Requesting a Garden Watchdog improvement

Dave,

I spent yesterday "shopping" for several specific trees. I checked many online sources and then researched them in the Garden Watchdog. I know there have been companies cited for shilling their ratings so I am very leery of companies that have several positive ratings from members who signed up the exact same day they rated the company. Most of whom have not made any posts, rated any other company etc.

I thought it would be helpful to be able to identify (without clicking on the member and going to their page) which ratings come from subscribers. Now, I know that a subscriber may post a "false positive" it just seems less likely that a company would spend the money to do so. I also realize there are many non-subscribers that post valuable information.

Perhaps a star type system similar to eBay's where subscribers get a green star and non subscribers who post 5 or more ratings (or have been members for a year) get a blue one.

I visited a site yesterday that touted their Garden Watchdog rating. Since the Garden Watchdog is becoming such an important resource I think the temptation to pad ratings will be ever increasing. There will always be cheating, i just would like it to be a bit harder to do.

Thanks,
Melissa

Eeehhhh, I guess I'm a little gunshy of that approach - I see where you're coming from, but we've always steered clear of making non-subscribing members feel (or look) like "second class citizens." But I have another idea, if Dave is willing to consider it.

Instead of putting their location next to their name, what if you put that below their name in the left-hand column (similar to how we do forum posts?)

And then, display this above the comment - using myself as an example:

The "[x] reviews" could be a link taking you to their review summary: http://davesgarden.com/gwd/vcbm/Terry/. Just the number would let subsequent readers know if the review is from a one-and-done, or someone who's taken the time to leave feedback for numerous companies.

Terry,

Your idea sounds decent enough, however four days and not one other comment makes me think that perhaps i am the only one troubled by this situation. It may not warrant Dave's time.

In some cases it's easy to pick out suspicious ratings. They just have the wrong tone ...

I agree, doesn't it bother you?

tombaak,
I have to confess it also bothers me.

I like the idea of adding the number of reviews. I'll open in a new tab the member page to see what else has been reviewed. Having the number there will make it easier.

I am suspicious if I see a Positive rating in a notoriouly poorly rated company. Especially when there are "suddenly" 4 or 5 positives in a short amount of time. But, the bottom line is that I will never shop at those places anyway and the folks who do, will enter their Negative experience in WD. It would be time consuming and somewhat costly to create new accounts to pad a rating. Especially when a company is truly lacking in customer service, product, shipping and price. There are always going to be folks who shop at those places, but as their predecessors in shopping beforehand, these folks too will be unhappy with their experience and post a negative. I believe these companies will always have a poor rating and some even get caught cheating. I won't name any names, but I personally found and reported a suspicous entry and it was confirmed by a DG staff member that the entry was fraudulant. The account was so noted (by DG) for everyone to see in their comments.

Hmmm. I guess from a selfish perspective, it would make *my* job a little easier too. Sometimes you just have a gut feel (and we have tools to follow those leads), but it would be much easier to sort the proverbial wheat from the chaff if I knew a comment came from a multiple-rater or from someone who signed up, posted and vanished.

Some of them are pretty easy to spot. There is a particular nursery that has been hovering between yellow and green and if you look at the recent positive ratings the majority are one off ratings for this company. Oh, and the few that have rated 2 companies rated this one and their sister company... Not suspicious at all. LOL

i also like your idea Terry

Dick

Psssst....go take a look at any Watchdog company's feedback to see what Dave has done ;o)

I like it.

Sneaky! ;) I like it too.

Terry gets the prize for being the first to notice it. :)

Big surprise there, right? If I didn't have my nose stuck in every nook and cranny of this place, my dustbunnies wouldn't be grandparents now, would they?

chuckle....

Nice addition to an already beneficial feature! Two thumbs up.

Thank you Dave.

I love this! What a great idea.

I'm one of those people who thinks that "if it works, don't fix it".
IF....I had known of DG and the WatchDog, I would not have been bitten so badly by Burgess.
Now when I get a catalog, I go to the WatchDog before I even try to check out their selections.

This is a great idea and has inspired me to give the positive feedback the companies I order from deserve!

I just want to add that just because a person is not a subscriber and hasn't done lots of reviews doesn't mean that the rating is a shill or bogus. I have a LOT of customers who have never heard of the Garden Watchdog that I ask to leave feedback for my company after they have received their order. This does a couple of things - it directs new people to the GardenWatchdog/Dave's Garden who may never have found or used it otherwise and it allows them to voice their opinion (positive or negative) of my products and service on a public forum.

Just because they have never been here before doesn't mean that their comments are not valid.

