovethe seaof largebusinesses."
and soleemployee.Over the previousfewyears,Goodman's For two days,Goodman wastransfixedby the discussion-
storehad receiveda handful of reviewson Yelp.Most of them and shestartedto getparanoid."l couldn'ttell if the people
werepositive,but theyoften containedjust a touch of cruelty. cominginto the storewererealcustomersor just peoplewho
For instance,therewasthe customerwho gaveher five starsout weregoingto saysomethingabout me on Yelp,"shesays.A
of fivebut went on to describeher storeas"poorly lit, mothball customerwould askan innocuousquestion-for instance,
infested,disorganized, and a bit chaotic."Anotherdescribed "How long haveyou beenopen?"-4nd Goodmanwould
Goodmanas"a sweetlady" but alsorecommendedthat shegive panic,fearingthat her responsemight becomefodderfor yet
the store"a good cleaning."
"I know it's a mess,"Goodman says,show-
ing me insidethe shop,a 650-square-foot box
with tall shelvesand haphazardstacksof .MostYelpreviews-arepositiye,
paperbacksblocking the aisles."But it's just butsomdarepainfullv neqative.
me working here."Goodman is 49 yearsold
and hasan easysmile.Sheopenedthe store,at
Reviewers th6tthere
willinsinuafe
a differentlocation,in 1992."1 havethe kind areratsinthekitchen,thatthe
of businesswhereI get reallycloseto my cus- ownerlookslikea methheAd, that
tomers,"shesays."l'll spendhourstalkingto
peoplewho arelonely.That'sthe job."
themerchandise isstolen.
But a few yearsago,the job startedto
change.Whereasbeforedissatisfiedcustomers
might havecomplaineddirectlyto Goodmanor simply gone anotherYelpcomment."I wassayingto myself,'Comeon;
away,now they wereseekingreliefon the Web."ln the past,if that'scrazy)"shesays."'Don't think this way."'
someonewasdifficult,you could just tell them to leave,"she At the end of the secondday,shedecidedto end the crisis
says."But you can'tdo that anymore.You talk to someone, by apologizing.Shefiguredout Sean'slastname-Clare-with
and a coupleof minuteslater,it's on Yelp." a Googlesearchand found his addressin the white pages.His
Goodmanbeganreadingthe latestreview."This placeis a housewasjust two blocksfrom her store.Shewalkedup the
TOTAL MESS,"wrote somebodywho went by the handleSean stairsto his front porch and,at 6 o'clockon a Sundayevening,
C. "l think this placeneedsto closedown for a few daysand do a knockedon his door.
thorough cleaningand organizationand get rid of all the crap!" Accountsdiffer asto what happenednext,but a struggle
Goodmanwasangry-yet anotherreviewabout the ensued.Goodmansaysshestartedto explainthat shehad
mess-and shedecidedto let SeanC. havea pieceof her cometo apologizefor her e-mailsand wasattacked;Claresays
mind. Sheclickeda link on Yelp'swebsite,openinga tool that Goodmanbeganyelling,forcedher way into his house,and
allowsbusinessownersto sendmessages to reviewers."Why refusedto leave.In any case,the two becameentangled,grap-
don't you come in hereand sayit to my face?"shewrote.'Are pling until Goodmanfell down the steps.When shehit the
you too much of a coward?"Shetold him that sheknew who ground,Clareran backinsideand slammedthe door.The
he was-so few peoplecameinto the storethat it wasobvi- police arrived a few minutes later.
ous-and that the storewasa messbecausesaleswereslow. They told her shewould be bookedfor batteryand remanded
Over the next few hours,shesentseveralmore angry mes- to SanFranciscoGeneralHospitalfor a mentalhealthevalua-

50 rNc. FEBRUA
2 oRiY
o
 tion.Shesatancllistened, bewildered. Since
n hcn,shewonderec'i, \r,i.rs
it illegalto knock
on a r-reighbor'sc-kxlr? And ivhy,afterall the
nastythingsthathadbeensaidatroutherirr
public,rvasshetheonebeingpunished?
Wasr-r't
shethevictinr here?
Morethananything,sheblantedyelp.
Out of nowhere, the littlecontpanyhad
sontehorvntanagecl to getlretrveen her and
hercustonrers. It haclhurt her business
arndcausecl her to huntiliateherself,first
onlineand norv,inrprrobabll,, in the real
rvorld."l've lleverntet anystoreclwner
rvholikesYelp,"(klodnransays."We'reall
grittingour teeth.It'sevil."
F.t,crytnrc's 'l'he
a critic. clich6haslong
beena usefulwayto brushoffa caustic
renrarkor a biting cctnrrtrent. But norvit's
true-and it'sclrivingentrepreneurs crazy.

