Trustpilot/Google reviews
Discussion
I've been "pushed" into leaving 5 star reviews twice in the past month.
ASHP installation. I was left a card with a QR code by the plumber (direct employee, not a subbie), and told "If you don't leave a 5 star review, I won't get my bonus".
New car purchase. I was given a card at handover, and asked to fill it in. The next day, by post, I received a letter thanking me for my business, and reminding me to leave a review.
The letter said "Anything less than a 5 star review will mean retraining, or disciplinary action against the staff involved". 2 days later, and email reminding me to do the review.
In both cases, I would've given 5 star reviews anyway, because the service was very good.
It does feel like bullying though, and kind of makes the whole thing pointless. I couldn't mark down the business, without impacting the employee.
ASHP installation. I was left a card with a QR code by the plumber (direct employee, not a subbie), and told "If you don't leave a 5 star review, I won't get my bonus".
New car purchase. I was given a card at handover, and asked to fill it in. The next day, by post, I received a letter thanking me for my business, and reminding me to leave a review.
The letter said "Anything less than a 5 star review will mean retraining, or disciplinary action against the staff involved". 2 days later, and email reminding me to do the review.
In both cases, I would've given 5 star reviews anyway, because the service was very good.
It does feel like bullying though, and kind of makes the whole thing pointless. I couldn't mark down the business, without impacting the employee.
This is why you should take any reviews with a large pinch of salt. We’ve been hounded by Trustpilot to join their expensive scheme that they say will ‘Guarantee a higher rating’
They want us to share our customer email addresses and they’ll send out emails to customers we want at a time when they’re most likely to leave a positive review. Only the emails sent via the paid trustpilot scheme then appear as ‘verified’ reviews and mean that people can leave a review without having to signup for an account.
Its nonsense
They want us to share our customer email addresses and they’ll send out emails to customers we want at a time when they’re most likely to leave a positive review. Only the emails sent via the paid trustpilot scheme then appear as ‘verified’ reviews and mean that people can leave a review without having to signup for an account.
Its nonsense
I think a lot of them are pure fiction.
Contacted recently about card machine they were told to send details on an e mail (we have a secondary e mail address for these kind of things) E mail was gushing claimed they were long established company gave detail of the machine they use but no rates
Didn’t bother few days later another e mail told them they hadn’t quoted rates so weren’t interested. Another e mail with rates. Looked them up on Trust pilot glowing reviews of the 5 star type and many mentioning staff members names (harry was great, Billy was fantastic type)
Out of interest I looked them up on Companies House and they have only been in existence for 4 months. Went back to trustpilot and astonishingly all their reviews are by people who have only ever done one review on Trustpilot being the one for this company hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Trustpilot also handily give the date of the reviews – certainly within the last 4 months. By an amazingly blindingly fast stroke of luck the first Trustpilot review is dated the day after the company was registered which I find odd.
Clearly (to me) the reviews are fake and the gushing thank you thank you we will pass your comments onto harry who dealt with you and we stand ready to help you every step of the way replies are just to semi advertise.
I suspect that “Harry” may well be aware of his “customers review” as I suspect Harry may have had a hand in writing it
Contacted recently about card machine they were told to send details on an e mail (we have a secondary e mail address for these kind of things) E mail was gushing claimed they were long established company gave detail of the machine they use but no rates
Didn’t bother few days later another e mail told them they hadn’t quoted rates so weren’t interested. Another e mail with rates. Looked them up on Trust pilot glowing reviews of the 5 star type and many mentioning staff members names (harry was great, Billy was fantastic type)
Out of interest I looked them up on Companies House and they have only been in existence for 4 months. Went back to trustpilot and astonishingly all their reviews are by people who have only ever done one review on Trustpilot being the one for this company hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Trustpilot also handily give the date of the reviews – certainly within the last 4 months. By an amazingly blindingly fast stroke of luck the first Trustpilot review is dated the day after the company was registered which I find odd.
Clearly (to me) the reviews are fake and the gushing thank you thank you we will pass your comments onto harry who dealt with you and we stand ready to help you every step of the way replies are just to semi advertise.
I suspect that “Harry” may well be aware of his “customers review” as I suspect Harry may have had a hand in writing it
clockworks said:
New car purchase. I was given a card at handover, and asked to fill it in. The next day, by post, I received a letter thanking me for my business, and reminding me to leave a review.
The letter said "Anything less than a 5 star review will mean retraining, or disciplinary action against the staff involved".
Wow - I can’t believe that that isn’t some kind of threatening or coercive behaviour.The letter said "Anything less than a 5 star review will mean retraining, or disciplinary action against the staff involved".
Going back a bit there was a thread on a Merc forum from a member who’d had a bang average experience so left average ratings. A few days later the dealer principal rang him to ask why he shouldn’t sack the sales guy!
OTOH, I’ve called dealers and said “I can’t leave 5 stars because…” and they haven’t given a toss.
