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Bribes to Edit Bad Reviews?

by cballi
21 replies
Am I the only one who is sometimes bribed to change a bad review on a service thread?

I just posted an honest review of a service on another forum and the service provider has offered me free work to remove my post. This isn't the first time it has happened, I have had something similar happen here.

What I hate is that I feel guilty leaving bad reviews when the providers are nice and seem to try to make you happy. But usually these are matters of non-native English providers supplying poor content. I just think other potential buyers need to be aware that they will be receiving sub-quality content.

I have to believe this practice of bribing people to remove critical reviews is somewhat common as I have purchased more than one service here that had glowing reviews just to be very disappointed. Either that or other people have a much higher tolerance for poorly written content.
#bad #bribes #edit #reviews
  • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
    I like to think that if I'm going to give a review that isn't positive then it will be constructive. I don't feel so mean then. Or I just won't give the review

    Kim

    Originally Posted by cballi View Post

    Am I the only one who is sometimes bribed to change a bad review on a service thread?

    I just posted an honest review of a service on another forum and the service provider has offered me free work to remove my post. This isn't the first time it has happened, I have had something similar happen here.

    What I hate is that I feel guilty leaving bad reviews when the providers are nice and seem to try to make you happy. But usually these are matters of non-native English providers supplying poor content. I just think other potential buyers need to be aware that they will be receiving sub-quality content.

    I have to believe this practice of bribing people to remove critical reviews is somewhat common as I have purchased more than one service here that had glowing reviews just to be very disappointed. Either that or other people have a much higher tolerance for poorly written content.
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    • Profile picture of the author FredJones
      I would suggest not accepting a bribe, no. If you are leaving a honest review, then it may be hurting one person (seller) for justifiable reasons, but it will save a lot of others (potential buyers) from getting hurt and for wrong reasons.

      Your call - would you want 1 person to be hurt for the right reasons or many people to be hurt for the wrong reasons, given that someone must be hurt given the situation?

      Also, the foreign language versus own tongue cannot be an issue. If I am bad at something and claim myself to be an expert at it while I am still learning, then something is double-wrong with me. Just because I am trying to please my customer can never be a justification.
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  • Profile picture of the author Deepak Media
    This is not really a matter to discuss. People have different opinions on this and the best way is to make a decision based on what feels right to you.

    Me: I would remove the "bad" review if the seller asks for it politely because I believe he will make a better product next time.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
      Originally Posted by Deepak Media View Post

      This is not really a matter to discuss. People have different opinions on this and the best way is to make a decision based on what feels right to you.

      Me: I would remove the "bad" review if the seller asks for it politely because I believe he will make a better product next time.
      Yes, it is a matter to discuss.

      Yes, people may have different opinions, but I don't see how anybody can defend the practice. I have to respectfully disagree when you say, "...what feels right to you".

      If somebody were to give me a bad review, I would consider what they had to say. If it had merit, I would do what I could to fix the problem. That's how products get better.

      Now, if those changes happen to warrant a positive review, then that's great. So, I guess that would be one way to get me to change a review, but I wouldn't consider that a bribe.

      All the best,
      Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author cballi
    Yeah, I don't want other people to waste their money so that is why I feel obligated to leave a review.

    I think the best way for the service provider to handle it is to fix the issue and then ask for a second response in the thread. What I don't like is asking to remove my original statements.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      And you shouldn't have to remove your comments. I wouldn't unless something was changed to make the comments no longer valid.

      And when you say "I have to believe this practice of bribing people to remove critical reviews is somewhat common as I have purchased more than one service here that had glowing reviews just to be very disappointed. Either that or other people have a much higher tolerance for poorly written content"...

      Truthfully, it's a bit of both. Some people wouldn't know quality content if it bit them but I also have seen many attempts to bribe, beg or bully reviewers into changing or deleting their comments.

      Tina
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  • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
    Maybe it is not so much a bribe as a second chance... but I think as Kim said be as constructive as possible. I had to give a negative review of a WSO I bought the other day. I pointed out all the positives first and the fact that the price was very reasonable. Then went on to explaining how he could better the product he thanked me and put many of the points into practice
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  • Profile picture of the author glassextreme
    Someone here gave me a copy, I gave a review starting with positive aspects and then went on to give a whole list of constructive feedback on how he could make the product better because I thought it seriously need help. That person only copied the first part which was positive. And he didn't make the changes to his product.
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    • Profile picture of the author JMac
      If you remove your review, you are hurting other IM'ers who would have changed their mind when they saw it. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem.

      Ask yourself, will the field of IM be better or worse if bad reviews are removed from products for bribes?
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Call me a skepchick, but I trust "reviews" so little that I've now started beginning my own reviews with the sentence "This is an unincentivized, unsolicited review from a paying customer" (in the belief that that's quite a rarity, these days). :rolleyes:
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    • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
      in that case (I presume it was a wso), then I would have asked him to remove the review/testimonial and also reposted it in the thread.

      What he did was fraudulent and made you look a bit suspect

      Kim

      Originally Posted by glassextreme View Post

      Someone here gave me a copy, I gave a review starting with positive aspects and then went on to give a whole list of constructive feedback on how he could make the product better because I thought it seriously need help. That person only copied the first part which was positive. And he didn't make the changes to his product.
      Not sure why you think it shouldn't be discussed

      Originally Posted by Deepak Media View Post

      This is not really a matter to discuss. People have different opinions on this and the best way is to make a decision based on what feels right to you.

