Customer Reviews & Integrity

[Stan Smith]

I'm a firm believer in customer reviews. If I buy a power tool or other item, I try to write an objective customer review. I think too many people write reviews that are not about the actual product but relate to shipping times and damages. One thing that I've discovered is that, while some companies encourage reviews, if you say anything negative about their products, they don't publish your review. This is true even though your comments are true. However, there are a few companies that do allow negative reviews to be posted. These include Amazon and Penn State Industries. I'm not going to mention the companies who do not publish reviews with negative comments because the purpose of this post is not "flame" them because I'm not totally satisfied with a particular product. Rather than just complain, I try to point out things that could be improved and also add workarounds for the possible benefit of other customers. These are not my original ideas either. I have benefitted from the helpful comments of other customers and really appreciate them. For me customer reviews have been very important in my buying decisions. Although a couple of companies did not publish my reviews, they did not tell me why. However, they did say that it would be their decision to publish or not. I agree that it's their company and they can do what they want (such as A&E with Duck Dynasty). When this happens, I just try to buy what I need from another company that has integrity, IMO. Sorry for the rant.

[Al Weber]

I never believe individual reviews of anything. Why should I trust something where the author is anonymous and probably does't even have the product. I will look at a number of product reviews to see if there is a common thread, either positive or negative, and take that into account in shopping for an item. Having said that, I will never again buy from a popular woodworking publisher who refuses to publish negative reviews of their products. I purchased a plan download which was totally useless in its content. I wrote numerous negative reviews to the site and none were ever published of course. So I vote with my wallet never to purchase from them again.

[Joe Kaufman]

I would consider this Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Steel-Wood-Lathe-Plate-Threaded/product-reviews/B003THYIFO/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_pop_hist_2?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addTwoStar&showViewpoints=0) review negative ...........

Joe

[Matt Meiser]

I'm more likely to read the bad reviews than good reviews. I want to know what's wrong with something, especially if there's a pattern.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

While reviews have their benefit, too many people don't understand the difference between a review with details and an emotional, opinionated rant. There is a difference.

An objective review with supporting data can be beneficial.

An emotional rant with unrealistic expectations and irrational accusations is of little value to the reader.

[Erik Loza]

I'm more likely to read the bad reviews than good reviews. I want to know what's wrong with something, especially if there's a pattern.

This ^^^

Many times (at least in regards to tools/hardware/that type of thing...), "complaints" often seem to be centered more on a lack of understanding or perhaps unreasonable expectation of the purchaser. We recently bought a pop-up greenhouse and some auger-type earth anchors to secure it, from Amazon. There were negative reviews about the greenhouse, saying things like, "Difficult to set up" and then negative reviews about the anchors, saying, "Would not penetrate the soil due to rocks". Well, ummm..... I didn't find it difficult to set up and I chose a spot in the yeard that did not have rocks. Not the greenhouse's or anchors' faults, ya' know?

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Michael Mahan]

This ^^^

Many times (at least in regards to tools/hardware/that type of thing...), "complaints" often seem to be centered more on a lack of understanding or perhaps unreasonable expectation of the purchaser. We recently bought a pop-up greenhouse and some auger-type earth anchors to secure it, from Amazon. There were negative reviews about the greenhouse, saying things like, "Difficult to set up" and then negative reviews about the anchors, saying, "Would not penetrate the soil due to rocks". Well, ummm..... I didn't find it difficult to set up and I chose a spot in the yeard that did not have rocks. Not the greenhouse's or anchors' faults, ya' know?

Erik Loza
Minimax USA+1
I find some of the bad reviews as comedy relief as I read them it brings a smile to my face ! ;) :D

[Art Mann]

I remember a discussion several weeks ago in which someone was asking about the new Grizzly track saw. MA few people who had never owned or even tried one nevertheless advised against it based only on the low price and minor criticisms they heard from Mark Spaguolo (SP?) on The Wood Whisperer. They apparently didn't read the previous posterss and simply repeated the same old "you get what you pay for" nonsense and advised buying the Festool or nothing. Well, this kind of "review" didn't help anyone because it didn't provide any new information and urged someone to buy a brand that he probably couldn't afford to start with or he wouldn't have been asking about the Grizzly. It is interessting to note that The Wood Whisperer actually recommended the product for someone on a strict budget and whose only other alternative was a plywood saw guide. This kind of "review" is just an exercise in snobbery.

[Stan Smith]

I'm more likely to read the bad reviews than good reviews. I want to know what's wrong with something, especially if there's a pattern.

I do this when there are too many reviews, such as hundreds. I'm used to Amazon's layout and like being able to read the reviews by the number of stars. I also like looking at the newest reviews since sometimes some product problems have been fixed since the first review. Your point about a "pattern" is very illustrating.

[Michael Mahan]

I do this when there are too many reviews, such as hundreds. I'm used to Amazon's layout and like being able to read the reviews by the number of stars. I also like looking at the newest reviews since sometimes some product problems have been fixed since the first review. Your point about a "pattern" is very illustrating.

