Most of us shop online these days, in varying degrees. For larger purchases, like appliances and furniture, I will flick through product reviews to ensure I am not sold a ‘lemon.’
Some of us conduct diligent research online checking product reviews on websites for any purchase. Naturally, they want to save money and purchase a reputable brand.
Companies Seek Customer Feedback
What’s more, companies follow up purchases, seeking out customers’ opinions – feedback is important to them. With varying degrees, our inbox might fill with invitations to respond to customer surveys like,
“So, how did we do?”
“How can we serve you better?
“Let us know what you thought of your purchase?”
Every company wants 5 stars, and to maintain that stellar rating and I am mighty conscious how even a random 1 star review can damage a brand, particularly a small business.
So, imagine my surprise when I was invited to review a purchase of shoes, and upon submitting a 4 star review with accompanying positive-worded tip to improve store/website service, I received this reply:
Our staff has read your review and values your contribution even though it did not meet all our website guidelines.
Thanks for sharing, and we hope to publish next time!
What good is a product review if the company only publishes 5-star reviews?
The Backstory
I had chosen a ‘click and collect delivery for my order. It was filled promptly and my daughter collected the shoes from the store. (We were soon to leave for Japan and had run out of time to get to the shops). When we opened the box, later that evening, the shoes were the wrong size, ( one size smaller), but there was no time to return them to the store, before our trip.
The store’s website detailed a sizing table which converted AUS, US and EURO sizes, but nowhere did the order page indicate which regional sizing you were actually selecting when you clicked “add to shopping cart.”
The store was closed when I sent in the order, I was unable to clarify this via telephone.
But I live in Australia and it is an Aussie store, so I was pretty confident the website would indicate if it was using anything other than Australian sizing.
Wrong! We had received the US sizing – (one size down from Australian sizes)!
Therefore, my 4 star review suggested politely that customers should call the store to check sizing of shoes prior to ordering, as the website doesn’t indicate which sizing is used.
It seems they valued my contribution but it was deemed not to meet store guidelines.
“Try again,” the email glibly suggested.
Pfft! I then supposed that their guidelines must direct publication of reviews if they are only positive and give the store 5-stars?
I wonder if this is store-wide or just a managerial decision? Perhaps Blogger Keith might share his wisdom with me in this regard?
Questions to Bloggers
Do you check product reviews?
Do you find them helpful?
Has this ever happened to you?
Something to Ponder About 
Yes this happened to me. I received terrible service in that a cash back offer from a store didn’t come for 2 months and I had to chase it many times. I posted a review saying I was unhappy about this with a low rating and it was rejected. It felt like a scam – see if people bother to chase the cash back.
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It does sound like that company was hoping most people would forget about the cash back offer, Jane. Was it just a lure to get sales? It does make a customer sceptical of the use of reviews and the techniques that some stores use to encourage sales. I see lots of cash back offers and I will be more cautious and investigate more.
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I write quite a few reviews for Product Review – but I don’t do it after being asked to. If something really appeals, I say as much; and (of course !) when something pisses me off I write about that, too.
I’ve come to detest being asked to write a review: I’ve paid for whatever it is, and that’s that.
And the other shitty trick is when one is told there’ll be $X off the first purchase if one signs up for email. I’ve tried that a couple of times and been told only then it’s if one buys over $X,000. So I ignore all those, even though I’d always meant to cancel my email subscription the moment I’d been given th discount. (Oooo-er !)
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It is your prerogative to cancel a subscription at any time, MR, so why not after you have bought one of their products? They got a sale! And yes, it is often a trap about the $ limits. Annoying. Sometimes that discount offer takes a while to be emailed through as well.
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I have only posted a truly negative review once. Rather than posting to the store’s website, I posted it on Google. My review was accepted. I usually do look at third party sites for reviews, as it seems products almost always are rated more favorably on the product’s/seller’s website.
