We have learned something recently that will prevent us from ever
trusting Yelp or online review places in general for important choices
like animal hospitals. A chain animal hospital -- which is in general
not well thought off locally when I talk with many people -- bought ads
for itself, complete with beautiful and handsome models, which are put
above the Yelp sections for the assorted private animal hospitals in
the area, some of which are excellent. Those animal hospitals also had
negative reviews from people who are not even in state or anywhere
nearby, in fact, by the SAME out of state people in multiple cases.
When those private hospitals have too many positive reviews appear
one or more of those great reviews winds up removed. Asking around I
have heard that others who have been watching this have seen the same
pattern in some other online review sites. It may be in the best
interest of animal hospitals to refuse to have anything to do with
those sites if that is even possible and for consumers to know to
CAREFULLY watch their step at such sites given these sorts of
practices, especially if a competitor's ad appears on the page.

[Posted in FML 7841]