05/13/2026
FRIENDLY WARNING to my family and friends who may be starting a business: I want to share an important lesson I learned about using Yelp. Initially, I believed Yelp would help grow my BBQ business, but I quickly discovered how their system really works. Once I started receiving 5-star reviews, Yelp began hiding them and then pressured me to pay more to display those positive reviews. There was no clear explanation for why these reviews were labeled as "not recommended." I also found many others sharing similar experiences with Yelp, revealing a troubling pattern in their practices.
As a result, I decided to leave Yelp. While information about my BBQ business is still listed on their platform, we no longer monitor the account and now direct customers to connect with us on Facebook or Google instead. My experience with Yelp not only cost me money, but also resulted in excessive spam and the intentional hiding of positive reviews. Unfortunately, I have nothing positive to say about my time using their service.
If you have previously left a Yelp review for us, we would greatly appreciate it if you could repost it on our page: https://www.facebook.com/SmokinPoesBBQ, or move it to Google. If you are starting a business, we love having our own, and we wish you the best of luck. Just make sure you use caution if you choose to try Yelp.