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This sounds like a very good strategy, JJJ – checking independent and third party sites might be way to source more impartial reviews that avoid overly positive biases. I understand that they’ll always be the odd one-star review, or even more if the product is dubious, but if all reviews are five stars, I think I will be much more suspicious of the store’s publishing practices.
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I do read reviews, especially for large ticket items, but rarely on the company’s own website as I know those are hand-picked. Instead I look at sites like Trust Pilot or Google reviews. Or I like Booking.com’s hotel reviews rather than Trip Advisor, as the former only allow posting of a review if you’ve booked a stay through them whereas I know it’s possible to be paid to write a TA review (and hotels who pay them a premium can take down negative reviews).
And I do write reviews too, although not always. Again, I’m more likely to write for independent sites. I recently had a positive experience when I wrote a mainly complementary restaurant review on Google but mentioned that we’d been disappointed with the dessert. The restaurant replied promptly saying they had passed my comment to the kitchen team.
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It sounds like hand picking positive reviews for a stores website might be a global practice, Sarah. Thanks for that input. It is interesting and good for consumers to know. I am not familiarcwith Trust Pilot so I will look into that.
I can also see why you prefer booking.com reviews over TripAdvisor reviews. Years ago, I stayed at a North Italian hotel and had a troublesome room experience which spoilt the last few days of a lovely holiday. When I posted the review on possibly(?) the trip advisor site, the hotel’s reply suggested that I had never been a guest at the hotel and rebutted everything I had reported. I had no further way to respond further, which was frustrating!
I love that the restaurant you mentioned listened to your review. I think that gives customers confidence to return to the venue. In contrast, I won’t return to the shoe store as they have lost my custom entirely.
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I will write a positive review for a local restaurant or shop, but I don’t write the negative. If I have a bad experience locally, I call the restaurant myself and talk to the manager. There’s always something that could come into play on a single night, and I don’t think it fair to make my frustrations public when a human touch usually will be more effective in the long run, and is certainly more appreciated.
I don’t usually bother with reviewing anything on-line, it’s so skewed it is not worth my time. I don’t trust any websites own reviews, but if I’m interested in something I will check an independent source just to look at the playing field. Even then, I’m cautious and know there are lots of ways to play the system.
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I like the way you approach reviews, Dorothy and some online reviews are skewed! I am very mindful that restaurants are vulnerable, in particular, to ruination from a single dissatisfied customer. There are immense variables around food service, preparation and quality and the restaurant should not always have to take the rap for things that may have been out of their control or a single aberration. A friend runs a Thai restaurant and she knows this all too well – she would rather the customer speak up then and there while they’re eating in the restaurant, so she can attempt to rectify the problem immediately, rather than leave and then write a poor review about her food online. It is something I also recommend doing in an online group for pet friendly eateries and accommodation I administer. I encourage, but don’t mandate, the many members to approach the establishment directly to see if they can sort out a problem. Small businesses and sole traders rely so much on word of mouth. If any group member has no luck in sorting things out, they are then very welcome to post about it. Thus the online group self-regulates and I can only recall a handful or less in 15 years that have been lacklustre enough to warrant a cautionary review.
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Sounds constructive to me, and with no unintended fallout. We’re on the same wavelength.
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Yes, I check reviews. And I occasionally write reviews.
If I am checking reviews, I first look at the negative ones. And if there aren’t any bad reviews, I consider that suspicious.
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Hi Neil, like you I’m very suspicious of reviews that are all glowing and totally five stars, with not even one comment that earmarks an area for improvement – at the very least. Some of the other bloggers have commented it is so easy for businesses to play the system, pay for reviews, or skew the ratings. It seems a good idea to avoid the businesses own website reviews. Checking third-party sites for a more accurate perspective seems a better option that I will use.
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Sorry about the shoes!! YIKES! A very interesting discussion on reviews, Amanda. We live in a time when virtual shopping is mainstream. When we lived in Northern Canada in an isolated mining town, we shopped the ‘catalogs’ and always wondered about the outcome. There were no avenues to lodge a on-line review. How life has changed since those times.