Yes it's Very interesting to see a pattern develop on a product that had issues & was corrected BUT then there's the other side of the fence where a product that once was well liked , then got off shored, new owners, then degraded & that shows up in the reviews as very negative . One has to watch the dates & look for the posts that are in order from most recent to years ago . I take the time to read most all of the reviews to see if I can spot which direction the product is going , Good to bad OR Bad to good . Then just ignore the shipping issues .

[Stan Smith]

While reviews have their benefit, too many people don't understand the difference between a review with details and an emotional, opinionated rant. There is a difference.

An objective review with supporting data can be beneficial.

An emotional rant with unrealistic expectations and irrational accusations is of little value to the reader.

Well said, Ken. Short and to the point.

[ken masoumi]

We all rely on these reviews when shopping for something new,when searching and reading these reviews I bet most of us have gained enough experience to figure out who are the ranters and learned to just tune them out.


I generally like the reviews on Home Depot site,recently bought a snowblower and found a brand with over 4.5 stars out of five,reviews after reviews were all positive 5 stars and all of a sudden you see one review with one star warning every one to stay away from this machine,with comments like"don't waste your money" etc,etc.

I wonder how fair is it that over 40 reviews are perfect five stars and one single negative review can bring the average down to 4.5,do we believe the one negative feedback over 40 positive ones? of course not,he simply wasted his time so he could rant,so I just ignored it.went ahead and bought the blower and I'm glad I did.gave my own review with five stars.

[Stephen Cherry]

I think that the big problem with woodworking machine reviews is that some of the buyers think that just because they buy a new machine, they will be spared the setup, alignment and repair. Then when a machine needs to be tweeked, they freak out. "Waaaah, my new machine doesn't is not perfect!"

Of course, this is why I like to buy used. If you are going to have to go through it, it might as well be cheaper.

[Mike Cozad]

I'm more likely to read the bad reviews than good reviews. I want to know what's wrong with something, especially if there's a pattern.


I do exactly the same. I also look at the number of negative in relation to the positive and I have recently started looking for "verified amazon purchase" or whatever that tagline is on the reviews. I have begun to steer clear of products with large numbers of comments from non purchasers. ..

[Dave Sheldrake]

My personal pet hate is reviews / recommendations made for financial / material gain. (it's illegal over here unless stated there is a gain but doesn't stop it happening)

One of the other forums I frequent seem to make a habit of it, "Buy this machine".....it has nothing to do with the machine being any good or the right choice for the person asking but is stated simply because the site owner gets paid.

cheers

Dave

[Chuck Wintle]

When i read reviews of any product i take them with a grain of salt. As some posters have stated some are very emotional and filled with ranting and venom for the company. But with most products, if defective, the company needs a chance to correct the situation and refund or replace the item. Beneficial reviews will include feedback that can help the company improve the product. The quantity of reviews is also important...a lot of reviews indicate that the product is selling well..a plus for the company.

[James Tibbetts]

I tend to read only the negative reviews. The seller/manufacturer has already told me all the good stuff about the product to get me to look at it in the first place.

[Stan Smith]

I do exactly the same. I also look at the number of negative in relation to the positive and I have recently started looking for "verified amazon purchase" or whatever that tagline is on the reviews. I have begun to steer clear of products with large numbers of comments from non purchasers. ..

I post reviews on Amazon for products that I didn't purchase from them. Sometimes the product is cheaper somewhere else such as the jaw horse I bought from Woot. I will post a review of it on Amazon though. I will read some reviews from folks who did not buy from Amazon, too. Sometimes they've had the product for awhile and point out things that are helpful to know.

[Brian Ashton]

I never believe individual reviews of anything. Why should I trust something where the author is anonymous and probably does't even have the product. I will look at a number of product reviews to see if there is a common thread, either positive or negative, and take that into account in shopping for an item. Having said that, I will never again buy from a popular woodworking publisher who refuses to publish negative reviews of their products. I purchased a plan download which was totally useless in its content. I wrote numerous negative reviews to the site and none were ever published of course. So I vote with my wallet never to purchase from them again.

I look for trends in the comments. I wouldn't take a couple reviews and draw a conclusion on anything so I generally look at products or services where there are a relatively large number of reviews.

[David Weaver]

I read reviews, and like Brian, I look for patterns that describe a credible benefit or (especially) a credible problem - especially if a problem is major.

For example, when we got our last baby monitor (as a gift), it had problems right away. Within about a year, the picture quit on it, which is somewhat concerning for something that's $200. Then we asked around to find out if anyone else had problems with the same brand. Everyone who was using the brand we were using (Summer) had replaced their unit at least once.

So I went to amazon and went through the reviews of baby monitors to find if there was any brand with a credibly large sample that didn't have drop dead problems. Unfortunately, none did, so we went cheap with the second baby monitor. I didn't find what I wanted, but I did find useful information - including no increase in reliability by brand or by price. Even the $400 whiz bang units had serious problems.