I had continuous bad service from a local Hyundai dealer here in Southampton
I started to read the reviews from people on google
Some legit, but then their would be loads of new users, with just one review under their belt, leaving very very similar reviews
The language was English, but a strange use of it. They all mentioned the same buzz words
I suspect fake, of course you’ll never prove it, but if you base quick decisions on their score out of 5 you are being misguided
I started to read the reviews from people on google
Some legit, but then their would be loads of new users, with just one review under their belt, leaving very very similar reviews
The language was English, but a strange use of it. They all mentioned the same buzz words
I suspect fake, of course you’ll never prove it, but if you base quick decisions on their score out of 5 you are being misguided
Also, trust pilot is not to be trusted
Seen numerous times on this thread https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Bad reviews getting removed because the owner didn’t like them
Seen numerous times on this thread https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Bad reviews getting removed because the owner didn’t like them
Sheepshanks said:
clockworks said:
New car purchase. I was given a card at handover, and asked to fill it in. The next day, by post, I received a letter thanking me for my business, and reminding me to leave a review.
The letter said "Anything less than a 5 star review will mean retraining, or disciplinary action against the staff involved".
Wow - I can’t believe that that isn’t some kind of threatening or coercive behaviour.The letter said "Anything less than a 5 star review will mean retraining, or disciplinary action against the staff involved".
Going back a bit there was a thread on a Merc forum from a member who’d had a bang average experience so left average ratings. A few days later the dealer principal rang him to ask why he shouldn’t sack the sales guy!
OTOH, I’ve called dealers and said “I can’t leave 5 stars because…” and they haven’t given a toss.
Spare tyre said:
Also, trust pilot is not to be trusted
Seen numerous times on this thread https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Bad reviews getting removed because the owner didn’t like them
It's actually incredibly difficult to get TP reviews removed these days as they changed the rules, so what's on there is likely from customers, or paid/fake reviews. Seen numerous times on this thread https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Bad reviews getting removed because the owner didn’t like them
Regarding fake reviews, they absolutely do exist, and I know this because I worked for a company (double glazing company, since closed and reopened under new owners (funny that!)) that paid someone to post them and I had to sort the deal out, and write the reviews. They copy and pasted only about 20% of the reviews we paid for but the usernames of the posters were all foreign sounding and it all looked blatant as f
k. What I was most impressed about however is how they extorted us by posting a 1* review with 'this company pays for fake reviews and I know this because I am posting them' then asking for a few hundred quid more than what we'd already paid for them to remove it. I seem to get a lot of requests to leave reviews for companies and I mainly ignore them unless something has been particularly good or bad.
I did last year leave a particularly bad review for the local BW service department because their service level was awful, didn't answer the phone at all whilst my car was there for over a week and I had to go in personally for an update after dozens of calls and messages went unanswered.
I managed to speak to a service advisor in person who was very good in the end was was very helpful.
BMW sent me a standard review questionnaire link and I left them maybe 2 stars explaining all the facts but being very complementary about the one service advisor who did help me in person. A day or so later I got a call from the service manager who was clearly very annoyed by my less than 5 star review almost trying to pressure me to write another which I laughed at and made him even worse. He had no interest in at all in talking about what had gone wrong it was all about the less than 5 star review.
I assume that there must be bonuses or penalties behind the review scores for the management at the dealership
I did last year leave a particularly bad review for the local BW service department because their service level was awful, didn't answer the phone at all whilst my car was there for over a week and I had to go in personally for an update after dozens of calls and messages went unanswered.
I managed to speak to a service advisor in person who was very good in the end was was very helpful.
BMW sent me a standard review questionnaire link and I left them maybe 2 stars explaining all the facts but being very complementary about the one service advisor who did help me in person. A day or so later I got a call from the service manager who was clearly very annoyed by my less than 5 star review almost trying to pressure me to write another which I laughed at and made him even worse. He had no interest in at all in talking about what had gone wrong it was all about the less than 5 star review.
I assume that there must be bonuses or penalties behind the review scores for the management at the dealership
loskie said:
Bullying is exactly what it is. Perhaps a well written letter to the companies saying how uncomfortable this approach makes you the customer feel. It's an AWFUL way to treat customers and employees.
It's not really bullying, more emotional blackmail.They're not going to turn up and take your lunch money.
Review sites like Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, et al. are just mafias without the guns and cool accents. They threaten businesses with bad review if they don't pay. Trip advisor literally is "that's a nice hotel you've got there, a shame if someone were to leave a lot of bad reviews".
Also because a lot of these companies, especially ones out of the US, operation on NPS (Net Promoter Score) anything less than an 9 out of 10 is considered unsatisfactory. NPS works like this
9-10 - Promoter (a good score).
7-8 - Passives (a meh score).
0-6 - Detractors (a bad score).
But wait cap... doesn't that really just make it a scale from 1 to 5 then... that's exactly what I said when I first learned about it and was met with befuddled blinking. Basically NPS is s
t but American executives are in love with it because it encourages staff to ask for a high score.So on a scale of 1 to 5, anything less than a 5 is considered a negative score, where as a lot of people would consider a 4 to be "did a good job but wasn't exemplary"
clockworks said:
I've been "pushed" into leaving 5 star reviews twice in the past month.