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Hi Rebecca, yes times have certainly changed from mail order catalogues. We live in a consumer world that teeters between online and in-person shopping, sometimes precariously. For residents in remote areas, online shopping must be a blessing and the only option. But it can sometimes be a surprise and a time waster to the consumer. Recently, I ordered a electric portable fan heater online. When it arrived two months later, I opened the box to find two large, emerald green suitcases and no heater. That was a surprise and it took me several months and many emails to request and return the suitcases and receive a refund.
For these kinds of situations, reviews that point out deficits will hopefully trigger service improvements.
But- the customer needs to be cognizant that the system can be skewed in a variety of ways that some bloggers have highlighted in the comments here.
I wonder if a store’s own reviews will fade away entirely in their usefulness.
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A very good point, Amanda. I think that we are becoming more astute in our purchasing and access information from others who have had negative or positive experiences. I enjoyed this conversation!! Again, many thanks.
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Likewise, Rebecca. I appreciated and valued your contribution.
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When I was a child catalogue shopping was common in rural areas….and I found it again in rural France. Online shopping has only been ventured twice. I ordered a dress from John Lewis, as I had shopped there for years and trusted their quality, but found it just did not hang right. Never again. My husband has ordered an electric wheelchair from China. His first one arrived on time and was a dream…this one has ended up in Florida! I would not bother with online reviews as I suspect them to be rigged, as your experience shows.
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Things have certainly moved on from the catalog days Helen. Looking back the catalog mail orders were surprisingly reliable. As for online clothes shopping I’ve had a few hit and miss experiences, as well. Trying clothes on to see how they hang and fit is a must. We can measure our hip and boobs and consult size charts til the end of time, but there’s no substitute for trying clothes on in a fitting room. I don’t buy clothes online anymore.
Recently, I ordered a faux fireplace portable heater online and two green travel suitcases were delivered two months later!! Wires were crossed somewhere.
I do hope the electric wheelchair arrives soon and curtails its vacation/stopover in Florida! I must say you are brave buying such a big ticket item from China – I hope they have a lengthy warranty and adjustments are available locally?
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The last purchase from China has long outlived its guarantee and is still serviceable, but it is cheaper to buy another one from China than to have it worked on here!
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The world is crazy like that!
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I read product reviews on Amazon but your words do not suprise me.
In the past I was asked for a product review in return for a free gift but I never took them up on the offer.
Book reviews can crash and burn a book when you know full well that between the time of publication and the reivew they could never have read the book. so from experience I take a 1* review with a pinch of salt.
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I’m not sure about Amazon reviews, Creative Spirit, but I agree that many reviews are so dubious they should absolutely be taken with a grain of salt.
And authors are particularly vulnerable to skewed or fake reviews. If a site is churning out reviews faster than a person can read a book, they aren’t legit and have no value. Honestly, I think the website that host those reviews should do more to monitor and regulate them, otherwise their value will diminish completely. The comments in this discussion seem to indicate that is happening already.
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That is wrong. And you were very generous with your feedback anyway. I am generally mistrustful of these reviews.
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You are not alone in your view, Tanja. It seems everyone is sceptical of reviews that are one-sided. Their value is questionable.
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I do read reviews sometimes, but take them with a grain of salt ever since a genuine review I posted on a leading travel/hospitality site was rejected as not meeting guidelines. I then reworded it significantly and again it was rejected. Other negative reviews appeared and disappeared very quickly. Then the owner of the business had several responses published which were quit aggressive. All in all a dodgy experience.
Like one of your other commenters, I usually contact a restaurant directly if it is not positive – in this case, that did not work, and I resorted to publication.
As for book reviews, I never publish 1 or 2 stars. If I disliked a book that much, I usually just tag it as DNF (did not finish). Too much effort for someone to write and publish to put them down!
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It seems I am not alone in having reviews rejected for not meeting guidelines, Gwendoline, and good on you for trying to post a second time.
