No. I am saying that is the best way for me. Sorry if that wasn't clear. But I do think the people one is likely to ask for a referral to a plumber, lawyer, therapist or whatever profession are also likely to be people one associates with for some reason (shared traits, values, standards, expectations, etc.) and trust enough to ask for a referral, meaning that what worked for them is likely to work for oneself.

That doesn't make Yelp reviews irrelevant (nor did I say it did) but it makes them a less useful source of information to me if I have someone giving me a personal referral.