The trouble with Yelp is…

What good is it to have your own blog if you can’t use it to vent your frustrations once in a while?

I’m told that a lot of people swear by Yelp and won’t make a move without consulting it for recommendations. Being a Realtor with lots of satisfied clients, and not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to let them toot my horn, I tried a couple of times to build up my Yelp recommendations. Alas, I met with nothing but frustration.

For one thing, Yelpers are required to create an account and post a photo of themselves. While I understand the reasoning behind this, very few of my clients seem to have a Yelp account and I don’t like asking them to open one just so they can do me a favor. This is especially true because I have noticed every time a friend gets hacked, the source shows a fictitious Yahoo account name. That suggests to me that Yahoo is particularly vulnerable to hackers.

I have also had Yelp remove legitimate recommendations in accordance with some policy of theirs that randomly deletes some entries. (I read their explanation at the time, but can’t remember their reasoning… probably because I thought it was ridiculous that there was no way to appeal their decision or prove the validity of the recommendation.)

So, if you are thinking of using my services and wonder why I don’t have more recommendations on Yelp, that’s why. Meanwhile, I am more than happy to provide you with a long list of happy, happy clients who will tell you everything you want to know about working with me, warts and all.

You can also check out the December 2012 issue of Seattle Magazine, where you will find me listed among a select group of real estate brokers who received the 5 Star Professionals Award for outstanding client service (3 years in a row, no less).

So there is my rant.

Tell me about your experience with Yelp.