      Me: I would remove the "bad" review if the seller asks for it politely because I believe he will make a better product next time.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
      Originally Posted by glassextreme View Post

      Someone here gave me a copy, I gave a review starting with positive aspects and then went on to give a whole list of constructive feedback on how he could make the product better because I thought it seriously need help. That person only copied the first part which was positive. And he didn't make the changes to his product.

      I would never send someone a review for them to post.

      Instead, I would just post it as I wrote it, that way the wso seller can't selectively edit it.
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      Bruce
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  • Profile picture of the author shabit87
    A negative review is a chance to better your product/service. I personally would have contacted you as well. Not to remove the feedback but to see how I could have changed that...what I could do better and make sure feedback such as that would not be left again.
    But like someone else has already mentioned do what feels right to you, I wouldn't accept a bribe, but if the person really wants to better the service or product they gave you, why not give them a chance??
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    • Profile picture of the author oneplusone
      I don't understand why sellers don't just reply to bad reviews, intelligently.

      It really is a fantastic opportunity.

      Too many sellers are paranoid about bad reviews, as if their business is going to collapse or something on a bad review or two.

      It won't.

      If bad reviews were that big a deal, Amazon would go bankrupt very quickly.

      Every once in a while I get a bad comment on one of my product blogs for example, I never remove them - but take the opportunity to reply and show that I genuinely care and take all feedback seriously, good or bad.

      Everyone appreciates it, including the person who wrote the negative review - and they often become some of the best long term customers you could ever want, if you can turn them around.

      All reviews/feedback should be embraced, good or bad.

      If you want to see a masterclass on how to turn negative feedback around, Google "Bring The Fresh" and read Tiffany Dow's blog.
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      • Profile picture of the author Lloyd Buchinski
        Originally Posted by Deepak Media View Post

        I would remove the "bad" review if the seller asks for it politely because I believe he will make a better product next time.
        I suppose you think that because that is the way you would react, but it is a bit of an umbrella for someone dishonest. 'More communication' is a watchword for me lately. It tends to clear things up. Even if the person is going to make a better product next time, it is good to have accurate info on this product. Not everyone has the cash to throw away.

        I did used to have this kind of optimism myself, and am not at all trying to criticize you. You do make a good impression. But this hesitancy to post something negative about something that truly deserves it, extends the life of the slime.

        Originally Posted by glassextreme View Post

        That person only copied the first part which was positive. And he didn't make the changes to his product.
        I would certainly post that in the thread and/or ask the person to take it down, and really quickly. Dishonesty is bad enough but when I get dragged into it and don't want any part of it, that really isn't nice.

        Originally Posted by oneplusone View Post

        I don't understand why sellers don't just reply to bad reviews, intelligently.
        I agree. There have been a few threads where someone has objected to some part of a product and the seller has said something like 'that's a good point. I'll see what I can do and post back when I have that cleared up.' That sort of stuff just impressed me thoroughly a few times.
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  • Profile picture of the author oneplusone
    Originally Posted by cballi View Post

    Am I the only one who is sometimes bribed to change a bad review on a service thread?

    I just posted an honest review of a service on another forum and the service provider has offered me free work to remove my post. This isn't the first time it has happened, I have had something similar happen here.

    What I hate is that I feel guilty leaving bad reviews when the providers are nice and seem to try to make you happy. But usually these are matters of non-native English providers supplying poor content. I just think other potential buyers need to be aware that they will be receiving sub-quality content.

    I have to believe this practice of bribing people to remove critical reviews is somewhat common as I have purchased more than one service here that had glowing reviews just to be very disappointed. Either that or other people have a much higher tolerance for poorly written content.
    You should never remove a bad review you have done, unless it was written in haste and you've changed your opinion.

    Always encourage the seller to respond, and correct the situation if something needs correcting.

    If they are offering a service they aren't capable of, then perhaps advise them privately to go into another line of work.
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  • Profile picture of the author King Shiloh
    Banned
    To me, if the review will not come from the depth of my heart and satisfy my good conscience, I will not do it even if you are going to pay me with your life.

    Why? I value the consequence more than the reward/bribe. I value my long-term integrity more than the short-term "enjoyment".

    Just my thought.
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  • Profile picture of the author marketingva
    I had this happen to me. An incompetent and unethical dental practice in town received a negative review from me. A week later I got a phone message saying that the staff could review my account and refund me the money for services I never received. Funny how they refused to do this while I was a patient. The caller then went on to say that the review was inaccurate and not true and they needed to speak to me urgently about it. I have not called them back.

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  • Profile picture of the author dremora
    Some of those people really take it to some lengths. I left negative reviews to someone on odesk for terrible quality. The guy nagged the hell out of me, made sob stories about how he has to feed his dying mother and little sister and what not. That was soooo annoying. Some offer bribes, some make sob stories and spam you until you remove the negative comment. I did not remove the negative rating but I did remove some of the harsh wording cause i got tired of being bugged and spammed to death.
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  • Profile picture of the author Abhik
    Well, yes.
    I often get emails from service providers (even product owners) when I post a negative review. And, you know what, few of my reviews rank higher than the original product keyword.
    It's obvious I make the review negative when I am NOT satisfied with the service or the product.
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