[johnnygoods]

This is not the first, second, or third time such allegations have been raised, but they always devolve into he-said/she-said.

Restauranteurs, when you're calling Yelp to ask about missing reviews, RECORD THE CONVERSATION! One recording of a Yelp rep saying something like that is game over.

[seekup]

An important distinction here - the allegations don't just devolve into he-said/she-said: they've been outright dismissed, with prejudice, by courts of law as without merit.

Yelp has tens of thousands of paying business customers, and yet with all the sensationalistic media play this type of story somehow continues to generate, no one has ever produced empirical evidence of a single documented case of pay-for-play. I'll also point out that there are at least three former Yelp engineers on this thread - some of whom didn't even like working at the company - who are steadfastly defending Yelp's business practices as legitimate and above-board.

By all means, record it if it happens. But don't hold your breath.

[gyardley]

One recording of a Yelp rep saying something like that is one instance of a sales guy lying to make a sale so he can get a commission or make a quota. You know, something that happens all the time.

Yelp could never manipulate reviews and this restaurant owner could have been told exactly what he claims. The two things aren't mutually incompatible.

[danielweber]

So who is responsible for what Yelp's representatives say? Are they just a force of nature?

[gyardley]

Yelp, obviously, but 'greedy lying sales guy' is a different class of problem than 'company-wide extortion scheme'.

[evan_]

Just remember that California is a two-party consent state when it comes to wiretapping- if the other party does not know and understand that you are recording the conversation, it will not be admissible in court proceedings.

[yoloprocro]

It's not merely an issue of admissibility. It's also a crime to record a call without the other party's consent...

[mnicole]

Chiming in to remind people that Oregon is a one-party consent state -- which means so long as you say the conversation is being recorded at the beginning, everything is good. This does not go across state lines, however.

[derwiki]

Yelp doesn't have sales offices in Oregon. They do in California and Arizona.

[pyre]

Maybe not in court proceedings, but definitely will affect the court of public opinion.

[pbreit]

Yelp records calls itself which is why it easily wins its legal matters.