aybeyou'veseenthe red
decalspostedoutsideyour
Yelpedto Distraction
krcaltakeoutjoint or your nearest D t a n eG o o d m a nc o n fr o n t e d or thatthe business, whateverit sells,
nirteringhole.1'heysay,"people love a Y e l pr e v i e w e ar t his
isjust plainbad-to be avoided, one
Llson YelpJ'Or, if you happento own h o m e .S h ee n d e du p b e r n g
b o o k e df o r b a t t e r y . star,l X ) N Ol ' GO H E R E !! l
a sen'icebusiness, maybeyou havereceived a red Yelpallowsconrpanies to respond
business cardli.nr ercust.nrerwith the words,..yoll'\,e
to reviews, eitherby postinga public
l-reen
Yelpedl"printedin largeblockletters.1'he callingcarc-l con-rnrent on theirYelppageor by senclin{r a privatenressage to
directsbusiness ownersto the sitewherethey-ancl the entire the reviewer. A conrpanyciln edit basicinfilnnatit)non itsyehr
1ve1l6l-6i1nreadwhat the custonrerreailythinksof thcnr. listing-such asa ph''e number,web aclcrress, .nd otrrerati'u
A bad Yelpreviewcar danragcrlloretharner' entrepre- l1ss1s-[1rtit car-r't renroveitselffronrYelp..l'heupshotis that
neur'sego.Yelpis by s..re 'tealsLlres the most pop.,ulai in the 33 citiesin whichyelphasestablisheci a firnr firothold,
reviewswebsitein the rvorlcl,n,ithnrorethan26 million nrostcompranies mustcontendwith thefhctthatthei.ncither
rronthly reaclers ancla libran'of user-generated contentthat contnrlnor wl-rollyunderstand the rr-rechanisnr bv n.hichrnil-
is probarblynratched<lnlvbr'\\'ikipedia.'l'herearesonreeisht lio'rs.f customers
decidewhereto spendtlieir.roner..
nrillionYelprevien's, coveringservicetrusinesses in nrost Yelp'rakesmorey by sellingad spaceto snralllrusinesses.
nrajorAnrericarn metropolitanareas, alongwith lrelancl, salespeople typicallycalla c.mpanythat rrasrecei'eclseveral
(latnacla,
and the UnitedKingdom. reviervs arndencourage the owrer to "craim"his or heryelp
Yelpwasfoundedin san Francisc.i,t 2004by feremy page.I'hisallowsthe business to respondto reviewsand
stoppelnranand RusselSimnrons,two nrenin tireir20sv'ho receive trafficreportsfronryelp.once a business hasdonethis,
wantedto rnakeit easierfirr consumerstclfi'd good busi- the .ext stepis a' .ftbr of a $300-per-.*rrtrrpaidspo'sorshipr,
nesses and avoidbaclones.what theycreatecl wasan online whichbuysthe conrpiluyardvertisements elsewrrere.'theyelp
yellowpageswith attitude.\'elpletsanyonecritiqueany site."we explainto thenrhow gettingnroreexposureon yelpr
busi'essand gradeit, rvith rati'gs from one starto fivestars. benefitstl-reirbusiness," silysIordanGrossman, a salesman in
Yelpthe' usesa closelyguardedalgoritl-rnr-theco.rpa'ry the conrpany's san Fra'ciscoofhcewl'rolet 're listenin on his
won't discusseventhe basicsof horvi111,61[5-todetlrnrine salescalls."Usuerlly the reactionis prositive."
n'hichreviewsaredisplayedprontinentll,,lvhich areburied, But nrt always.The web is litteredwith the testimonyof
and which areremovedfiorn the site.N{ostyelpreviewsare .
business ownerswho clainrto havetreenshake.dow', sla'-
overwhelm i ngly positive,but sonrearepai.f'lly'egative, dered''r cltherwise da'-ragedby yelpa'd its users.(io i'tcr
oftenin a prersonal way.Reviewers will insinuatethat thereare atryservicebusiness, find the owner,arndaskher n,hatshe
ratsin the kitchen,that the orvnerlookslike a nrethl-read, that thinksaboutYelp,a'd you areliableto get,at best,a mixecl
the merchandise is stolen.Theywill suggest that the barber's response. A restaurateur in Phoenixtold me that readingyelp
razorsaren'tsterilized, that the restaurantmanageris racist, reviervsis like "ptu-rnir-rg for gold in shit.".Anybodycan ruin
P H O T O G R ABPYHD R E WK E L L Y
F E B R U A R y 2 0 tt N
oc. 51
I YOU'VE
BEENYELPED

