“Yelp Makes Changes in Response to Small-Business Owners - New York Times Blogs” plus 3 more

Yelp Makes Changes in Response to Small-Business Owners - New York Times Blogs
Business Watch | General Motors to install brake safety ... - Courier-Journal
Business software maker CA to cut 1,000 jobs - San Francisco Chronicle
Kraft 'unwise' to make Cadbury vow - The Guardian

Yelp Makes Changes in Response to Small-Business Owners - New York Times Blogs

Posted: 06 Apr 2010 07:46 AM PDT

Small business owners have been loud and vocal in their criticism of Yelp and its reader reviews. On Tuesday, Yelp will make two significant changes to its pages to address those complaints.

On Yelp, where users rank and review local businesses, readers will now be able to click on a link to see reviews that Yelp filtered out, and advertisers on Yelp will no longer be able to post their favorite review at the top of the page.

"I hope that these changes will debunk some of the myths and conspiracy theories out there about Yelp and its advertising and whether those are linked," said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp's co-founder and chief executive.

The changes come after several small businesses, including a California veterinary clinic and an Illinois bakery, filed a class action lawsuit accusing the site of extortion. The suit claims that Yelp will remove negative reviews and reinstate positive reviews for paying advertisers and says that "business listings on Yelp.com are in fact biased in favor of businesses that buy Yelp advertising."

Yelp has dismissed the complaints as conspiracy theories.

However the lawsuit turns out, two things are clear from small business owners' complaints about Yelp. Yelp's sales managers use a hard sell when signing up advertisers, and business owners remain confused about how exactly Yelp's ranking and filtering of reviews works.

As I wrote about last year, many businesses are irked because they feel Yelp is not transparent about why certain reviews show up on their pages and others do not. Some of the confusion came from the fact that advertisers, who pay $300 to $1,000 a month, have been allowed to choose one review that shows up at the top of their profile page. Yelp's spam filter also scans for suspicious reviews, like those that could have been written by a competitor or a business owner's friend or relative.

Yelp is making the new changes to address these two issues. People will be able to see which reviews have been removed from the site, so they can judge for themselves whether or not advertisers are getting a special advantage and whether the reviews are worthy.

"It will underscore the point that it really is and has always been a level playing field for businesses, and will showcase the unique challenge we face, in certain situations where it's obvious businesses are trying to change ratings," Mr. Stoppelman said.

Yelp will no longer let advertisers pick the first review on their page. Even though this has been the only review that advertisers have control over, it has fueled complaints that advertisers get special treatment, he said.

"Despite our best efforts, there's still obviously confusion out there about what you can buy on Yelp, so we're making a change to simply drop this feature," Mr. Stoppelman said.

Some of the features that confuse and irritate businesses will remain. Mr. Stoppelman acknowledges that Yelp's spam filter will continue to sometimes remove legitimate reviews, for example, and Yelp will continue to rank reviews according to a secret formula that takes into account not just the date but metrics like how prolific a reviewer is.

Yelp will also begin letting advertisers post videos and create a formal advisory council of business owners to counsel Yelp on the site and new products. Since last year, it has also made other changes, such as allowing businesses to respond publicly to reviewers and educating businesses about how to use Yelp.

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Business Watch | General Motors to install brake safety ... - Courier-Journal

Posted: 05 Apr 2010 08:34 PM PDT

General Motors says it will install a new brake safety measure that can prevent unintended acceleration on all its new vehicles worldwide by 2012.

The announcement Monday comes as federal regulators consider making the technology mandatory on new cars and trucks after Toyota's problems with vehicles that can speed out of control. GM has not had major problems with unintended acceleration.

Jeffboat Teamsters' strike continues for a fourth day

A strike by some 600 workers that has shut down barge builder Jeffboat 's southern Indiana manufacturing facility continued for a fourth day Monday with the two sides divided over health insurance benefits.

Teamsters Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman said the union wanted to keep the current health insurance coverage in the contract for workers.

No new negotiations were scheduled between the company and the union, said David Parker, a vice president for Jeffboat's parent company American Commercial Lines.

Kroger expects health care may cost $2 million more

Supermarket operator Kroger expects its fiscal 2010 tax expense to be $1.5 million to $2 million higher due to the recently enacted U.S. health-care legislation.

The higher tax will hit Kroger primarily in its first quarter, the company said in a securities filings late Friday.

Kroger said the new legislation will prevent Kroger from taking a tax deduction for expenses incurred from providing its retirees prescription drug coverage that is reimbursed under Medicare.

