Integrity in Reviews

A single fake review is all it takes to destroy a reputation.

The problems of social media with trolls and bots are already well known and AI is likely to make things much worse. 

Websites post everything instantly, they don't check with the people affected and they take no responsibility for the result.  The damage is done.  

• The same is often true for review sites, where even the right to reply just encourages an argument.  When prospective customers see this, they don't know who to believe, so it's probably safer to choose someone else.  Why take a risk?
• Even if the review is taken down after a while, the chances are that it has already been read many times and competitors of the business may even have taken screenshots to keep forever.

We do things differently, and we always have.  Since 1997.

 

We've blocked as many as 600 attempts by one fake reviewer

No system is perfect, but we work with businesses to verify that every reviewer is a genuine customer BEFORE THE REVIEW IS PUBLISHED. 

• In one case, we blocked 600 attempts over a period of several weeks from the same email address.
• Acting independently, we invited the reviewer to show that they were a genuine customer but they were clearly not. 

We don't just protect the business from damage.  Our main aim is to protect the public from misinformation.

 

Verifying Customers for over 25 years

Our systems have changed over the past 25 years, and no system is perfect, but here's how we now verify that reviewers are genuine customers:

1. We suggest a simple PIN code for businesses to give to their customers.
2. When reviewers give us the correct PIN code, we accept their review.
3. If a reviewer doesn't have a PIN code, perhaps because the business realises that they might be unhappy, then we ask the reviewer to upload a copy of their invoice instead.
4. If the reviewer doesn't have an invoice, perhaps because work was started but never completed, then we ask them to upload correspondence to show that they had accepted an offer which was confirmed by the business.

We're independent, and our process is transparent.  Businesses can block fake reviewers, but they can't block genuine customers.

 

Consumers or Competitors?

Consumers are often advised to get quotes from 3 businesses before making a choice, especially for larger jobs.  As a result, they may have strong and perfectly valid opinions about what they didn't like about two of the three businesses:

• We don't normally accept reviews about the two businesses that they didn't choose because this would overwhelm the website and open up the floodgates to manipulation by competitors. 
• We'd make an exception where a business behaved illegally or in breach of a code of practice.

 

Pause before Publication

We show each review to the business before it's published, so they are the first to see what their customer has said.  We think that’s only fair.   

• We hold reviews for 48 hours because we're all busy people, with better things to do than to keep checking emails all day long.   So there’s no hurry if you’re in meetings, driving between appointments or half way up a ladder.
• We also provide a secure messaging service, so businesses and customers can discuss and correct any misunderstandings before the review is published.

This delay isn't just for the benefit of the business.  Sometimes the customer may realise that they could have explained things better or differently, so this delay gives them a chance to get it right.  If they edit the review, then we add another 48 hours before we publish the revised review.

We verify photos too

Photos are a really important way to explain the work reviewed.  Most websites allow businesses to upload their own photos but these are often just stock photos from the manufacturer or even photos of competitors' work.

• We encourage both businesses and customers to upload photos relating to the review, but customers must approve any photos uploaded by the business to confirm that they are genuine and to make sure that they don’t include anything private.
• 10 photos can be uploaded for each review and with plenty of space for captions for each photo.  The combination of a series of photos to show the stages of work with helpful comments to explain the details can be very useful.

Publish or Hold?

We hold reviews for 48 hours and we show the remaining time against each review, so there's time for the business and customer to discuss the review before it's published.  During this time: 

• The business can approve immediate publication, even if the review seems a little unfair.   Nobody's perfect, see below.
• The business can extend publication once by another 48 hours, if they need a little more time.  They don't have to ask the customer to do this.
• The customer can extend publication to any future date.  The business may need some time to investigate or resolve any problems and any genuine customer should encourage and welcome their efforts to do so.

Our messaging service helps both parties discuss any issues communicate securely and simply, with a record of what's been discussed.

 

Secure Private Messaging and Downloads

Whether you just want a chat, or you want to reconfirm any previous correspondence such as the terms and conditions, estimate or quotation, our messaging service makes it easy to upload documents with any explanations or comments.  We also include space for you to keep your own private notes.  All of this material is saved securely and can be downloaded at any time.

 

Nobody's Perfect

Disagreements and misunderstandings will happen from time to time and we encourage both businesses and consumers to act reasonably:

• Consumers should not use reviews to publish misleading or exaggerated claims about businesses.
• Businesses should not apply pressure on a customer to change their review just because they don't like it.  

Consumers understand this and they are more likely to trust a firm (and a review site) where they can read the occasional low rating, perhaps from an unreasonable customer. 

 

Public comment

As well as the private messaging, we also provide a space for the businesses to comment publicly on the customer's review.

• This might be a reply to the customer, if that seems appropriate. It's a nice way to say thank you, but their full name should not be included unless they have agreed to this.
• It can also be helpful to provide more details about the work, so that potential customers can appreciate any interesting or challenging aspects when reading the reviews.

 

Escalation and Complaints

In case of a serious disagreement where the business and customer are unable to resolve things, then the review can be flagged for escalation to ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution).  It is important to use the messaging service to keep a record of all  conversations and to upload all relevant documents or photos before using this option.

Businesses should use these options to delay or escalate reviews sparingly.  We monitor such activity in order to ensure the safe operation of our site and we may publish statistics to show how often they are used.