your business,"saidanotherrestaurantowner in Lafayette, which is todayYelp'scoreoffering,wasan afterthought.)It was

California.He urgedme to "come out and exposetheseguys." tevchin's29th birthday,and about an hour afterthe lunch
ended,Simmonsand Stoppelmanapproachedtheir bossand
he speedat which Yelp----only five yearsold, unprof- pitchedthe concept.Theyhad no PowerPointpresentationand
itable,and cutein all the waysthat SiliconValley no specificrevenueplan;just a sense,Stoppelmansays,that they
start-upstend to be-has managedto attractani- could makesomethingthat would appealto lots of people.
mus would be enoughon its own to makeit worthy Levchinhesitated."l wasn'tsureif it would work," he says.
of examination.ButYelpis alsonoteworthyasa case "But the guyswerereallyenthusiasticabout it. And in my
studyin start-upsuccess. It hasmanagedto pull aheadof experience, when you havesmart peoplewho work well
entrenched,well-fundedcompetitorswhile building an enor- together,it's foolish not to invest."Maybebecauseit washis
mous community of dedicatedwritersand readers.Accordingto birthday-or maybebecausehe had madetensof millions
the lnternet researchfirm comscore,the site'straffic increased of dollarson PayPal-Levchin agreed,investing$l million
45 percentoverthe pastyear,evenasCitysearch,a l4-year-old in the half-bakedidea.
siteownedby the InternetconglomerateIAC,
sawits traffic drop slightly.
Yelpdoesn'tdiscloseits revenue,but the
figureis thought to be about $30million. The YelpFbeglnntngswereanything
company,which hasraised$31 million from buthumble. Th-e
companVwas;
venturecapitalistssince2004,expectsto be
profitableby the end of the yearand hasmore
literally,
conceived
orierlunch
than $15million in the bank.Yelpemploys andfunded-tothetuneof
roughly300people,and Stoppelman,the
company'sCEO,expectsthe figureto increase
$t million-bydinnertime.
to 500by the end of this year.Max Levchin-
Yelp'sfirst investorand the co-founderof PayPal-sayshe During its first few months,Yelpwasa failure. It attracted
expectsYelpto be "one of the highest-returninvestmentsI've few readersor writers beyondthe founders'friendsand family,
erer made."lndeed,asInc.went to press,rumors surfacedthat and it did not impressthe venturecapitalinvestorswhom
Googlewasin talksto buyYelpfor $500million. Stoppelmanpitchedat the end of 2004.After a fewweeksof
Stoppelmanand Simmonsmet while working asengineers unsuccessful meetings,Stoppelmanand Simmonswent back
at PayPal,the online paymentsfirm that wasfoundedin 1998, to the officeand setabouttrying to improvetheir product.
takenpublic in2002,andthen soldto eBayfor $1.5billion. "We got the doorsslammedin our faceoverand overagain," site
PayPalwasa contentious,intenselycompetitiveplace,and it Stoppelmansays."But that waslucky."Had Yelpsucceeded in jok
launchedthe careersof entrepreneurs who helpedcreatemany raisingmoney,it probablywould haveattempteda national.
of the successfirl companiesthat SiliconValleywould hatchover rollout. But without anyadditionalfunding,he and Simmons like
the next decade.The so-calledPayPalMafia-led by co-found- had to staylocal."We said,'Youknow what?If we just create ity;
ersElon Musk, PeterThiel, and Max Levchin-founded or a cool city guidein SanFranciscoand it'sworth $10or $20 sho
providedangelinvestmentto Facebook,TeslaMotors,Digg, million, that would be a win. We don't care."' par
Flickr,YouTube,Kiva,Slide,and Linkedln. are
Yelpsbeginningswere,asa result,anythingbut he ideaof talking about a $20 million exit asa BYI
humble.The companywas,literally,conceivedover mere"win" betraysa hardheadedness that is Buy
lunchand funded-to the tune of $1 million- one of Stoppelman's strengthsbut that can bug
bydinnertime.At the time, Stoppelmanand alsomakehim seemstrangelycold.Stoppel- mol
Simmons,who were26 and25,respectively, were man'sanalyticaltendenciesmakehis reviews call
working in a l0-person incubatorcreatedby almostcomicallydispassionate. Writing on his Bos
Levchin.He instructedthem to look at a handful blog about a book he readrecently,TheLives T
of investmentideas,one of which was"the yellow of Ants,he callsit, "an okaysurveyof the ant ingl
pagesfor the 2lst century." species."A reviewof the clothing retailer drir
As Stoppelmanand Simmonsatelunchone FrenchConnectionsumsit up as"clothingof COIT
afternoonin the fall of 20O1,theytaBcedabout medium-levelquality." Yelp
building a servicethat would allowyou to e-mail a questionto Without the cashfor a nationalrollout,Stoppelmandecided thar
your friends-for instance,"Who knowsa good doctor in San to focuson makingYelpfamouslocally.With the help of a Chn
Francisco?"-4ndthenpublishthe resultsonline.(The ideaof buzz-marketingguru he hired on a whim, Stoppelmandecided hot
allowingpeopleto publish reviewswithout beingprompted, to selecta few dozenpeople-the most activereviewerson the calli