I didn’t bother. Those sites are completely useless to consumers – they’re more interested in maintaining a higher google rating. In short, they are playing the system. It is not aimed at helping the consumer at all. I’m sure people would love to know that the reviews they are trusting in, are skewed.
As for the restaurant, if they continue that practice, they will most likely see their goodwill nosedive.
I totally agree with your stategy on book reviews. As a teacher of Creative Writing, I would never want to discourage an emerging writer. If someone has taken the trouble to self-publish a book, it is feedback enough that we don’t buy it or do not finish reading it.
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Somewhat off topic, but I wrote this on Goodreads a while back, as I was analysing for myself how I think about book reviews:
“My interpretation of Goodreads ratings: I rarely, if ever, give a one or two star rating as I know the effort that goes into writing and publishing. 5 stars are for the books that I would want with me if I was lost on a desert island. 4 stars for the ones I discuss with, and recommend to friends, or have left me thinking, or I’ve learned something, or am likely to read again whenever time permits.
3 stars is for those I liked well enough, found entertaining or thought-provoking, but some things did not quite gel for me.
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You make an excellent point, Gwendoline. Just what does 3 stars or 4 or 5 really mean? It could be different for everyone and definitely needs further information to accurately reflect the intention of the review.
The rating system is subjective and I recall seeing several reviews that said, I would give this service/product zero stars if I could, but I have to give it a rating – thus the 1 star.
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Do you check product reviews? Yes, sometimes
Do you find them helpful? Usually I do not
Has this ever happened to you? No, but am intrigued that it happened to you.
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I am surprised that you haven’t encountered a product review refusal yet, Ally. But there is still time 😉. Lol. Seriously though, I am glad to hear there are reputable companies who still value reviews of all kinds. From the comments here, I had begun to fear it was a totally skewed system geared solely towards SEO rankings and hits, rather than detecting potential improvements in the customer service experience.
Perhaps the random dissatisfied customer that posts a one-star review about a service aberration has ruined so many businesses, staff now selectively publish reviews in order to protect the brand?
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I can’t believe the review you wrote didn’t meet their guidelines! I wished there were more reviews online actually. I find that if you’re not censored, people usually give their honest truth and esp about shoes and whether they are true to size, runs small or large etc. Online stores really need to spell out sizing and which one they are referring to rather than just numbers listed. I also think they all need to be including cm just to be sure!
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Your description of online reviews especially for shoes certainly sounds sensible to me, Sophie. We made our purchase based on the information given, which was incorrect. I would think that the company could easily add a panel describing sizing or even an extra line in the product description to avoid customer disappointment.
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I don’t often write reviews and I really dislike getting all those emails asking for feedback after making a purchase or using a service. I read reviews but I don’t put a lot of faith in them as I’ve read that many of them are fake. Sometimes you have to read between the lines. I can’t believe (or, maybe I can but I’m still flabbergasted) you had your honest but negative review refused.
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You wrote you were flabbergasted, Janis and I was certainly suprised enough to write about it here. After reading a few of the comments bloggers have written, it seems that unless product reviews are listed on a third party site, they are next to useless and used by the corporate world to increase google rankings.
Very disappointing but I learnt something. I won’t be reading reviews the same way from now on.
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P.S. And you are right, Janis. Those email request are annoying. It reminds me of a young primary school child repeatedly asking an older child, “Do you like me? Do you like me? In my experience, the most persistent requests have come from realtors. What about you?
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I get them mostly from retailers and hotels. I just hit delete… unless I have something either really positive or negative to say.
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I definitely look at the reviews and usually find them useful. Your post, however, reminds me of a comic I saw a few years ago by XKCD about the problem with online ratings. If you are up for a laugh, google “XKCD Tornadoguard”.
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Haha. The one thing the app had to do and if failed….
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I don’t always check product reviews. Overseas booking YES! And even so one may get in trouble.
Sorry about your experience.
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Hello friend, I enjoyed your post. I subscribed. Have a good day🍀☘️⭐️💝
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Thank you for stopping by.