ASHP installation. I was left a card with a QR code by the plumber (direct employee, not a subbie), and told "If you don't leave a 5 star review, I won't get my bonus".
New car purchase. I was given a card at handover, and asked to fill it in. The next day, by post, I received a letter thanking me for my business, and reminding me to leave a review.
The letter said "Anything less than a 5 star review will mean retraining, or disciplinary action against the staff involved". 2 days later, and email reminding me to do the review.
In both cases, I would've given 5 star reviews anyway, because the service was very good.
It does feel like bullying though, and kind of makes the whole thing pointless. I couldn't mark down the business, without impacting the employee.
They sound like really awful places to work and by extension I wouldn't do future business with a place like that.ASHP installation. I was left a card with a QR code by the plumber (direct employee, not a subbie), and told "If you don't leave a 5 star review, I won't get my bonus".
New car purchase. I was given a card at handover, and asked to fill it in. The next day, by post, I received a letter thanking me for my business, and reminding me to leave a review.
The letter said "Anything less than a 5 star review will mean retraining, or disciplinary action against the staff involved". 2 days later, and email reminding me to do the review.
In both cases, I would've given 5 star reviews anyway, because the service was very good.
It does feel like bullying though, and kind of makes the whole thing pointless. I couldn't mark down the business, without impacting the employee.
As for neg trustpilot reviews. I left one recently and the motorbike dealer hammered me with calls/follow up emails with one of the emails pretty much stating 'can we discuss and I.e. remove the review'.
Whereas another dealer simply adds 5 star reviews in a flurry after any neg left.
So I'd say it's not negative reviews being removed but a pressure to bury them.
119 said:
2HFL said:
Just ignore any review requests, it’s pretty simple…
Quite.Interesting how difficult some find this easy to do action.
I might leave a review if the service was exceptional, but that'll be my own decision. Any emails "reminding" me to post a review get marked as junk and binned.
I think it's the social media effect. Some people just want to be the main character, a "top reviewer" and have some stupid little badge next to their name so that they can feel in some way important.
Companies that effectively blackmail their customers into writing reviews? They deserve all the s
tty reviews that we can give.Forester1965 said:
Certainly have been. My sister used to work in the service department of BMW a dealership and the 5 star thing was a big deal.
I used to work at Audi and it's a massive thing. One trick was if the salesman thought he might get a bad review, he'd change the email address slightly so it just bounced back.Management would even buy customers champagne and other gifts to ensure a 5 star review.
It's a bit pathetic really.
captain_cynic said:
It's not really bullying, more emotional blackmail.
They're not going to turn up and take your lunch money.
Review sites like Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, et al. are just mafias without the guns and cool accents. They threaten businesses with bad review if they don't pay. Trip advisor literally is "that's a nice hotel you've got there, a shame if someone were to leave a lot of bad reviews".
Also because a lot of these companies, especially ones out of the US, operation on NPS (Net Promoter Score) anything less than an 9 out of 10 is considered unsatisfactory. NPS works like this
9-10 - Promoter (a good score).
7-8 - Passives (a meh score).
0-6 - Detractors (a bad score).
But wait cap... doesn't that really just make it a scale from 1 to 5 then... that's exactly what I said when I first learned about it and was met with befuddled blinking. Basically NPS is st but American executives are in love with it because it encourages staff to ask for a high score.
So on a scale of 1 to 5, anything less than a 5 is considered a negative score, where as a lot of people would consider a 4 to be "did a good job but wasn't exemplary"
That's interesting you said that. I left a 3/5 score on TP for one of the car competition sites. My opening line was "This is a Neutral score" I bought ticket, I didnt win a car therefore neutral. Possibly I'm the idiot here for buying a ticket.They're not going to turn up and take your lunch money.
Review sites like Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, et al. are just mafias without the guns and cool accents. They threaten businesses with bad review if they don't pay. Trip advisor literally is "that's a nice hotel you've got there, a shame if someone were to leave a lot of bad reviews".
Also because a lot of these companies, especially ones out of the US, operation on NPS (Net Promoter Score) anything less than an 9 out of 10 is considered unsatisfactory. NPS works like this
9-10 - Promoter (a good score).
7-8 - Passives (a meh score).
0-6 - Detractors (a bad score).
But wait cap... doesn't that really just make it a scale from 1 to 5 then... that's exactly what I said when I first learned about it and was met with befuddled blinking. Basically NPS is s
t but American executives are in love with it because it encourages staff to ask for a high score.So on a scale of 1 to 5, anything less than a 5 is considered a negative score, where as a lot of people would consider a 4 to be "did a good job but wasn't exemplary"
BUT
The response from the company was pretty much asking me to up my score because negative scores are "damaging". I refused and justified this but the company was not happy. If they DO NOT want honest scores then they should NOT partake in such schemes.
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