52 rNc. FEBRUA
2 0R1Yo PHO'
 but thet, acknon leclgethat a larse techn<lkxr\/colnpilnv
oftbreclto buv the thcn-30-1'rc-p51111
colnpilll\/ itr 2(X)6.\'clp
r" tttrnec-lclorvnthe otL:r."lt nas a touqh call, ancl it n,ilscor-r-
tcntiolrs at the boarcilc'el," savsStol'r1-relrtran.
"lJecauseif
tve saiclno, \r,e'clhirveto builcl I rcal collpanv."

* g
uilclinsa rcalcorr.rl'ranvnreantcreatinga sizablc
salcsfirrce.\\/ith an aclclitional$10nrillionraisec-l
firrnrllencl'ulark(lapitalat theendof-2(X)6,
Stoppclntan sctup callcenters tiril of salcspcople
in Nor,\'orkanc'lSanFrancisco. 'lbclav,
150
vounspeoplespencltheirclavsc<llcl callinglrusinesses that
havcbeenrcviovecl. ForPricesthatrangc. fnlnr $300to $500a
nronth,advertiscrs getto plicka "firr.orite
reviov"thatappcars
at thekrp of theirYelppage,rvhichcanliclpa colnpanvn,ith
sonrebaclrevicn's creatcthe inrpression thatit is lrclovcc] br.
itsclrstonrers. \'clpaclvertisers canalsoelectto I'ravc thciracls
appearrvhensonreone searchcsfur krcallrusinesses in thcir
f inciustrr'oron theYelppagesof theirconrpctitors.
'l'he
pitchhasprrlvecl reasonalrlv popular-( irossnrarr
tolclrnethata trpicalYelpsalespcrson generates at least
$tt,(xx) in nronthlvbillings-lrut it hasalsoattractecl contro-
vers\'. Stxnebusiness ownershavereportecl seeinqthc.irYclp
ratinssfhllaftertl'revcleclir-recl 'l'he
to buvaclvertisirrg. mnr-
blingsci'ureto thesurfhccin a 2009articlethatappearecl irr
tl-reErrsllloyF.xprcss, it u,eeklvltewspapel-in Oaklancl, Cali-
'l'l-re
firrnia. article,"\'elpancltl'relJr.rsiness
of Irxtortion2.0,"
sr,rugestecl that \L'lp salesl'rcople,
like l\lafia firot sol-
c'liers,
u,ercthreatcninsbusinesses rvith bacl
0n Top of lt re\,ie\r,s
if thcv c.liclnot buy a sponsor.shippackagc.
sitc-anci thnln'thcrnan r)pe11-[.r parh'.As a L a u r e nH a r t l o v e sY e l p . Stopl'rclnranclenicsthc chargcs.
joke,hc'callecl thegrouptheYclplrlitcSclr-racl. H e r e m p l o y e e sh a v e
Ilut tlic suspicionanclangcr ale s\'ntptonratic
Lo'chinthoughtthc idca\vilscl-ilz\'-"I nas r e a s o nt o f e e ld r f f e r e n t l y
of a larccr problenr,narnclythat \L'lp'salsorithnt
likc,'Hoh'crap;\\fu'1g nou'hcrcnearprofitabil- is a nrvstcrl,to nearlv evervot-rc.
otrtsiclcthe cortr-
iq'; thisis ricliculous,"'he
si'u's-l'rutl(X)pcople Stoppelntansitvsthis is tlecessaryto prg-
l'ritt't\'.
shrlrveciup, and trafhc to thc sitc beeanto cran,lup. Ilecausethe vent businesso\\Irlersfirlnr hirirrg shill revien,crs,lxt nearli,
