The power of online reviews, an example

[AimlessWanderer]

Reviews can be useful. Sometimes they highlight something which may be relevant to me, sometimes they end up flagging themselves as someone whose word should instantly be disregarded, whatever they happen to review.

Vendor reviews:
I want to know what went wrong, what the customer did, and how the vendor responded. I'll judge for myself who I think is in the right and in the wrong. I have sided with the customer at times, and the vendor at others.

Product reviews:
These are trickier to discern whether or not the product might work for you. You have to determine if they have the same preferences and needs as you, and if not, does anything they like work against what you need or prefer? So there's an additional question of compatibility, before you can accept what you're being told.

Alarm bells ring as soon as anyone says "Do yourself a favour...". Game over!!! There are few things in the world that make me want to punch a salesman more than that line. They might as well say "I'm right, you're wrong, do what I say, or else you're a moron". Go take a long walk off a short pier, buddy.

Do yourself a favour, and never take advice or buy anything from anyone who says "Do yourself a favour...". Leave immediately, and go find someone else to listen to or spend money with. Seriously!

If the reviewer appears to be open minded, honest, and doesn't assume the rest of the world should think exactly as they do, I'll lend an ear. If they seem narrowminded, self centred, or clueless (which I think accounts for two thirds of that popular video website), then I couldn't give two hoots what they think.

 

[Canadian Mountain Man]

For pretty much everything I purchase online reviews play a significant part in my decision making. Agree with @AimlessWanderer's comment about the "OMG it will change your life" comments and @dfoulk's reference to certain youtube shaving shills pitchmen. For the latter I've stopped watching a most of them since they never seem to find a product they didn't like and that's clearly not realistic and candidly very greasy behavior. I've been in other user communities where some prolific reviewers are shameless in their approaching vendors for graft in exchange for positive public feedback. It still surprises me that the vendors play ball since in any close knit group they're going to get found out one way or another and that lost credibility is hard to recover.

As for my own behavior I've always been very quick to provide both negative and positive feedback. If its a vendor or manufacturer I like or respect I feel they're owed that input and believe that potential customers can benefit from my experience. That said, I try to keep my reviews as anonymous as possible and not link back to my either real or forum identities. If its a particularly negative experience and if the product or service is from a small or new company I will attempt to resolve the issue with them prior to posting a public review since I appreciate the impact it could have on their business. I realize that errors can happen in the manufacturing process and I'm OK in giving them the opportunity to make things right. Usually they do and more often than not most negative experiences have done a 180 and I've ended up with a product I'm happy with. However, in the rare situation where a company doesn't take my concerns seriously and attempt to remedy them, or worse just ignore my requests for resolution, I get miserable in my behavior. Never lie or embellish what has occurred but use every conceivable outlet to make my displeasure known.

I find the retribution for a legitimately negative review laughable and it normally doesn't end well for any company attempting those tactics. One example that comes to mind was a independent computer sales & service company who received a negative review from one customer who claimed, and by all accounts wasn't lying, that they didn't remotely come close to fulfilling their commitments. He posted his experience on yelp and their response was to hire a US based PR company which specializes in sanitizing negative reviews. They aggressively went after the customer with threats of legal action unless he retracted his review he'd face the risk of paying compensatory and punitive damages. Not a terribly effective public relations strategy since in Canada companies don't have the same latitude as an individual to sue for defamation and the resulting negative public response caused the company to shutter the business.

I've heard of doctors in the US having new patients sign an agreement that they won't post anything on sites like WebMD. Bravo sierra to that! Again, never lie in a review but if Dr. Nick botches your vasectomy and leaves you a eunuch you should be able to share your experience.

 

[Clay S]

It still surprises me that the vendors play ball since in any close knit group they're going to get found out one way or another and that lost credibility is hard to recover.

While we are close knit, a large number of you-tubers are not. Although, if you get dive into shaving, you will eventually, and probably quickly, wind up hear.

threats of legal action unless he retracted his review

I would then post it up and query readers of it "How many have they force to remove valid reviews with these tactics?" "How bad are they really?"

 

[Canadian Mountain Man]

While we are close knit, a large number of you-tubers are not. Although, if you get dive into shaving, you will eventually, and probably quickly, wind up hear.

This is true and the civility and lack of overt shilling continues to make B&B a pleasure

I would then post it up and query readers of it "How many have they force to remove valid reviews with these tactics?" "How bad are they really?"

When the customer was faced with the baseless legal threats he went to one of the local TV consumer affairs reporters who eat this sort of thing up. It was that coverage and the following barrage of likely fabricated negative reviews from viewers disgusted with the company's behavior that did them in.

