In an effort to show value for diversity and inclusion, Yelp has created a zero-tolerance policy for racism, which includes alerting customers to businesses that have received complaints about racist conduct.
The premier restaurant and entertainment review site made the announcement this week that its new consumer alert is a “stand against racism.” If a business has been designated, customers will receive a message with the title “Business Accused of Racist Behavior.”
“Communities have always turned to Yelp in reaction to current events at the local level,” read a statement on its website. “As the nation reckons with issues of systemic racism, we’ve seen in the last few months that there is a clear need to warn consumers about businesses associated with egregious, racially-charged actions to help people make more informed spending decisions.”
Credit: Via Yelp
Credit: Via Yelp
The company said it already makes note of companies that experience an unusual uptick of reviews based on comments, social media or news reports.
Some users on social media expressed concern about how the company will implement the policy.
Between May 26 and Sept. 30, Yelp placed more than 450 alerts on business pages that were either accused of, or the target of, racist behavior related to the Black Lives Matter movement. The reviews must be based on firsthand customer experiences with the business. That rule is to mitigate fake reviews that might be posted to falsely deflate the businesses' star ratings.
Since the death of George Floyd, businesses have responded with efforts to establish more racial equality within their companies and among their customer base. The black Minneapolis man died after a former cop placed his knee on his neck for several minutes during an arrest in late May.
In recent months, Yelp reports that reviews mentioning Black-owned business have grown more than 617%. Companies owned by women are seeing an uptick of about 114% for reviews during that time period.
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