parties\\'crc rcscrvcrlfilr pnllifrc rcvicn'crs,thev qavecasualusers evervbusinesso\vuer I spokc u,ith in reporting this storv conr-
il reilsoltto use the sitc nt0rc arrrlnonLlscrsil rcilsor-lkr join Yelp. plairreciof being causht in the cnlssfire."\\''e'r,ehaclsorne posi-
IJyJune2(n5, \'elphad Il.(XX)rcr.icrr.crs, nt.st of thern in the tive reviovs suclclenlvclisappear,'si.t\'.Laurie Lar1,,the on,ner of
Ilay Area. In Nrlvenrbcr.st.ppclnran u'ent lrack to the \(]s ancl an upscalehonre firrnishinesstorein Pl'roenix. "'r'hcvsayit's
baggecl$5 million fhrnr llcsscnrcrVcnturc partners.Hc useclthe the al{rorithnr.l}ut the n,holething is rtcird."
lllorlev to thron,ntore pilrtic'sarrd to hire parn, phnners-\'elp I Drct Lavr',ancl trvo ciozenother [rusinesso\\/ncr.srvl-roI-racl
callsthenr conrrntrnit\'nranagcrs-in Ncu,\ilrk, (,hica{ll,ancl llccrt touchec]in onc \vilv rlr irnother by Yelp,afier travclins to
'l'he
Iloston. contpanv no\\' cntpll;1'5-10of thcsepeotrrlc. Phoenix,n'hich is sornethingof a fhrntier firr \tlp. \'clp plans
As Yelp'sinflucnce !{rc\\',bars anr'lrcstaurantsr,r,ere increi'rs- to open a salesofficc in Phoenix later this t'ear,but riqht non,
inqh'lvillirrgto host the px11ig5-r'hich inxllves eiving luva\, tl-rclone faceof the conrpan\,'.Ar'zona oPeration is a conr-
clrittks,fitocl.ancl space-in thc hopc thxl the crou,clsn,oulcl tttunitv r.nilnasernarnccl(labi N{essingcr, il conrpact,llrrtrlllv
cor.ncback ancjrvritc positivcrevigvs.llv the sllnlner of 2(X)0, \\()nriln of -35.
Yclp haclunrassedl(x),(x)Orcviel's anclu,asattractinunrorc As f-aras I c.ulc1tcll, bei'g a Yelpc.'rr,urrit' rtarascr
tharra nrillion uscrsa nronth.'l'hat Junc,thc srlr Fruncisco cotrsistsrlostlr, of scnclinslittle nrcssascs of encourascnrent
(.hrorriclccalleciit "San Francisco's onlirrc'it'guiciefirr n,hat's to r.rsers.
Nlessingerhas sent tlrousanc.ls of thc nressases, n,itl-r
hot anc'lnot." Anruncl the sanrctinre,potentialacquircrscilnrr bronriclcsstrch as "clrtc pric"or "grei'rtrevie\r,.""\\,|-rcnI sencla
calling.Neither Stol'rpelnran
nor Lo'chin rvill cliscuss
specilic.. conrplinrent,it encoLrrages other peoplcto clo the sanrc,anrJ

P H O T O G R A PB
HY B R A I . J D ( ]SNU L L I V A N
I I BRUARV
2010 lNC. 53

----
 I You'vEBEENYELPED

that createsthe culture."Beinga

modelYelperfor Messingeralso At itsbest,Yelp and,usingherYelpaccount,senta

meanssettingan exampleof is meritocratit.

