Yelp Is Totally Sick and Tired of Owner-Solicited Reviews

Hey restaurant owners: Yelp knows you've been soliciting reviews, and they want you to cut it out. Actually, they tried to tell you nicely last year that it bugged them, and apparently you didn't listen. It's also in their FAQ.

Solicited reviews — especially by first-time Yelp users leaving glowing reviews of a restaurant — often get caught by their automatic review filter and get deleted, making the reviewer and the restaurateur cranky and upset. More importantly, no one is fooled by your whole "[stick] a laptop in front of a customer and smilingly [invite] her to write a review while [you] look over her shoulder" routine.

Besides, it could be a slippery slope. First, you just ask your friends to go online; next, you're offering discounts in exchange for reviews. Then, before you know it, you've got an army of small time bloggers demanding comped meals. Ok? So stop this nonsense already, before they get really mad.

· Don't ask for reviews. [Yelp]
· To Solicit or Not to Solicit? [Yelp]
· Common Questions [Yelp]
· Yelp Them, They’ll Help You [NYT]
· All Yelp coverage on Eater [-E-]