Whole Foods recalls yellow fin tuna steaks

Whole Foods Market is recalling frozen yellow fin tuna steaks, with best-by dates of Dec. 5, 2010, sold in Kentucky, Indiana and other states, because they could have elevated levels of histamine.

High levels of histamine can cause an allergic reaction called scombroid poisoning. Symptoms may include: tingling or burning sensation in the mouth, facial swelling, rash, hives and itchy skin, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Two incidents have been reported.

Details are available at (512) 542-0656.

— From staff, wire reports

Submit items by e-mail to businessnews@courier-journal.com

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Business software maker CA to cut 1,000 jobs - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 06 Apr 2010 06:35 AM PDT

(04-06) 07:42 PDT , (AP) --

Business software company CA Inc. said Tuesday that it's cutting 1,000 jobs — or about 8 percent of its work force — and consolidating offices as part of a restructuring plan to reduce costs and become more efficient.

The company also steered earnings expectations to the lower end of its previous guidance for the year. Its shares tumbled more than 5 percent.

"I recognize that the actions we're taking are difficult. But in the end, they will make CA stronger and more competitive," CEO Bill McCracken said in a memo to employees Tuesday.

The job cuts will occur mainly in North America and mostly be completed by the end of September, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Islandia, N.Y., company has already shed 3,100 positions over the last three years amid office closings.

The reductions are part of CA's efforts to mold the company to better fit its new business strategy of focusing on emerging technologies and high-growth markets. A key area of interest is cloud computing, where it would handle software and data storage for corporate clients off-site.

"We are taking the necessary steps to further align our organizations and skills with CA's strategy," McCracken said. "The industry and the market are changing, and we have to change, too."

CA will be consolidating an unspecified number of offices, which could include closings, reductions in office space and merging of locations.

The company expects to incur a $50 million pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter, of which $47 million would be for severance payments and the rest related to facility consolidations.

CA also said full-year earnings will come in at the lower end of the range it had previously given. It expected to earn $1.60 per share to $1.71 per share for the year, excluding one-time items. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting $1.69 per share, on average.

Shares of CA fell $1.25, or 5.2 percent, to $22.60 in morning trading.

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Kraft 'unwise' to make Cadbury vow - The Guardian

Posted: 06 Apr 2010 07:18 AM PDT

US food giant Kraft has been accused of acting "irresponsibly" over its pledge to keep open a Cadbury factory, which it broke after completing the takeover of the British chocolate-maker.

A committee of MPs said Kraft was "unwise" to promise to save the Somerdale factory near Bristol, only to announce later that it would close after all, with the loss of 400 jobs.

In a critical report, the Business Select Committee urged the Government to monitor a number of undertakings given by the company, including pledges of no compulsory redundancies for two years, funding arrangements for the Cadbury Foundation and future pension arrangements.

The cross-party committee, which took evidence from the company and union leaders last month, also called for Kraft to clarify its intentions over the "lack" of specific guarantees on the future of Cadbury factories at Chirk, near Wrexham in North Wales, and Marlbrook in Herefordshire as well as future levels of employment at research centres in Reading, Berkshire, and Bournville in Birmingham.

Committee chairman Peter Luff (Conservative, Mid Worcestershire) said: "The controversy surrounding the Kraft takeover of Cadbury has rightly opened a debate on how takeovers in the UK are conducted.

"That debate must continue, as a matter of urgency, in the next Parliament and I fully expect the next Business, Innovation and Skills Committee to play a key role in any future reform. Kraft gave us a number of undertakings on the future of Cadbury, which we have put in the public domain. Kraft will have to deliver, in full, on these undertakings if it is to repair the damage caused to its reputation by the woeful handling of the closure of the Somerdale factory.

"Given the lack of trust in Kraft at the moment, it is vital that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills keeps a very close eye on Kraft's compliance with its undertakings.

"The future of Cadbury's R&D centres of excellence at Reading and Bournville are central to those undertakings. Any stripping out of the highly skilled workforce at those centres would represent a serious breach of trust, and one that would require a robust response from both Government and Parliament."

Union leaders earlier called on Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld to meet Cadbury workers to discuss the report, and repeated demands for a "Cadbury law" to prevent hostile takeovers of successful British companies by overseas multi-nationals.

Jack Dromey, deputy general secretary of Unite, said: "Kraft should heed the voice of Parliament to meet Cadbury workers face to face. Irene Rosenfeld must now come to the birthplace of Cadbury, Bournville in Birmingham."

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010