Yelp Is A $3.5 Billion Corporation Tormenting Small Business Owners Making $35k Per Year

In the year 2020 I had received just one review on Yelp as a small business owner in San Francisco after a tough year of the pandemic. During such a gruesome time, I was being treated by many customers as a  potential threat to their health sent into cold and windy backyards not to mention being greeted at their doors assaulted with temperature gun devices placed on my forehead! I was even commanded to notarize documents on the hood of customers' cars as they expressed fear of catching the virus even when I had a mask on.

So, one might understand how I must have cherished this one very kind Yelp reviewer of my services on April 1, 2020 that remained up for the next 1.8 years as the only one I had in nearly two years! I had patiently worked providing refinance, purchase and seller mortgage services during these difficult months hoping my customers would put in a few good words for me and my services. I patiently waited while offering discounts waiving fees for many. I patiently waited searching for ways of improving my services to get to the bottom of why people weren't providing my business with any reviews.  

My only customer review in 2020 approved by Yelp for 1.8 years was moved to the "do not recommend" section.  How can this activity be considered lawful and fair and not harassment triggering distress?

Yelp took down the one reviewer's hope and light I had patiently waited for from customers to keep my business alive.  It was my work, my time and my investment Yelp took away unlawfully. The one reviewer who said nice things about my services was taken from me by Yelp with its 5 stars hollowed out to zero.

I especially tried to answer any rush calls within 15-20 minute response times.  In one case, a customer named Sarayu had one of these multiple signature requests for India passport application procedures. I responded with prompt services and $70 worth of signature and mobile fee waivers. I notarized the documents in her building lobby without a chair or desk having to squat near her lobby floor with a mask. Yet, this person wasn't impressed enough to provide any reviews for my services. Such is why I remained without any Yelp reviews for 1.8 years. No matter what I did, no one gave me any reviews. 

Than finally, after risking my life to provide an urgent request for services in a dangerous part of town, I got my first review of the year in October, 2021! Unfortunately, the reviewer endangered my life to help him that day. Unlike police officers, I had no defense for my safety.  In his review, the man was cruel and abusive believing I didn't deserve to be paid my mobile notary fee, he then lied about me on Yelp.  Then Yelp refused to remove the review based on violating its own policies.

An attorney sent a letter of facts to the complainant that was copied to Yelp whose legal department still refused to remove the review.  I then decided to do a blog article about my experience with Yelp and let the matter go after I received two good reviews at last!  Next thing I knew, within two weeks of my communications, Yelp removed the 2020 good review I cherished placing it in the "do not recommend" section.  When I contacted Yelp they used the ole "it's our automated system" excuse that clearly was a lie to cover-up its retaliation.

This is my experience, education, labor, time, skills, and marketing of my business that I received a good review in 2020 Yelp had removed from public view!  

Yelp says, "We love hearing from you, whether you're sharing an awesome idea (for us to steal from you and make  money off of) or have a problem to report."

In summary:

A few years ago I offered a great idea for Yelp to benefit, that it could make money offering services of providing special marketing badges for businesses with business licenses. I provided this idea denoting many of my competitors had no business license. I offered the idea hoping Yelp would stop giving me a hard time not taking down trolls' vicious reviews. A few years later Yelp took my idea and made millions off of it, I kid you not! You can check for yourself how much Yelp is charging today for my idea. (Sorry, I didn't think Yelp would actually implement it.)

Yelp is a $3.5 billion corporation meddling in petty matters of my small business encouraging people to lie in reviews regardless of their pattern of history on its forum while ignoring an attorney's letter of facts. Good reviews are part of my business Yelp apparently wants to control.  

Within a few days after an attorney letter, Yelp sent a sales woman who arrogantly spoke over me wanting to lecture how "bad reviews aren't a big deal". I responded, yes they are a big deal when people prefer to lie than give you credit for what danger they put you through in a bad part of town! Non-customer reviews are also a big deal. It's a big deal to God as it is to myself.  It's a big deal!

Yelp has proved itself a greedy bully! Please take note what a heartless corporation Yelp is to get its paws in small businesses this way. Yelp plays unwarranted politics with small business owners like myself who are barely making a living. I'm a 61 year old lady who rides an eBike around San Francisco serving the community the past 12 years! Yelp torments business owners and its legal department lawyers especially should be ashamed of themselves at this corporation!

A courier for a deed signature on behalf of someone in Texas summoned me within one hour to the Seneca Hotel to notarize on a filthy street, then got angry over the $50 fee.

The moment Yelp removed the only kind review I had in 2020 after allowing a slanderous reviewer to rant over my services fraudulently is the official delineation of warfare based harassment of my small business.