I cringe about doing this, but I’d like to invite you to post reviews of my business on Yelp, Google, NextDoor, Angie’s List, or any other review site you really like.
Asking clients for honest (hopefully pawsitive) reviews is pretty much all I can do to protect my business against a man who began harassing me this winter. -sigh- One of his tactics has been creating fictitious profiles and posting fictional reviews of my business. Although I’ve reported his actions and have asked the review sites to remove his false reviews, those sites rarely intervene. The best I can hope for is that my business has enough positive reviews to outweigh his fake negative reviews so potential customers get an accurate idea of my typical customers’ experiences. Update: Google removed the fake profiles & reviews! They investigated & determined the fictitious profiles & fake negative reviews were all created using the same IP address. Yay, Google! Sadly, Yelp refuses to look into it.
If you write online reviews for any business, you can demonstrate that your review is legit by mentioning specifics. If reviewing a pet sitter, it can help to mention how long you’ve worked with her, name(s) of your cats, and details that make her stand out when compared to others such as her ability to befriend shy cats, skill in recognizing or handling medical emergencies, specific activities your cats enjoyed (paper parties, hunting for treats, exciting new boxes), etc. Most of these sites allow you to upload photos, too.
Geez, how awful! I hope karma comes around quickly to bite this guy in the butt! It’s scary how easily something like this can happen. Hang in there – sending good, positive thoughts!
Kari, This is heart breaking that someone has targeted you and your business, with these fabricated lies. I can’t imagine the frustration and time you are needing to spend on working with sites like Yelp.
Is there something I can post on FB for you to help gather more reviews? I would be happy to do that since we have such a big circle that does include mutual friends.
I can try and reach Annie and ask if I can do a review for her in her name, since she doesn’t use a computer.
Hang in there…this will pass.
Hugs my friend,
L
Awww, thanks, Lin. I don’t think there’s anything you can do. Just think good thoughts about the fake reviews fading into the background ASAP.
Yeah, it’s frustrating. I start each day by flagging his fake reviews. They disappear from public view until the site reviews the posts, then decides they’re ok and makes them visible again. (They only remove reviews that use “foul or inflammatory language” or that clearly state the reviewer hasn’t used the business they’re reviewing.) Starting each day by revisiting this guy’s actions makes it tough to start the days with a positive mindset. And tough to think positive things about human primates when some of them are such big jerks. -sigh-