Andy Johnston II GROUPON GETAWAYS
Area Sales Manager
ajohnston@groupon.com
Desk: 312-462-9495
Cell: 5107033591
Groupon Getaways
Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
101–110 of 181 posts
Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be fair, it doesn't look like they are doing much. Rather this Andy Johnston guy is going on a rampage to exact revenge for a perceived personal slight. I'd imagine Andy's actions expose his employer to many liabilities, but there's no indication that Groupon condones these actions thus far.
I totally agree with ya'll. I'm not blaming Groupon, I should have been more specific when I said 'they'. I mean the kid and his (real?) buddies. I don't even think Groupon know what's going on right now since this is getting worse by the minute. I'm just saying they gotta hurry up because their customers are not blaming this dude, they're blaming them directly, and it seems to be spreading really fast. Some of those…
Cold callers seems to have similar (aggressive)attitude no matter where in the world you are, not just Groupon. But some industries are more affected than others...
Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#103Mirrors for when the original content inexplicably disappears. Facebook post (OP's link): http://archive.is/lIFF5 Negative reviews left: http://archive.is/js6nY and http://archive.is/hnMmA The attackers reviews on Yelp: http://archive.is/Itdbw
He reviewed the same Sauce in the same day in different parts of town. How likely is that to be genuine? Yelp should have some algorithms to at least flag such things for manual review, it would certainly look fishy even if we didn't know the true story.
Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is correct. Do Not Call (the USA law) does not apply to businesses. We found a great remedy: answer their calls with a soundboard. We like the Mr. Rogers soundboard [1]. Its fun, harmless, and they'll stop calling very quickly. [1] http://www.ebaumsworld.com/soundboards/play/1866/ (warning, autoplays some sounds)
The do not call law doesn't apply to nonprofits (including those seeking political contributions). It most certainly does apply to businesses. For each offense after asking to be placed on the do not call list you're entitled to 500-1500 dollars. You just need to take a lot of notes and take the offending party to small claims court.
Does not apply to businesses for incoming calls, which is the relevant interpretation of "applies to businesses" in this situation: a restaurant business receiving unwanted calls from another business.
Of course it applies to outgoing calls from businesses, as that's the entire point of the law.
Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#105Doesn't USA have any DoNotCall rules with some teeth, if, as the owner is saying, he "... asked you twice to remove me from you call list, as I have EVERY time I have been called by a representative from Groupon"? In my place, this would mean that their customer acquisition costs would skyrocket from fines for such incidents.
I don't think you can opt out of receiving calls from a company which you previously had business with...
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Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#106http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=hnH6RaPkJ2Tfw9ZkKMfL... see how many bad reviews he already wrote for Sause! I think his profile should be flagged, you can't trust a person who does this kind of things. Edit: He just changed his name to West C. what a guy :) Another Edit: Just look at his reviews date - they all are written on July 29-30 - why would anybody write so many reviews unless you receive a commissio…
Does anyone really take unscreened "review" sites like Yelp seriously? I never even bother looking at them.
I do. Usually reviews work pretty well, especially if you actually read them and don't just look at stars. Fake ones usually are easy to spot, and for sites with a lot of reviews there's usually a pattern. Of course, the system can be and is abused, and you have to take it with a gain of salt, but it's helpful, especially if you don't know much about the place or the area.
Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#107http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=hnH6RaPkJ2Tfw9ZkKMfL... see how many bad reviews he already wrote for Sause! I think his profile should be flagged, you can't trust a person who does this kind of things. Edit: He just changed his name to West C. what a guy :) Another Edit: Just look at his reviews date - they all are written on July 29-30 - why would anybody write so many reviews unless you receive a commissio…
Does anyone really take unscreened "review" sites like Yelp seriously? I never even bother looking at them.
I work with Dentists in their online marketing. Guess what: nothing, in our measurement, has quite and impact on their bottom line and new customer acquisition as Yelp & maybe a little bit of Google Plus Reviews. So, the answer to your question from a quantitative point of view would be HELL YEAH THEY DO!
Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#108He's not saying "Use Groupon or I'll trash your business" he's saying "You treated me poorly and now I'll get my revenge" This guy's a goofball for putting it in writing but social media has definitely changed how businesses have to treat whacky, unreasonable prospect's and customers. (The Groupon angle is a red herring)
I see your point, but I have always assumed that sales people were selected for their ability to remain positive in the face of closed doors or hung-up phones. Seems like a necessary attribute!
Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#109Isn't this a protection-money racket (extortion) from a legal perspective? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_racket > "Extortion is a criminal offense of unlawfully obtaining money, property, or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion." > "In the United States, extortion may also be committed as a federal crime across a computer system, phone, by m…
Does that act that's being threatened have to itself be illegal in order for the threat to qualify as extortion? Yelp reviews aren't illegal.
No, the platform doesn't matter. It's about the act of forcing someone to do something against their will by threatening them that is illegal.
Re: Groupon sales rep threatens restaurant with negative Yelp reviews
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, some people take them seriously. What do you use instead?
That's the trouble. Consumer reviews are just not credible to me. They are anecdotes. I find the entire concept to be unworkable.
Anecdotes maybe, but supposedly all anecdotes from the same source. Instead of stuff that's like "my friend" or "I know lots of people that...", which is different from person to person, a bunch of people reviewing the exact same location is a bit more accurate. Also, after awhile you can usually separate the quality comments from the noise. Kinda like we all do on HN or any other forum. I think I can mostly tell when someone is just pushing an agenda/cherry-picking facts to support a particular claim, versus a comment giving a mostly objective review. Particularly when they point at facts & actual events rather than vague feelings.