I've been customer facing at various times in my career and quickly learned a couple of things. Crap happens that will right, wrong or otherwise cause a customer to be upset and if its a legitimate gripe that either I or the company I worked for was responsible simply admit it (obviously barring any serious liability issues then its best to shut up and let the lawyers deal with it) and then sincerely attempt to rectify the problem.

 

[Clay S]

This is true and the civility and lack of overt shilling continues to make B&B a pleasure


When the customer was faced with the baseless legal threats he went to one of the local TV consumer affairs reporters who eat this sort of thing up. It was that coverage and the following barrage of likely fabricated negative reviews from viewers disgusted with the company's behavior that did them in.

I've been customer facing at various times in my career and quickly learned a couple of things. Crap happens that will right, wrong or otherwise cause a customer to be upset and if its a legitimate gripe that either I or the company I worked for was responsible simply admit it (obviously barring any serious liability issues then its best to shut up and let the lawyers deal with it) and then sincerely attempt to rectify the problem.

For a business to do such things isn't smart! If your a good business, a small number of bad reviews aren't going to hurt much. Reach out,(if possible on the reviewing platform) to find out why they were displeased so much. But if it is an extremely out of place bad review, I think most will assume that it is a person like How to be a Good Server OR How to Convince an Entire Shaving Forum You're a Jerk

 

[Adam18]

My Mom (who just turned 90 and is still as smart, insightful, and intelligent as most folks half her age)
always taught me ..... "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all." This, to me,
still holds true. My wife and I have posted many "positive" reviews on different on-line sites about wines,
restaurants, hotels, resorts, etc. ..... but neither of us has ever posted a "negative" review.
The "Golden Rule" still applies ..... "Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself." Life is too
short to be negative or scornful. With all the craziness happening in the world today, I want my personal
contributions to society to be uplifting, optimistic, and positive. Happy Shaving Gents !

 

[johnwick]

A few years ago I recall Kentucky men’s basketball catching a bad call from a ref. These guys are part time and have jobs outside of being a referee. The gentleman who made the bad call resides in Omaha NE and owns a roofing company. After that event, thousands of Kentucky fans bombarded the business with fake one star reviews via Facebook, google, yelp etc. Cratered the business. The internet and society at its worst.

Not singling out Kentuckians, it could have been any number of schools who would have reacted just as poorly.

 

[BigJ]

This is true and the civility and lack of overt shilling continues to make B&B a pleasure


When the customer was faced with the baseless legal threats he went to one of the local TV consumer affairs reporters who eat this sort of thing up. It was that coverage and the following barrage of likely fabricated negative reviews from viewers disgusted with the company's behavior that did them in.

I've been customer facing at various times in my career and quickly learned a couple of things. Crap happens that will right, wrong or otherwise cause a customer to be upset and if its a legitimate gripe that either I or the company I worked for was responsible simply admit it (obviously barring any serious liability issues then its best to shut up and let the lawyers deal with it) and then sincerely attempt to rectify the problem.

+1! Civility makes B&B a pleasure! I also agree with your approach to customer relations.

 

[Canadian Mountain Man]

How to be a Good Server OR How to Convince an Entire Shaving Forum You're a Jerk

Hokey fritz! Just that first post is incredible! EVERY server EVERYWHERE should read that when getting hired.

My Mom (who just turned 90 and is still as smart, insightful, and intelligent as most folks half her age)

always taught me ..... "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all." This, to me,
still holds true. My wife and I have posted many "positive" reviews on different on-line sites about wines,
restaurants, hotels, resorts, etc. ..... but neither of us has ever posted a "negative" review.
The "Golden Rule" still applies ..... "Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself." Life is too
short to be negative or scornful. With all the craziness happening in the world today, I want my personal
contributions to society to be uplifting, optimistic, and positive. Happy Shaving Gents !

Yes, I understand the intent behind what you're saying but I don't believe there's any moral conundrum in posting an honest & accurate negative review. If no one ever said anything ill about a poor product we'd still have New Coke, the Microsoft Zune and grape flavored potato chips (yes, that was a thing in Canada).

Not singling out Kentuckians, it could have been any number of schools who would have reacted just as poorly.

People really do behave online like its Lord of the Flies when they can hide behind anonymity.

+1! Civility makes B&B a pleasure!

I used to be on a board focused on the telecom industry and you'd expect that given its professionally focused that everyone one would behave accordingly. Nope, there would be a thread on programming a PBX and five posts in someone is calling someone else a certain sphincter'ey passage and in return they're told to do things to their mother which are illegal in nine of the ten Canadian provinces. So ya, B&B is a little oasis on the web.

 

[1Vader]

There are times when I sat on a couple of my reviews, specially if I felt it's too harsh. I just cancel or delete what I just typed. It's all within reason of course, but sometimes the written word will come across as harsh or abrasive without us intending it to be.

I will still say what I liked about the product, what I didn't; We need a consensus in the community and the more each of us contribute our experiences, the more we will be better informed as a whole.

