Yes, this is very common. There is an entire industry that has grown around this very issue. It is called the Reputation Management Industry. The same people that can work to get negative PR off of Internet Searches will also right fake reviews for a fee as well.
This is why organizations like the Better Business Bureau does NOT allow positive testimonials. Review sites such as Google Places, Yahoo, Yelp, Dealer Rater, Edmunds, etc are IMPOSSIPLE to police for this. Anyone can log in, create an account and only thing they can track is their IP address. It is impossible to track the the reviews for legitmacy! Google Places atleast allows you to go in rebuttle. Most dealers don't know how to log into Google and do this and are outsourcing their internet marketing anyways.
This is very common. Often a disgruntled ex employee logs in and bash's their old employer on one of these sites.. Fair the company that got bashed? Not at all. Personally I wish Google would take charge and ban this practice. It was a good ideal that is being abused the the public and business's alike.
From a PR standpoint, you would much rather a disgruntled consumer go the BBB and complain then Dealer Rater, Google, etc and write something word for word that is impossible to remove. Atleast the BBB complaints are not shown word for word and they actually investigate the legitmacy of the complaints and have a method for getting resolution. Make sure you are a member of the BBB and have your dealerships current managment information on file to make sure these complaints are going to the right spot.
If someone goes to Ripoffreport.com and posting something, you are screwed. The owner of this site will attempt to extort $16k from you in order to remove the post. see--> More claims of extortion aimed at consumer site | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth
