
Here’s an example of a negative review of a medical practice on Yelp. Yelp uses proprietary methods and technology to prevent this. On the other side of the fence, some small business owners have been accused of paying people to write fictitious reviews and have been caught by Yelp doing so. This has been an ongoing issue with Yelp that has resulted in multiple court cases and even a documentary film, but as of this writing, there hasn’t been a ruling against Yelp. Starting a number of years ago, Yelp was accused of blackmailing companies to maintain good reviews by forcing businesses to advertise on its own website some businesses that didn’t advertise say that they saw their positive reviews vanish. If for some reason it’s already been claimed, email Yelp, and explain you’re the rightful owner or representative (you may need to provide some documentation of this).

If your practice is listed, you should claim it as soon as possible (there should be a button visible in the listing for your practice with the words “Claim This Business”). If your practice or clinic isn’t already listed on Yelp, you should be proactive and register it yourself. How to Respond to Negative Yelp ReviewsĪs a website specifically created to host critiques of businesses, Yelp stands out as being one of the more high-profile platforms to deal with as far as reviews. The first thing to do if your medical or dental practice or clinic receives a negative review is to take a deep breath and don’t panic negative reviews are inevitable, no matter how well-run your office is and no matter how hard you try to satisfy your patients.