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Yes, I always read reviews and sometimes send a review of what I purchased online (or instore). If I don’t like some aspect of the store or service, I note this on the review. So far, I’ve had positive feedback. I especially read camera and lens reviews before considering whether to buy gear. Then I used to go instore and try the lens out many times before actually buying. Unfortunately that camera store in the city (of Melbourne) has closed down now.
The best ‘feedback’ I can mention is when filling out surveys for Woolworths online – my local supermarket. I was surprised to find one particular criticism was rectified on the supermarket’s site the following week. In fact, I’d say at least 3 comments I’ve made were acted upon fairly promptly with website changes or search changes.
Imagine my surprise this morning to get an email stating that Woolworths had done a search on me in LinkedIn (assuming it really was Woolworths with the accompanying logo).
I closed my LinkedIn account earlier this year as I was getting fed up with ‘friends’ requests from people all over the world who had nothing to do with photography or creative arts. Seems now, an account for me, with my gravatar, has been opened again in LinkedIn but no other details show (i.e. education and experience), except that I live in the wrong suburb. This has obviously come about as my postcode has 2 suburbs attached to it, not just mine.
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Gosh Vicki. LinkedIn is really persistent. It is like the ex-boyfriend you can never get rid of. I have unsubscribed from emails so many times but they never delete me from their email notifications. Now I send them to junk. I don’t use it anymore for my professional life so I might delete it all together. But who knows if they will restore it anyway. And it is very surprising that WW has searched LinkedIn for you. That is a bit concerning. Thanks for the follow. It is nice to find another Aussie here in WordPress land.
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I’ll check it out. I did have my blog offline for a couple of days as I tried to delete the bulk of my WordPress media library to make room for new images (and accidentally deleted all the images in recent posts so had to delete the actual posts themselves. I thought I put it back on ‘public’.
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Many of my older images from over ten years ago I cannot access via the media library. It is frustrating. Hope you have sorted out the dramas
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Is your blog site still active? I just clicked on it and got a wordpress message that you have deleted the site. Could be your settings?
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(I accidentally replied to a different comment).
I just checked and my blog is definitely on ‘public’. Perhaps WordPress has done some sort of software update in the last 12 hours as I’ve had trouble commenting on blogs I follow this morning.
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Yes, love this article!
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Thank you
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I tend to check 5 stars and 1 stars reviews for most products I buy online. If a product doesn’t have negative reviews I tend to ignore it, it’s a bad sign.
People will always complain about something so if the site doesn’t show it, I don’t trust the site. Plus, I like to know what people are complaining about to see if it’s something that would also bother me or not.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a product review taken down. But I’ve been asked to post my review, for an advanced copy of a book, later because it was a 3 out of 5 stars rating.
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Interesting point about the book review, Garc. And thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic. I think you are right to approach your product research with a balanced view. And people do complain about strange and valid things.
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So scammy! I once posted a bad hotel review on booking.com (since they emailed me and asked me to give an honest review, repeatedly). But they never published it. Another time, also on booking.com, my negative hotel review got published but the hotel staff wrote a really nasty reply, and I wasn’t given a chance to reply to that. They twisted the facts and tried to make me look loopie. Unfortunately, I still use booking.com because we don’t have a lot of options over here and their user interface is easier to use than e.g. hotels.com (in my opinion). Sigh.
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Your experience on booking.com was similar to a feedback post I made on Trip advisor years ago about a hotel in Italy. The hotel accused me of lying and said I had never stayed at thr hotel at all. I was so frustrated that there was no further right of reply nor ability to answer in order to rebutt false and revengeful accusations. I tend to find booking directly with the establishment gets better rates anyhow.
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Revengeful accusations – exactly the same! Maybe I’ll look into direct booking next time
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I stopped reading reviews directly from the products’ website because they’re nothing but raves and five stars. I check on google and most of the time that’s where I see the non-biased comments.
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It seems reviews have been adulterated to the point of being useless. Thanks for confirming this.
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