'
privatemessage to the dissatisfied
customer.Hart suggested a competing
openness. Shehaswritten reviewsof
, h.elping
ggod salonand offeredto payfor a second
two sexshopsand two gynecologists
("Therearenot too many people oustnesses thnve. haircutthere.The result?The two-star

I trust to go'downthere,'butDr. . -At itsworst, reviewbecamea four-starreview.(For

Bartelsand Dr. Webbareon that
list!").It alsomeansengineering
a seeminglyendlessseriesof
partiesand outings.
One afternoonin November,I
joined Messingerasshecalledon a
more on how to respondto a bad
Yefpeqtpowers review,see"Thkea DeepBreath,"on the
peoplewho nextpage.)Hart told me that if a junior
dohotheedto be stylistwereto geta reviewbelowthree
stars,shewould considerfiring the styl-
empowered at the ist."My girls flinch everytime we get

numberof businesses that had par-

expenseof those
ticipatedin a Yelppromotion earlier whoarealreadv '
in the year,giving discountson such
things ashaircutsand massages
struggling.
to
Yelpers.Our first stop wasthe Root,
a salonin downtown phoesix. The
owner,LaurenHart, a 4}-year-oldwith short black hair, took
a breakfrom wrapping a customer'sblond locks in foil to tell
me about how shecameto love the web. "TWoand a half
yearsago,I didn't know how to turn on my cornputer,"says
Hart- "I thought the Internet wassomethingfor my kids."
Thingsstartedto changewhen a new customermentioned
to Hart that shehad found the salonon yelp."when you'rein
a trend-drivenbusiness,if you'renot keepingup with the
trends,you'rejust going to get old with your clientele
and die,"saysHart. Shelifted the ban on Internetusage
in the office,took a basiccomputerclassat the Apple
Store,and showedup at one of the monthly -..iing,
Messingerholds for businessowners.
Today,the Root offersdealson its yelp page_any_
one who mentionsthe sitemight geta freeconditioning
treatment-to attract new clients,and Hart tries
obsessively to avoid negativereviews.When a new
client makesan appointmentand mentionsyelp,Hart
generallychecksto seeif the personhasa profile on the
site.If the Yelperhaswritten bad reviews,Hart will make sure
shepersonallycuts the customer'shair. Hart respondsto
everyreview-which in 29 outof 30 caseshasmeant saying
thank you.
Like everybusinessowner,however,Hart cannothelp focus-
ing on the rareexceptions. "I've had one negativereview,"she
says"'Thecustomercalledin and wantedthe owner,and when
shecamein, I could tell shewasn'tmy type."The newclient
seemededgierthan Hart'stypicalclientele.Hart cut the woman,s
hair,and at 2 o'clockthe next morning, Hart receivedan auto-
matede-mail abouta new review:two stars.shewasdevastated.
"The fact is, I canwalk out this door and trip
oversalons,"she
says.'Abad reviewwouldbe horrible.In this.iono-y, good
enoughisn't good enough."But unlike Goodman,thebookstore
owner,Hart kept her head.she composedan apologeticreply,
oneof thosee-mails,"shesays.
And yet Hart lovesYelp.Amid a
recessionthat hasbeendisastrousfor
most retailbusinesses, salesat the Root
havegrown 148percentcomparedwith
lastyear's.Meanwhile,the Yelptraffic-
Hart saysshegetstwo or threenew
customerseveryday-has allowedher to stopadvertisingin the
localneighborhoodnewspaper, which had costher $a00-a
month. Apart from the servicesand discountssheoffersyelpers,
shehasn'tpaidYelpa penny."Therearea rot of businessowners
who feellike Yelpreviewsjust happen,"shesays."But it's not
true. Respondingto reviews,giving offers,maintainingyour
page-it all makesa hugedifference."
f Hart's story showswhat'spossiblewhen business
ownersembraceYelp,it alsohelpsexplainwhy some
yearnfor a world in which a singlemishapmight go
unnoticedand in which a business's employees
don't haveto live in terror of customers'comments.
Though the YelpusersI met in the courseof report-
ing this story seemedrvellintentionedenough-
somewereamateurwriters who enjoyedthe creative
processof composinga review;othersusedthe site
to find like-mindedfriends-it's impossibleto write
a negativeYelpreviewwithout experiencingthe
thrill of righteousindignation.oneyerp Elitemembeiin san
Francisco,a man who haswritten more than 100yelp reviews,
told me, "l write reviewsto screwover businesses I dtn't like."
This makessense,when you think about it. Americansociety
has,for more than a century beendefinedby corporatepower,
and the Internethasupsetthat balance,mostly for the good.
when someonesendsa Twitter message about his baggagebeing
lost by a large,publicly tradedairrine-"Delta sucks!'-ilt nura
to arguethat this is a bad thing. Deltadoessuckin that instance.
And Deltacantakeit.
But Yelpencourages peopleto be unsparingin their critiques
of companiesthat can'ttakeit-<ompanies that aresmall,inde-
pendent,and not particularlyprofitable.The sitecapitalizeson
our impulsesto takedown the Man, but, in doing ro, turn, u,
againstmom-and-pop businesses-alreadyhit by globalization,

