I have been back and forth recently with Yelp because they are removing 5-star reviews. They have removed over a dozen 5-star reviews from my website’s Yelp Page since the start of 2020. When I contacted them their response can be seen below.
While every dealership gets one-star reviews and slaughtered here and there I would rather have more positive reviews in between them.
Edit: For dealerships/brokers have you had any issues with this? Does your dealership pay Yelp for ad placements? The previous dealership I was at did pay for ad placements and did not have this issue.
I think Google’s reviews have surpassed Yelp’s for several industries. I personally don’t even check the reviews before contacting a dealership - there are too many variables into why someone would give it a 5 star vs 1 star.
I don’t pay attention to any, tbh. I may glance at them just for giggles, but I’ve found too often that the complaints people see I don’t, and the wonderful visits people praise about, mine suck.
I check yelp, google and dealerrater but ratings dont make a difference at all if you know the game. I have gotten deals from out of state dealers with 1 ratings just by reaching out directly to a GSM’s and GM’s.
At the end of the day, every single dealer in the country has that one Joe Shmoe who gave them a 1 star due to a faulty used car with CEL on, car sold out before they got etc etc etc.
At one point yelp dropped 1,000 of our reviews stating that reviews with employee names are considered fake. Randomly 6 months later 400 of them returned.
Yelp has admitted before that they grade dealers different and it’s extremely tough to have a good score
Interesting stuff. All the ones taken down were from customers. I do know that if you have your staff put up reviews you get one of these bad bois on your Yelp Page…
Nothing brings me more joy than writing a hilarious response to a one-star review who is being a moron. I just wish I could leave Yelp a one-star review. They also sent me an email at 8:15AM this morning saying they just tried to call me…I was sitting at my desk and the phone didn’t wrong. All unanswered calls to any part of the dealership end up in the internet room. Nothing on the missed call log. Cowards I say!
Honestly, don’t bother with the dealer reviews. Do your homework on here, Edmunds, and other car leasing forums and make your own fate.
For me, and most on this site, getting the best deal is most important. I’ve had some great lease deals, even though the salesperson didn’t know anything about the car at delivery. Some people like to have the vehicle features explained, show them how to use the nav system, voice recognition, etc. This could also have an effect on the ratings.
Not for nuthin, and I’m nowhere near savvy in this area, but if your customers are posting reviews while at the dealership, on the dealership’s wi-fi, wouldn’t they then all come from the same IP? Seems like a major flaw in their policy, if that is true.
Customers aren’t doing the reviews at the dealership - they do them at home. If they are then it is likely on 4G. Customers rarely ask for the Wifi password. Stupid dealerships will ask employees to submit fake reviews online during work which is easily caught.
Huh. Maybe I’m the only one. LOL. I’ve done a couple before leaving the dealership while on their wi-fi. Not necessarily for sales, but more likely service.
I think their restaurant reviews can be horrible, too. Restaurants that have been open for, like 3 days, have reviewers saying, “This place has become my new favorite type of (insert cuisine type) ever!” Yuck. And the whole Yelp “elite” thing sounds like a scam.
I read it more for amusement on occasion, and I think that their reviews for contractors (like maintenance, general contractor, etc.) can be somewhat helpful.
For many industries, someone is only likely to leave a review after a bad experience. If I go to a dry cleaner and my clothes get cleaned, I’m not going to bother leaving a positive review. But I’m damn sure going to leave a negative review if I’m not happy with the work or service. This is a major problem with most review websites.
Restaurants/food is one of the few industries where you are excited to share a good experience with others. Thus, yelp reviews are typically a good measure of a restaurant.