There's a couple of vendors or artisan that I think do not have the best personality but I just refrain from speaking about it. Still giving them the benefit of the doubt and at the same time, I just focus on the good ones.

 

[Bogeyman]

When you pick up a sword and enter the Colosseum expect anything. Honesty may hurt, but in the long run everyone is better for it.

 

[GearNoir]

Interesting topic @Nicholas!

While I am not “sought after” as you have been for reviews and such, I will just throw in my $0.02 here.

I do not hesitate to give feedback on a product, whether in written review or in video review, if I feel so moved to speak up about the product or someone is seeking opinions.

Doing so, I keep some things in mind:

- While product comparison is helpful (mainly as a way to associate the reviewed product in manner relative to a more well-known product), I also try to simply enjoy the product for what it is. While I usually do my own research before picking a product up and investing in it, I try to have fewer expectations. In this way I more often enjoy the product than not.

- For a number of vendors, as well meaning as they usually are, they’re still human. Some have a more difficult time separating a negative view on their product from an attack on their pride in the product and their livelihood.

- In this way, I also try limit and to be constructive with any criticisms I have of a product - remembering I am not always right, others may feel markedly different than me, and thus focus more on the positives of the product than what I perceive as “wrong”.

 

[THall]

I ordered the Fendrihan Mark II a while back and when I received it, it had a blemished top cap. I notified them and they sent a replacement immediately. I posted a review on their website and the review began about the cap, then the replacement, the love it or hate it dimpled baseplate design and my positive experience with shaving with the razor. They never altered my review and it is still there.

Ending up buying 3 more razors from them for my sons and father in law. Since that time, I tell everyone I can that they are a good vendor and trustworthy.

 

[Tokyospike]

My general attitude is that if I can’t say anything positive, I try to remember to keep quiet.
When I set out to actually review something, I :
a) Define my criteria and rating method first;
b) Try to write relatively - this is better than that, but not as good as the one over yonder;
c) Always mention YMMV because, well, it may.

 

[ajkel64]

Great thread @Nicholas, I like others have had to reword some reviews as I have felt when proof reading the review it was somewhat harsh. I try to give sellers the opportunity to rectify any issues with a sale and then go from there. This is good on the Bay where you can check a sellers feedback. If there is lots of negative feedback then I am aware of who I am dealing with.

 

[BigJ]

I ordered the Fendrihan Mark II a while back and when I received it, it had a blemished top cap. I notified them and they sent a replacement immediately. I posted a review on their website and the review began about the cap, then the replacement, the love it or hate it dimpled baseplate design and my positive experience with shaving with the razor. They never altered my review and it is still there.

Ending up buying 3 more razors from them for my sons and father in law. Since that time, I tell everyone I can that they are a good vendor and trustworthy.

+1! Great point!!

A wise vendor works to rectify an unsatisfactory sale. Their reward is a satisfied, repeat customer! This is why some merchants are around for a century or more (think LL Bean, Nordstrom, etc.)

 

[ronald90]

Like many others, I do make a lot of my buying decisions based on what I read online, including on this forum too. In terms of specifics, I will not be buying anything from Razor Emporium or PAA based on things I have read here.

However, I take things with a pinch of salt and don't just believe everything I read. I also look at the review in the context of other reviews too. One bad review won't sway me, but a series of bad reviews with details (i.e. not just one line saying "bad quality product") and sometimes evidence (e.g. evidence of payment without receipt of goods or refund, photos of the faulty product, or screencaps of abusive emails/social media messages sent by a vendor) will influence me.

 

[RayClem]

I have reviewed several products, but my most frequently reviewed products are shaving soaps. I have developed a personal evaluation process and rating system for soaps. I try to be consistent in my reviews. Most soap manufacturers are good to superb, so most of my reviews have been positive, but I call it like I see it. I try to explain what I like and why I like it based on my beard type and skin type. I have learned that because my preferences are not always the preferences of those who read my reviews. However, by explaining how I evaluate the soaps, I hope each reader can determine how the soaps might meet their own needs and preferences, whatever they might be.

 

[THall]

It pains me to say, but sometimes I get suspicious of reviews I see here, especially for a razor just released and from a member that has only posted a few times.

This goes both ways with positive and negative reviews. There are certain key words that will hurt how a razor is viewed and one is saying it is too mild. If I see a type of comment like that from a new member (Few posts only) I get just as suspicious as an overly positive review from a new member. I just get the feeling that these persons could be the ones that are either selling the razor/product or they are a competitor.

 

[dundak]

TBH I don’t read reviews anymore. To much hype and fanboys. 99% of the time I know what they are going to say with all the superlatives about “mowing down effortlessly”, “exploding lather” and “post shave comfort”. Really gets old. YMMV.


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