Change my mind: Vendors who make mistakes should not get 5 stars even if they fix them

[oncrutchesrightnow]

(Not directed at PS vendors)

For friendly discussion:

-If a vendor delivers a great product as-advertised, they should get 5 stars.
-If they make a mistake but fix it, they should get a good rating but not the same 5-star rating as if they had not messed up.
-If they make a mistake and don’t fix it, they should get a poor rating.

Change my mind.

Caveat: If a vendor fixes a mistake, the fair thing to do is for the customer to leave a positive narrative review that lets people know that the vendor fixes mistakes.

Counter-argument: Fixing mistakes is good customer service so it earns an extra star back.

Hope there is an interesting discussion.

 

[Matata]

Imo, to portray a vendor accurately, reviews should be divided into how well the product is manufactured and how well the business is run which includes customer service. There can be a lot of variety in the quality of both those areas in a single business.

 

[seaurchin]

Going with the thread title, I guess I see it more like if the vendor who made the mistake can "change my mind" enough that I want to leave them five stars anyway.

If they lie or get an attitude, they're toast with me. But if they apologize and promptly correct a mistake, I probably wouldn't want to publicly call them out on it.

Imo part of being a successful vendor is the ability to turn a problem spot around so the customer still leaves satisfied.

 

[Avondale]

To build up on @seaurchin's comment, a vendor who has the ability and desire to deal with issues swiftly and efficiently in order to ensure their customer's satisfaction deserves a sixth star on top of the five for a good quality product.

Mistakes happen. Problems are bound to arise. No one is perfect, and to expect perfection is unrealistic. So for me it is of great value to know that the vendor I'm buying from is capable of handling such problems. It gives me peace of mind because I feel the risk I'm taking is lowered to the absolute minimum. It means I can trust the vendor, which makes it that much more likely that I return to buy from them again.

Of course, if the vendor's attitude is bad or mistakes are the norm, that would have the exact opposite effect on the level of trust I have in them and would make me not want to do business with them again.

 

[Karl_K]

How a business reacts when they mess up is one of the best indicators for them being a good business as long as it does not happen to often.
Applies to people too.

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

As a consumer, I want to know whether a vendor is likely to do a good job, and what will happen if they don’t. I like @Matata ’s idea of different ratings for merchandise vs customer service. That might also be beneficial in the case of new craftspeople because then the consumer could take a chance on an emerging artist.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Idk, mistakes happen, we all make them. My jeweler - who I go to for everything - has definitely screwed up the details on some of my pieces before (especially those that are more detailed) but he always fixes them for free when they are pointed out. Some of my pieces are worked on for several iterations. And he extends me the same courtesy - if I ask him to do something and then once it’s done I dislike it; if it’s not a huge change he’ll just fix it free of cost. Because according to him it’s a collaborative process and relationship. About my only complaint with him is that stuff just takes really long, or at least it feels that way when I’m waiting impatiently

To me a person like this deserves 5 stars, even if he makes mistakes, because he goes above and beyond to fix them.

 

[kenny]

When only 5 stars are possible, a single star gobbles up a full fifth of the scale.
5 x 20 = 100, so a fifth is 20%.
One measly star changing a vendor's rating by 20% seems kinda harsh, no?
20% is an unfairly large downgrade for the smallest possible infraction.

Sure, people have gotten used to rating systems with 5 stars.
But if they changed it to 100 stars, then a small infraction could take off just one or two stars ... making possible for a vendor a rating of 98 or 99 instead of what is effectively either 100 or 80 in a 5 star system.
Also then the highest rating of 100 really means something special.

If you compare a 5 star system to a 100 star one, a score of 99 and 81 gets the same 4 stars in the 5 star system.
Very poor resolution.
That's unfair to the vendors who go the extra mile to score in the high 90s, or 100.

In this way a 10 star system is more fair than only 5 stars.

 

[LilAlex]

Just went through this with a major home renovation. There were big issues with the fix (i.e., if we were talking about a new roof, it would be leaking). We left for vacation right at completion and I did not immediately alert the contractor to our concerns because we did not want to say that we would be out of the country, etc. It preyed on my mind a bit but I could still enjoy the trip.

Upon returning, I unloaded via email about the sloppy job, with photos, etc. They were super-responsive and sent out a very knowledgeable and hand-holdy rep and committed to fix the mistakes (and patiently pointed out where I was incorrect about one of the perceived issues). My confidence in the job jumped right back up to 100%. But it's not the same as doing it right the first time.

The whole experience reminded me of the old joke where someone gets bug bites on the train and writes a letter of complaint. They promptly receive a very polite and apologetic letter assuring them that this type of thing has never happened before and will be investigated thoroughly and all train cars will be fumigated as a precaution. A little slip of paper falls out of the envelope: "Send this guy the bug letter." I think of this all the time when I am being professionally "handled" after a lousy interaction. We even use this expression as a metaphor about an insincere apology: "It's the bug letter."

 

[missy]

I realize issues are going to happen. No one is perfect. For me, it's how those issues are fixed that truly matters. IF a vendor makes a mistake but feely admits it and fixes it without attitude or resistance I absolutely will give them a 5 star rating. In life cra* happens and it's how you make it right that matters. To me

 

[Arcadian]

I don't always look at what a business does perfectly, I look at how they can resolve things that don't go perfectly.

 

[RMOO]

In my mind, there are some errors, that even when resolved successfully/promptly/respectfully, cast doubt in my mind and may deserve a less than 5 star review. They are the sloppy errors, like not reading the instructions in an order (setting stones incorrectly even when spelled out in the purchase order.) Setting a stone cockeyed is another - like, you expect me to believe that you didn't see that, and sent it anyway? It is a lack of pride in workmanship that bugs me.
Even if they are fixed quickly and happily, it leaves a shadow of doubt. However, I agree with @kenny that, in these cases a 4/5 review is a little harsh. A 10 star scale would be more appropriate.