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My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

westiseast.co.uk

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Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#51

Post by westiseast »

garron wrote: post #41
jrockway wrote: post #22

I wouldn't even worry about a subjective review like "this tea tastes like shit". Even if it's the finest quality tea in the world, someone is going to think it tastes like shit. I would worry about reviews like, "ordered, never received product, called owner and he told me to 'fuck myself with a pointy stick'". That is significantly more damning, since it reads like an account of a factual event, rather than an unin…

You have a good point there, it is impossible to define what is good and what not in flavors. It is like asking what is the best dog bread? And yes, the review about service is more important. This guy (Brian) at the end admitted that he did what he did just because he was unfollowed in twitter. What a guy!

Absolutely - good and bad is subjective, and I'm happy to accept that. My real anger came from the fact that these people were masquerading as professional tea reviewers, but then don't even have the decency to back up a negative review. If they'd written a long blog post slating my tea after ordering it, trying it fairly etc., then I would have been much more concerned with their opinions...

Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#52

Post by lean »

davidwparker wrote: post #25
unwantedLetters wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any more info on how yelp.com has been running "extortion rackets"? I don't know much about yelp, and don't use it much, but have generally been led to believe that they are a good company (admittedly, by the tech press) so it'll be interesting to hear if you have actual examples of people getting scammed.

I personally don't know of anyone who owns a company that has been apart of any Yelp Extortion, but there has been several cases brought against them. http://www.google.com/search?aq=0&oq=yelp+exto&sourc...

>A federal judge...dismissed a class-action lawsuit accusing consumer review website Yelp of extortion...Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled last week that the original suit failed to back up small business owners' claims that Yelp was manipulating user reviews to force them to advertise on the site.

Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#53

Post by westiseast »

danso wrote: post #29

I think you are righht to stand up for yourself, but in practical terms, it is doubtful his tweet wouldve ever been seen by any of your potential customers. It's not like Yelp, where the business listin serves as a repository for reviews and is often the first Google result.

yes, you're right. In retrospect, for my own sanity and sleep, I would have left this alone. But I guess the anger rises and emotions get the better of us all, and so I fought back. The business is something I've poured my heart and soul into, so I really responded poorly I think. Anyone who has been in a real fight (physical or mental) knows, even when you win, it doesn't feel good.

Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#54

Post by dspillett »

blackboxxx wrote: post #38
dspillett wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is sometimes the best way. If you get them blocked from Twitter they may take that as meaning "the fight is on" and register many fake accounts to continue posting the reviews from.

Not doing the right thing for fear of retribution? Staying quiet essentially allows them to do the same to others. Fear should never dictate the decision process. They need to be reported.

If the damage done is somewhere between zero and negligible and you don't know you are not the only one affected, inaction is sometimes the best policy. The idiot will get bored from getting no reaction and fade away. Reporting them won't stop them doing the same thing to others and more and inaction will - they can do the same thing to others using new accounts just as well as they can re-hound you with new accounts.

It is the same as arguing with idiots, as the old saying goes: they will drag you down to their level then "win" through a mix of experience and perseverance. (please note: this is a general comment, I'm not intending to call you an idiot at all here!). I dealt with bullies as lot in earlier life and random fools on the Internet are absolutely no different (aside from getting their apparent confidence due to relative anonymity rather than size of fighting experience). Sometimes ignoring them is the best policy for all (though, of course, use your judgement).

Of course if they are causing appreciable damage, the picture is different. And don't just report them to twitter. If they are trying to extort money from your business, report them to the relevant legal authority (if one is clear, this unfortunately can be difficult to determine).

Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#55

Post by westiseast »

Joakal wrote: post #15

It's a good lesson to 'assume good faith' where possible, even with negative reviews. Otherwise it may flare up a PR blunder. eg getting personal with the reviewer rather than responding with class like this guy did.

thankyou. I don't think I responded with too much class actually, and after I'd starting posting publicly about this, I felt like a douchebag myself. It could have easily backfired, so I think you're right. Assume good faith first, be very polite all the time, get your facts together, and then make your case.

Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#56

Post by docgnome »

westiseast wrote: post #43
jrockway wrote: post #22

I wouldn't even worry about a subjective review like "this tea tastes like shit". Even if it's the finest quality tea in the world, someone is going to think it tastes like shit. I would worry about reviews like, "ordered, never received product, called owner and he told me to 'fuck myself with a pointy stick'". That is significantly more damning, since it reads like an account of a factual event, rather than an unin…

thankfully, I've never told anyone to fuck themselves after buying my tea :)

Well that's a huge bonus! Wish you shipped to the US. I'd buy some tea from you!

Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#57

Post by Egregore »

davidwparker wrote: post #25
unwantedLetters wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any more info on how yelp.com has been running "extortion rackets"? I don't know much about yelp, and don't use it much, but have generally been led to believe that they are a good company (admittedly, by the tech press) so it'll be interesting to hear if you have actual examples of people getting scammed.

I personally don't know of anyone who owns a company that has been apart of any Yelp Extortion, but there has been several cases brought against them. http://www.google.com/search?aq=0&oq=yelp+exto&sourc...

It seems that everything is one year old or older, so there is a hope that they don't continue this behavior.

Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#58

Post by CaptainZapp »

crdoconnor wrote: post #13

As a consumer I pretty much rule out negative reviews where the company in question responds sensibly. Sometimes it gives me a more favorable view of the company in question, actually. The only time I really pay attention to stuff like this is when there is a bunch of negative reviews and the company never responds to any of them.

Exactly that happened when I looked for a hotel in Laos.

The hotel in question was overall reviewed quite favorably. There where a few complaints, notably that two of the bungalows where very loud, or about the restaurant. Essentially quite small fry.

For each of those complaints the management took the time to address the specific issues, acknowledging specific problems and indicating how they intend to fix them.

This convinced me to book and I didn't regret it at all.

There is a big difference between boilerplate bullshit of the "your call is very important to us" variety and taking complaints seriously, responding to them on an individual basis and really trying to make it right.

That's often quite visible from how a company handles complaints.

BTW: The noisy bungalows where no more when I stayed there.

Re: My experience with a 'negative review' scammer.

#60

Post by westiseast »

docgnome wrote: post #56
westiseast wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thankfully, I've never told anyone to fuck themselves after buying my tea :)

Well that's a huge bonus! Wish you shipped to the US. I'd buy some tea from you!

It will be happening soon! Start of September I'll be able to ship to the US.
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