51 tNc. FEBRUA
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 consolidation, and a recession.At its best,yelpis meritocratic, postan angryblog,tweet,or Facebookmessage. euestions
helpinggoodbusinesses like LaurenHart'sto thrive.At itsworst, aboutrvhetherYelpis good or bad areacademic.
Yelpempowerspeoplervhodo not needto be empoweredat the "l don't likeYelp,but I realizeI can'tdo anythingaboutit,"
expense of thosewho arealreadystruggling.There'sa lot of DianeGoodmansaysnearthe endof our conversation. Shetells
insanityin Diane(loodman'sstory,but there'salsothis truth: me that thoughshedoesn'tregretgoingto Clare'shouse,she
Reviewsitescanbe unbelievably cruel. doesunderstandwhy he might havefeltthreatened. "l'm sorry
On somelevel,Stoppelmanseemsto know this.In 200g, I wrotethosemeanthings,"shesays."lf I readthosee-mails,I'd
the companygavebusinessownersthe abilityto respond probablythink I wascrary,too."
privatelyto reviews.Lastyear,Yelpallowedbusinesses to Goodman'scasemay be extreme,but businessownersall
publiclyconfronttheir critics."The main thing we'vedone overthe country arestrugglingwith this new order."l some-
is try to do a betterjob reachingout to the localbusi'ess times wish thesepeoplewho teeoff on you would haveto
communit1,," savsStoppelman, who regardsentrepreneurs' divulgewherethey worked so I could criticizethem,"says
angerasa sourceof greatdisappointment. "The most JulianWright, the ownerof La Bocca,a restaurantin Tempe,
frustratingthing is talkingto ownerswho say,'yelphasbeen Arizona."But the reviewshelp us get better faster."Brad Keel-
great,'andthen theythink for a minute and rememberthe ing,the ownerof a chainof dry cleaners, saysyelp reviewsare
one negativereview.I understandthat peoplewant to be to be heeded."lt's the public'sopinion,and I don't mind
heard,but you'remeetingthe Yelpfounder,and all you want hearingit," saysKeeling.When someonecriticizeshim, he
to talk aboutis a singlereviewthat doesn'tevenmatterin the defendshimselfor simplyapologizes. In severalcases,he has
grandschemeof things.I don't understandthat." beenableto get customersto removeor at leastrevisetheir
There'sarrogancein this remark,but Stoppelman's bad reviews.He estimates that l0 percentof nert,customers
suggestion that businessownerssimplymovepasttheir bad find him on Yelp."IgnoringYelpgetsyou nothing,"he savs.
reviewshasmerit.Yelpis not your friend;it'syour critic.And "You can't hatethe future."
if it becameyour friend-by, say,censoringangry lgyis\,v5- Of course,it's easyto seewhy so manybusinesso\vners,
customersrvouldprobablyabandonit for a sitethat allowed facedwith millionsof Yelpers, eachcapableof ruining or at
them to more fully expressthemselves. Or theycouldjust leastdamaginga business, chooseto look clnthe bright side.
|aneReddin,who ownsa crafts
storein Phoenix,complainsto me
Takea DeepBreath for l0 minutesstraightaboutyelp,
assailing
Howto handleonlinecriticism-onyelpandelsewhere the company'sbusiness
mcldel,its arrogantsalespeople, and
1 "R E G I S T E R :nnroccrrro
v L r v v t I
dnn'i
