Restaurant fights Yelp review process with one-star ratings
If you think the reviews system on Yelp is unfair, there’s a way to fight back–provided you don’t mind being the worst restaurant in the digital world, that is.
A California pizzeria is waging war with Yelp. A ratings war, that is.
Botto Bistro co-owner Davide Cerrentini offered customers 25 percent off their meals to post bad reviews on the mobile app in order for the restaurant to win the title of worst-reviewed.
According to Botto Bistro’s website, the campaign was a success: It’s officially the worst restaurant on Yelp. According to the press and scores of newly interested patrons, however, the restaurant is something of a hero. Cerrentini came up with the plan after receiving several calls a week asking him to pay for ads on Yelp. Cerrentini was a paying Yelp customer for a while; he then stopped the service and accused Yelp of shuffling reviews to highlight negative feedback, and of deleting his most favorable review.
A class-action lawsuit alleged that Yelp extorted business owners by manipulating user reviews as well as writing negative reviews, all in an attempt to force those owners into paying for Yelp ads.
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