Onalee

Onalee, that's a good point, and many of our registered members signed up so they could leave a comment or review in one of our features.

Our hope is that once someone has registered and added a single comment that they will eventually return, and keep coming back to read, learn and share - whether it's additional reviews in the Watchdog, Go Gardening, Bookworm, or comments, photos and observations in BugFiles, PlantFiles, or set up a free garden journal, or venture into the forums.

I realize this and wrote it in my initial post.

Unfortunately there have also been problems with shill posting. I think that most people prefer to take advice from peers (in a sense) and knowing someone has left multiple reviews or is a subscriber makes them more credible in some eyes. I would put myself in that group.

Many of your customers who come here and review you will probably have shopped with other suppliers, some will leave feedback for those other sources. Some will stay and may subscribe, some will never be heard from again. There is no way for us non administrators to say whether any particular post is fake or not. The vast majority of single votes are probably valid, however when a company hovers at 50 or 60 percent and I see a whole slew of single votes showing up I think most people read something into that. I know i do.

edited to add,
Terry, i cross posted with you, my comments were to Onalee. I agree with your comments though, lots of those 1s will turn to 2s and so on.

This message was edited Apr 2, 2007 8:19 PM

Hi Tom,

I was just pointing out one reason that you would see valid postings from people with just one review. I know that I'm not the only company that encourages customers to leave feedback here and I'm sure many of them have the same experience with people who have never heard of DG or GardenWatchdog. I certainly hope that they will take time to look around while they're here and perhaps join our group because I think DG offers a wealth of knowledge and support for all gardeners.

With the extremely low percent of customers who take the time to leave reviews, I value EVERY review that is left (for any company I'm researching - and I do use GWD as a buyer) and judge the value of the reviews based on the comments left and the enthusiasm (or lack thereof) of the reviewer.

Just my perspective.

Onalee

I have to agree with onalee, a person who may have left only one positive review is not necessarily a shill. I left my first review when a vendor asked me to post comments on Watchdog. I had never heard of Dave's Garden until then and my experience with this particular vendor was positive, so I did. But it was several months before I became a subscriber, and even longer before I added additional reviews.
Of course, the more positive comments a vendor gets, the more credence is given to that review.

DawninTx,

Everyone agrees with Onalee. :)

Thank you for your story, it is an example of exactly what Terry and I cross posted.

It's been a few weeks, how does everybody like it?

I have to say it is interesting to see how many reviews have been done by the different people - it shows how many new people have come to the site just to leave the review (and hopefully stay and join our community!) and it is cool to see the folks with several reviews and know they are seasoned 'DGers'.

Onalee

I came a little late to this party, but as a vendor, I'd like to share exactly what I send to customers to request feedback. Constructive criticism is encouraged.

The below is sent in it's entirety approximately 7-10 days after a customer's item has shipped. It's sent for a two-fold reason. One, it let's a customer that hasn't received their plants, know that they should have, and react if they haven't, and secondly, allows us to build a documented reputation.

"We want to thank you again for your purchase.

By now, your bulbs. rhizomes, or bare root plants should have arrived happy and healthy, and I'd imagine already planted.

If you were pleased with these, and can take the time, feedback left at The Garden Watchdog would be greatly appreciated.

http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/2462/

If you're unfamiliar with The Garden Watchdog, its a free site associated with www.davesgarden.com, that allows users to leave and read reviews of mail order gardening companies. Whether you take the time to leave feedback or not, we highly recommend the site for anyone that buys plants on-line.

As a small company, viewable feedback from customers is one of the most important things to help us grow, and with growth, our ability to offer a wider range of bulbs, rhizomes, and tubers.

If for any reason you don't feel you're happy with your order, please let me know personally, and we will fix any problem.

Thank you again.

Chris & Gretchen
Buried Treasures"

I ran this by Dave before I sent the first one out 4 years ago, and if I remember correctly, emmulated by Onalee after some Plant Scout chats.

Again, if someone has some constructive criticism to this, I'm more than interested to listen.

Best Regards to all, and a safe 4th of July, my lovely bride's B-day.

Chris

I am a bit frustrated by opening up many company's in the Watchdog and finding that they are closed or only do wholesale or don't have a website. Is there anyway to code the ones that are closed or have no website or do no retail, so I could see prior to opening them up so that it is not a waste of time? I am a constant user of Watchdog and mostly love it. Patti

Watch Dog was actually how I found Daves.

I was researching a company, which brought me to watch dog... i signed on that day, and became a subscriber the next.

I love this site and all it has to offer.