L removesrevtewsIn cases the stupidityof the average Yelp
Evenif you detestrevrew d o i t a t a l l . wherethereis a conflict reviewer. "They don't knorvwhat
s i t e s i, t ' ss t i l lw o r t h of interest(forinstance, they'retalkingabout,"shesays."lt's
opentna g business 3 . B EG R A C I O U S if the reviewhas been
o w n e ra c c o u not n Y e l p .
asif they'recomplainingthat the
A p o l o g i zfeo r w h a tt h e wrrttenbya competitor).
C i t y s e a r cahn. da n y c u s t o m edr i d n ' tl i k e gazpacho is cold."
O t h e rg r o u n d sf o r
o t h e rw e b s i t eo n w h i c h a n d o f f e rt o m a k ei t r e m o v ailn c l u d eh e a r s a y So, I ask, you'renot the biggest
y o u rc u s t o m e r sa r e r r g h tW
. h e nL a u r e n h a t es p e e c ha. n da t t a c k s fan of Yelp?
t a l k i n ga b o u ty o u .R e g - H a r t .o w n e ro f t h e R o o r t h a ta r e u n r e l a t etdo t h e Sheprotests."That'snot r,r'hatI'm
i s t e r i n gg e n e r al ly a Il o w s h a r rs a l o ni n P h o e n i x , c u s t o m eer x p e r i e n c e .
y o ut o c o r r e c ti n a c c u r a - received saying at all,"shesays."l adorethe
a two-star
c r e s ,r e c e i v ea l e r t sw h e n reviewfrom a woman community aspectof Yelp."She
5 . A V O I DT H EC O U R T S
y o ua r e r e v i e w e da,n d w h o d i d n ' tl r k eh e r T h eC o m m u n i c a t i o n s thinks the Yelpers arean assetto the
r e s p o n dt o y o u rc r i t r c s . h a i r c u ts, h ew r o t e ," l D e c e n cA y ctprotects Phoenixbusiness community.Sheis
am so sorrythat youare w e b s i t e sf r o m b e i n g a happyuserof Yelpand haswritten
2. BREATHI u n h a p pw y i t hm y w o r k , " h e l dr e s p o n s i bfl o ert h e
J u s t b e c a u s ey o uc a n 38 reviews,rnostrecentlygiving five
a n d t h e no f f e r e dt o p a y a c t i o n so f t h e i ru s e r s .
r e s p o n dd o e s n ' tm e a n f o r a c u t a t a c o m p e t i n g A n da l t h o u g h stars to Oliver& Annie,a pet store.
defama-
y o us h o u l d A . nything s a l o nT . h ew o m a nw r o t e t i o nl a w s u i t a sgainst Reddin pausesfor a second,puts
y o us a y - t n a p r r v a t e a n e q u a l l gy r a c i o u s Y e l p e r sh a v e ,i n r a r e a hand on my shoulder,and smiles.
m e s s a g ea, p e r s o n a l r e s p o n s ae n d u p g r a d e d c a s e ss, u c c e e d eidn "Can you imagineif I saidsome-
e - m a i l ,o r e v e na v o r c e t h e R o o t o f o u rs t a r s . g e t t l n gr e v i e w st a k e n
m a i l - c o u l de n du p o n
thing negativein a nationalmaga-
d o w n ,s u i n gt e n d st o
t h e W e b .l f t h e r e ' sn o 4,COMPLAIN a t t r a c t h e i r eo f o t h e r
zine aboutYelp,"shesays."What
w a y t o r e s p o n dt o a l f y o uc a n ' tb e n i c et o t h e Y e l pu s e r s .l f y o u d e c i d e would happento my reviews?"O
r e v i e ww i t h o u tb e i n g reviewer,try complain
ing t o s u e ,b e r e a d yf o r
angryp , r o f a n eo. r to Yelpdirectly.
Thesite m o r ea t t a c k s . Nlttr Chafkin ls Inc.'s senior writer.

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