Having trouble sorting out all of the company review sites? You aren't alone. They are all over the place! Anyone can hop on a review site, post their own reviews, and be free of any consequencesor so people once thought. I'll get into the legal ramifications later, but the question remains, how can someone makes sense out of all of the reviews?
Checking out a company review site might be a good idea if you are about to invest a large amount of money in a product or service. However, it's important to understand what you are looking for in that service or product before you check the reviews. It's unfortunate, but normal, that other people have an impact on your buying decisions.
After you have identified what is and isn't important to you in a product, service, or company, it's actually quite easy to filter through the reviews. If a negative review pertains to something that isn't important to you, don't worry about it. If a negative review pertains to something that IS important to you, don't take it to heartunless there are many bad reviews or complaints. Take into account the credibility of the poster of that review.
Credibility should be the question most of the time when visiting company review sites. For instance, is the review just on some guy's blog or is it on the BBB (Better Business Bureau)? If it's on a general review site like Glassdoor or Pissedconsumer, look for grammatical errors, exclamation points, foul language, and biased opinions stated as facts. If you find any of these, the credibility of the poster may just not be there. Oftentimes a review of this nature is from a disgruntled ex-employee or a competitor posting false negative reviews.
If you or your company has a negative review written about you, you may actually have some legal rights to sue for monetary damages. Some of the requirements of pursuing a libel case include: false statements deemed as facts, malicious intent, and a loss of income to your business or you that is caused by a defamation of character. If all of these (plus more) are present in your case, you may want to pursue legal action.
If after reviewing complaints or high scores you are still confused about your future purchase or investment, contact the company in question yourself. Sorting out the good from the bad can oftentimes just lead to a headache. Ask the company directly to answer your questions or concerns. Sometimes there may be some legitimate reasons for a bad review, other times it may not. At the very least, you should be aware of the company's point of view on your question or the reviews, comments, ratings, or opinions.
Amongst all of the company review sites, the ones that people seem to frequent the most are Yelp, Angie's List, Consumer Reports, Glassdoor, Ripoff Report, Google Places, pissed consumer, and Citysearch. It may be a smart idea to check out these company review sites and see if you or your company is listed! Sometimes you should reply to reviews, sometimes you shouldn't. One thing is for sure, if people don't know where to look to get accurate information, they may just take Joe Schmo the Blogger's word for it.
Checking out a company review site might be a good idea if you are about to invest a large amount of money in a product or service. However, it's important to understand what you are looking for in that service or product before you check the reviews. It's unfortunate, but normal, that other people have an impact on your buying decisions.
After you have identified what is and isn't important to you in a product, service, or company, it's actually quite easy to filter through the reviews. If a negative review pertains to something that isn't important to you, don't worry about it. If a negative review pertains to something that IS important to you, don't take it to heartunless there are many bad reviews or complaints. Take into account the credibility of the poster of that review.
Credibility should be the question most of the time when visiting company review sites. For instance, is the review just on some guy's blog or is it on the BBB (Better Business Bureau)? If it's on a general review site like Glassdoor or Pissedconsumer, look for grammatical errors, exclamation points, foul language, and biased opinions stated as facts. If you find any of these, the credibility of the poster may just not be there. Oftentimes a review of this nature is from a disgruntled ex-employee or a competitor posting false negative reviews.
If you or your company has a negative review written about you, you may actually have some legal rights to sue for monetary damages. Some of the requirements of pursuing a libel case include: false statements deemed as facts, malicious intent, and a loss of income to your business or you that is caused by a defamation of character. If all of these (plus more) are present in your case, you may want to pursue legal action.
If after reviewing complaints or high scores you are still confused about your future purchase or investment, contact the company in question yourself. Sorting out the good from the bad can oftentimes just lead to a headache. Ask the company directly to answer your questions or concerns. Sometimes there may be some legitimate reasons for a bad review, other times it may not. At the very least, you should be aware of the company's point of view on your question or the reviews, comments, ratings, or opinions.
Amongst all of the company review sites, the ones that people seem to frequent the most are Yelp, Angie's List, Consumer Reports, Glassdoor, Ripoff Report, Google Places, pissed consumer, and Citysearch. It may be a smart idea to check out these company review sites and see if you or your company is listed! Sometimes you should reply to reviews, sometimes you shouldn't. One thing is for sure, if people don't know where to look to get accurate information, they may just take Joe Schmo the Blogger's word for it.
About the Author:
Going through company review sites can sure be a daunting task. To see some real-world examples of reviews, please visit our Example which is a prime example of real-worldcompany reviews in action.
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