In the case of the Feasterville-Trevose McDonald’s, Yelp implemented an “unusual activity alert”, a feature designed to protect businesses from unfair review practices. Yelp’s alert system acknowledges when a business has received a sudden increase in public attention not tied to the consumer experience, giving the company time to moderate and assess the incoming reviews.
The alert on the McDonald’s Yelp page reads as follows:
“This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news. While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events.”
This action reflects Yelp’s neutral stance, aiming to maintain the integrity of its reviews and prevent politically motivated attacks or support from skewing the rating system.
3. How Review Bombing Affects Businesses
Review bombing, while primarily a product of the digital age, has a significant real-world impact on businesses. Negative or irrelevant reviews can lower a business’s overall rating, driving away potential customers and tarnishing the reputation of establishments that may have done nothing to invite such a barrage.
For the McDonald’s in Feasterville-Trevose, this meant that a momentary association with Donald Trump – regardless of how fleeting or unplanned – could have long-term implications on its Yelp ratings. The surge in politically motivated reviews, both positive and negative, likely overwhelmed actual reviews from customers who had visited the location, ordered food, and interacted with the staff.