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Garland business fights back against Yelp 'fake reviews'

She and thousands of others have signed this petition to ask search engines to not have Yelp pages be the first thing that pops up in a search for a business due to what they believe are illegitimate reviews.

GARLAND, Texas -- There’s a good chance you are one of the more than 70 million people using Yelp to find a restaurant, salon, or a yoga studio. It’s how a lot of people are introduced to Garland’s Shakti Yoga Center.

"We have at least one to five clicks every day from people going to check our profile on Yelp," said Owner Patricia Alonso. "For a small business like me, it might not seem like a lot, but it represents a big deal."

She is frustrated with the site being the first stop for potential future yogis, and leaving whether or not a customer comes to her studio up to what they read on her Yelp page. It is her business, and Alonso feels Yelp gives her no control over it on its platform.

She felt that loss of control most directly this month. She says she was on the losing end of a bad business deal, and the other side got their revenge in the comments. "The people who posted…I had never met them," said Alonso.

She says they were comments meant only to hurt. On the other side of the coin, you could also experience a flood of positive posts made by friends defending a business owner. So what can you trust when you’re reading reviews?

Yelp says it’s trying to help by weeding out posts by isolating posts that are ‘not recommended.’ They tell us that’s about 25% of comments made on the site, including biased reviews from competitors, fake reviews claiming to be several people but done by one, and unhelpful rants.

The company is also listening when owners like Alonso call to report negative reviews. In her case, Yelp agreed those reviews violated policy and took action. Still, Alonso feels it took too long, and damaged her business in the meantime.

"When Yelp takes five to seven business days to review, and to finally take it down," said Alonso. "But you know, it’s a week of people checking [the page] and saying 'well, maybe I shouldn't’t go there.'"

She wonders what customers she may have lost that week. Alonso also is skeptical of Yelp's algorithm. While the company claims to filter out reviews, she says she has several positive ones that are hidden deeper inside the page. That’s why Alonso is begging Yelp users to check out more than that site when searching for a new spot.

Alonso isn't the only small business owner concerned. She and thousands of others have signed this petition to ask search engines to not have Yelp pages be the first thing that pops up in a search for a business due to what they believe are illegitimate reviews.

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