Well, sadly, this is another case of a site that appears to help customers to make informed decision and voice their frustration or joy with some services, and ends becoming a coveted platform to make money out of customers' reviews for marketing and business purposes. See for example the screen shot just taken recently. A person reviewing Ozsale, just with one review written, is featured on the front page of the site. Then you go to the Ozsale page within the site and understand why is that. They surely are paying for that, and, in a way, paying for the reviews with vouchers or prizes. See screenshot below and the notice at the top asking for reviews explains it all. Stinky...!
If this wasn't enough, one of the abusers who popped up in my private email some time ago, had (and has) his account restored despite my reporting this subnormal twice. My reply to him was erased, no insult uttered was erased almost immediately. So he must be linked in some way to the "staff". Stinky!
To this date, there is no precise information about the people behind the platform, who they are (names), how they fund themselves, or the coveted practices they practise in a supposedly customers orientated site. That is BS!
I am getting sick of this customers helping sites.
FORMER REVIEW
ProductReview is one of my favourite reviewing sites online.
THE THINGS I LIKE
> PR is a great forum to review products you use and see what simple reviewers, people like you and me, say about any product. I especially like and find helpful those related to electronics, household electrical machines, gas & power companies, phone & Internet providers, and removalist companies. I have used the site to discard products I needed to buy, to choose services I needed, to to comment on the good or bad of products I have used.
> They are not a social network just a consumers forum. No contributor rankings. No BS. Reviewers are not used or manipulated by the site to promote any business or increment the number of reviews of any business. What a relief.
> Their posting guidelines are clear and extensive, and easy to see when posting.
> They have zero tolerance with spammers and trolls. Yai!
> They have representatives of mayor service providers in Australia replying to questions, or dealing with a problem you might have. This is most helpful. In fact, they have helped me in the past!
> They check every single review before publication. If they think you are mixing potatoes with bananas, they will tell you, so you put things separately. This also weeds out crap, insulting, abrasive or toned-up reviewers and reviews.
> They request proof of purchase for services when reviewing a service.
> The place is good for both reviewers and businesses. The former can vent their frustration or excitement about a company or product, while the later can listen to what consumers say and improve themselves or the products they sell. I think it is a win-win situation.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
>> Access to private emailing from members is given without giving the members the option to say yes or not to have it open. A little button letting reviewers to do that would be great. Once, I came across a delusional angry customer accusing me of being part of a company I reviewed positively. He could have commented on my review in public, but he came to insult me in private. I don't want this sort of scum emailing me at all. If I was given the option, I would not give access to private messaging at all.
>> People can send questions to people who have posted reviews on a product. They are sent to all contributors. Tons of people join the site just to make a single question. Although some questions are understandable, most of them are unnecessary and bordering stupidity. The sort of "How do I?" that could have been answered by simply reading the back of the packaging. Other people ask about gadgets that seem no to work, but most of the time 1. they haven't read the manual of instructions to see if they are setting up the product correctly and the troubleshooting and 2. they haven't called the retailer from where they purchased their product to see if this might be a real defect and needs to be returned or just the customer not reading the manual of instructions. Besides, there are gazillion "deboxing" or "how to" of whatever product on YouTube to help you sort out small hiccups when first starting to use a new electronic.
>> They have been working on the site to make difficult for you to completely erase your reviews and to cancel account. The delete erase your account is no longer existent, and erasing reviews is not permanent, and it is painful to do if you want to erase everything or most of it, as there is not batch handling of those reviews and the page display just a bunch each time, something that you cannot customise. One wonders why so much interest in keeping you there against your wish. I think the next point has something to do.
>> The site is a forum with no association to any of the services or products reviewed. That is fantastic. However, right on the site, there is a call for advertisers to target the viewers. They tell business things like these: "Advertise on ProductReview. Reach the most targeted audience for your brand!" Or that they will be provided with, "An 'Official Website' button will link directly to your site, enabling you to track when a visitor turns into a customer." I never see ads on my screen as I use an ads-free adds-on in my browser. It would benefit you to do the same. Forget those who say that you are destroying the Internet and those who pay for free sites. The Internet is using you anywhere everywhere, profiling you, using your data without your consent to target you as a target. Adds-free all the way. I understand that the site has to generate some income to keep it operative, that is great, but then, if businesses pay to advertise, the independence of the site is a bit between quotation marks.
>> Their zero tolerance to trolls seems a bit more relaxed now, a subnormal who abused me is back into the site, an abuser. I complained and nothing was done, so I take for granted that they tolerate and have not a problem with the way people behave in their site, or just that subnormal is related to one of the workers of the site.
>> There is no feedback button to give feedback or direct way of contacting these guys. Unless you are a business and want to advertise!
THINGS THAT SHOULD BE IMPROVED
> Their "About us" is too generic. We know already that this is a forum, that they have millions of visitors per week and have appeared in the media. However, I would like to know more, just for the sake of clarity. Why? When? Who? created the site? Do they have any connection with any Consumer Office? Choice Australia? How do they fund themselves? Who is the CEO?
> Editing any review is a bit of a pain. I am a compulsive editor, so I can convey what I say in the best possible way. Every time you edit a text has to go through as if it was a new review. This is a burden for both parts involved. There must be some software out there to figure out if you have re-edited a bit or changed the review altogether, and to discriminate accordingly.
> If you write a new comment on the same product or service, the first one is erased. That is unnecessary and misleading for viewers. There is an easy way to keep both. You have an "update this review" option, and the new review of yours seats on top of the older one. That favours balance because in the past I complained about the phone service of a company that, for the rest, I think it is great and my previous review said that clearly. The only thing visible now is how bad their phone service is.
> Most people reviewing online in sites like these do so when something fails, when they are desperate, when they are frustrated, when something bad happened to them. However, the same people don't say a word when things go well, when a product is great, or a service is awesome. In that regard, it is difficult to balance any reviewing site.
> Star systems are misleading unless they take into account several variables. Like/Dislike, quality, durability and so on. Personally, I think the five star is the worst possible rating option, 1-10 is more flexible and accurate.
> The Help Centre is too basic.
IN SHORT
This is the reviewing site I respect the most. Yet, it can improved and it is becoming more authoritarian by the month. . If they want to be independent, they should do something, be it! But is all a big lie to get your reviews.
