The title is somewhat misleading; the real reason for exclusion would be his reaction.
Here’s the situation:
A tradesperson offered me a service on MyHammer. He is new to the platform (or using a new account) and has zero reviews. So, I searched for his company on Google to check the reviews.
The reviews paint a very confusing picture. There are some very old reviews, all very negative (1 star). To me, these do not seem genuine. Almost all come from reviewers who only ever wrote that one review about this company and nothing else. I suspect these are either competitors’ work or other fake reviews. Following those, there is a whole batch of positive fake reviews. The company has over 40 reviews, and based on a quick sample, I would estimate over 90% are fake. This is clear especially because nearly all 5-star reviews are from “people” who a) find everything and everyone on Google absolutely great, and b) coincidentally all the people who rave about this tradesperson also rate the same ice cream shop in xyz and the erotic massage studio in Hannover as amazing. This is the classic pattern of a Google profile polished by some marketing company.
I confronted the tradesperson about the Google reviews.
His response was simply, “Like fake news, I know nothing about it.”
Somehow, my gut feeling now tells me it’s probably better not to hire him. If he reacts defensively to a simple question about his Google profile, I don’t know how easy it will be to deal with him if there are any issues with his work.
Besides, I don’t believe his answer is honest. People usually don’t write fake positive reviews for free. Companies generally pay for that, so I’m quite sure he knows about it.
Am I being too picky, or does this seem reasonable?
Here’s the situation:
A tradesperson offered me a service on MyHammer. He is new to the platform (or using a new account) and has zero reviews. So, I searched for his company on Google to check the reviews.
The reviews paint a very confusing picture. There are some very old reviews, all very negative (1 star). To me, these do not seem genuine. Almost all come from reviewers who only ever wrote that one review about this company and nothing else. I suspect these are either competitors’ work or other fake reviews. Following those, there is a whole batch of positive fake reviews. The company has over 40 reviews, and based on a quick sample, I would estimate over 90% are fake. This is clear especially because nearly all 5-star reviews are from “people” who a) find everything and everyone on Google absolutely great, and b) coincidentally all the people who rave about this tradesperson also rate the same ice cream shop in xyz and the erotic massage studio in Hannover as amazing. This is the classic pattern of a Google profile polished by some marketing company.
I confronted the tradesperson about the Google reviews.
His response was simply, “Like fake news, I know nothing about it.”
Somehow, my gut feeling now tells me it’s probably better not to hire him. If he reacts defensively to a simple question about his Google profile, I don’t know how easy it will be to deal with him if there are any issues with his work.
Besides, I don’t believe his answer is honest. People usually don’t write fake positive reviews for free. Companies generally pay for that, so I’m quite sure he knows about it.
Am I being too picky, or does this seem reasonable?
H
HilfeHilfe28 Apr 2020 09:36What kind of service is this? Are there competitors with better reviews?
Anyone working as a tradesperson on MyHammer is not exactly top quality.
Anyone working as a tradesperson on MyHammer is not exactly top quality.
HilfeHilfe schrieb:
What kind of service is this? Are there competitors with better reviews?
Anyone working as a tradesperson on MyHammer is not exactly top tier. Unfortunately, not yet. We have an unpopular job posted to install a washbasin and sink, where we would like to provide the materials ourselves (except for the fasteners).
I previously requested a full service from a contractor we know to be good, but they quoted €1000 and have not been able to clarify exactly what is included in that price. Basically, we just want 2 narrow “shelves” mounted on the long wall in the guest bathroom, with the washbasin installed on the top shelf (cutting a hole in one of the boards for the plumbing connections).
I find €1000 quite steep for this – or am I being naive?
HilfeHilfe schrieb:
If you're working as a tradesperson on MyHammer, you're not exactly top tierIs that really the case? Good to know—I hadn’t paid much attention to tradespeople before starting our house build.
In the past, I looked for a few small jobs (mostly wall mounts) on MyHammer and was generally satisfied. But that was several years ago. Nowadays, the platform seems a bit inactive.
First of all, you’ve done good research. Based on your description, I would also bet that he has bought many positive reviews. Whether this reflects his general approach to awarding contracts is another question. It’s clear, however, that he apparently had trouble in the past with a customer who probably wanted to get back at him.
As a small business, it is quite difficult to attract new customers with such a "tainted profile," or it always requires a lengthy explanation just to have a chance, since you can easily get filtered out due to an average rating of around 3 stars.
Not everyone—especially if e-business is not the profile owner’s core area—has the time, patience, or resources to challenge Google on such matters. In such cases, one might (badly) be advised to try to balance out the negative fake reviews with positive fake reviews.
And regarding his reaction—well, what is he supposed to say?
“Yes, I committed review fraud because an unhappy customer/competitor tricked me”?
Regardless, I would base the decision to hire him more on the scope of the work to be done (small or large?), the range of his offer (is he by far the cheapest?), and a more detailed conversation about the job and its execution.
As a small business, it is quite difficult to attract new customers with such a "tainted profile," or it always requires a lengthy explanation just to have a chance, since you can easily get filtered out due to an average rating of around 3 stars.
Not everyone—especially if e-business is not the profile owner’s core area—has the time, patience, or resources to challenge Google on such matters. In such cases, one might (badly) be advised to try to balance out the negative fake reviews with positive fake reviews.
And regarding his reaction—well, what is he supposed to say?
“Yes, I committed review fraud because an unhappy customer/competitor tricked me”?
Regardless, I would base the decision to hire him more on the scope of the work to be done (small or large?), the range of his offer (is he by far the cheapest?), and a more detailed conversation about the job and its execution.
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