A successful agent has complained that 17 apparently malicious reviews on Allagents have resulted in his firm coming 8,367 out of 8,385 estate agents.
Luke Wooster, managing director of Wooster & Stock in south-east London, said that two reviews recommended his firm, whilst the rest gave disapproval ratings.
He said that neither he, nor his 50-strong staff in three offices, had any idea where the large majority of negative ratings could have come from.
He said: “They just seem very rude and disparaging, and damaging to our business. I'd call them libellous. We could only pinpoint where one or two reviews could possibly have come from, and in one case, it concerned a tenant who had left the property in a mess and was angry about not getting his deposit back.
“Furthermore, when one of our happy clients wanted to post up a five-star review, they were only given a one-star option.”
“I have tried repeatedly to get hold of Allagents, but without success.”
The comparison site’s Martin – who prefers not to give out his surname – was contacted by EAT.
He said: “The issue with the one star is a misunderstanding on behalf of the reviewer and we have had this reported once or twice before.
“One star is the default setting when a reviewer starts to write a review and they must select which rating they wish to award from the drop-down box. On a few occasions this has been missed and the review stays at one star. It is something that is in the pipeline to make clearer.
“In the case of Wooster & Stock’s satisfied customer review, if the reviewer wishes to report the wrong star rating then they can go back to the review they submitted and click on the report abuse option. If they tell us which rating they wanted to award (along with the correct email address) we will amend it.
“The agent can also report an issue where the reviewer may have reported an inaccurate rating to them, or they themselves feel that the rating does not reflect content of the review.
“The agent can use the same ‘report abuse’ option and we will look at their issues. We will consider the tone of the review content and may allocate another rating award.
“On the more general point from your agent on identifying the reviewers, we do make it clear that every agent has the right of reply by clicking on the Agent Response and Comments option that is available on every review for every agent. On checking this morning, our moderators have no record of any correspondence from Wooster & Stock.”
Comments
We're a small LA, We are not perfect, sometimes we do make mistakes, but if we do make a mistake, we work very hard to try and make it right.
According to AA, we are in the bottom 1500 or so agents, out of 11739 in the UK. I find this had to believe. We have 10 negative reviews, and only 2 positives ones (we have never tried to ask happy customers to post, because its a bit embarrassing sending happy customers to that page!). All of the reviews on AA have come about in the past 12 months.
Out of those 10, we have identified 2 of the reviewers based on the comments and their usernames. We wrote to them, and both said they had written them in the heat of the moment, apologised to us for their inaccurate comments, and said they would remove them. Several weeks later with the reviews remaining, they said they had tried to remove them, or change the content and rating, but were not allowed to by AA, who apparently now 'own the content'.
The other 8 reviews we have absolutely no idea who they are from. They are defaming us, they talk about things that have never happened to us, e.g. making someone pay their council tax to the wrong local authority (surely this would be impossible anyway without an account number!?). They use words to describe us like "crooks" and "fraudsters". One of them incites people to kill and/or torture our staff.
I have used the report abuse button. I have contacted AA numerous times without a response. I have tried to use the live chat. Every time I use it, I put my name and company name, it says please wait for an operator, I'll wait patiently, and after 5-10 mins it says "There are no operators available at the moment." and the button goes to 'offline'
We have now instructed our solicitor to intervene, as can't really see what other options we have got. This is ruining our business, we have had virtually no new work now for months. We've gone from growing dramatically month on month to stagnating, pretty much only reletting our existing stock.
We have an internal system through our CRM software which asks a customer after every email we send for anonymous feedback, and the reports are overwhelmingly positive, over 80% of our customers say we are "excellent", with another 17% saying OK... less than 3% say not good! So although as I said we are not perfect, and whilst I don't want to come across as someone who can't take accountability or runs a shocking business, the fact is the AA score is just not a true reflection.
Does anyone knw who owns ths site, ive now heard from several people that the guy who started it owns 2 letting agencies in Glasgow
I forgot to mention Which Agent. This is a site doing what has been suggested by others in earlier posts.
An agent asks for a review. The landlord gives it. The agent verifies in advance of seeing the review that it is genuinely a property they have dealt with and then it goes live.
When fully operational, I believe unsolicited reviews will appear after an agent has verified that they recognise the property.
Sorry if someone else has mentioned this site already. Far too many posts to read them all!
I have personally had email exchanges with Allagents regarding the manner in which they operate. For example, I asked, I believe quite legitimately, for an email to be sent by Allagents to the reviewer who has inadvertently left a review against my business which I know to be incorrect, asking for the reviewer to move the review to the shop to which it should be attributed. It was, at the time, easy to select the wrong shop. In evidence, I cited that one of my three positive reviews was put against another business and this was eventually corrected. Quite which charm school the Allagents responder attended I don’t know, but I got nowhere.
They are effectively blackmailing the industry into joining their “transparency” scheme. I pointed out that Google is my site of choice for reviews and that we are already very transparent. There was a clear inference that it was possible to pay to improve the picture of agents “suffering”. Quite how this is “transparent” escapes me.
In fairness, sites such as this, when correctly run, should be embraced. It’s a great opportunity for potential customers to learn about a business. The response, or lack of, often says as much about a business as the original review. When these sites are badly run, with little or no effective means for establishing the validity of claims and no right to redress, then they do a great disservice to the idea in general.
However, many who rant and rave about this, myself included, should remember that it is a remarkably small percentage of anybody’s business involved in reviews of any nature. In my case, I have a total of 4 reviews, only 1 bad (and this is the erroneous one) out of a total of perhaps 300 landlords and 1200 tenants. And I am running a relatively small and new shop.
I don’t believe we need lose too much sleep over a site run with such obvious malicious intent and contributed to largely by unprofessional agents and disgruntled tenants with axes to grind.
"Travel website TripAdvisor was censured by Britain's advertising watchdog on Feb. 1 and warned that it must not claim that all of its user-generated reviews are from real travelers"
"The ruling "should be regarded as a benchmark ruling which applies to all websites which make claims about the reliability of their user-created content," the ASA's spokesman Matthew Wilson told the BBC."
Substitute 'real EA clients' for 'real travellers', and...
@ Real estate agent - I too am a real estate agent with several offices and have a great rating with genuine positive feedback - I know this because when I get a nice email from a client - I ask them to post on all agents. I have a couple of negative reviews - they too are genuine if misguided.
I cannot see what motive All Agents would have to victimise some agents - its ludicrous. If they piss people off, they wont get any revenue from those agents.
I would be happy to stand up and be counted - but from seeing all the petty comments and misinformed bile, I know it would result in some people adding crap comments.
I am still of the opinion that All Agents should be embraced
Good for you Wooster & Stock for flagging up AllAgents!
We think they are corrupt too.
Will the AllAgents employee who has posted half the comments below please step up to the mark and stop hiding behind a pseudonym? We know you're an employee as none of us would ever defend you!
Why won't you let anyone speak to you if you don't have anything to hide? We've tried contacting you about good reviews not being posted and you don't take calls.
Its obvious you work for the website because most of us reading this are genuine estate agents and we know your site is not playing a fair game.
Allagents is ourtageous!
They have failed to put up positive reviews our clients have posted - they have taken down positive reviews that were once there and are no longer there AND most of the negative reviews I have seen on our site (and others) don't refer to realistic scenarios and are clearly fabricated.
If you don't believe it - try to post something yourself.
We shouldn't have to put up with this - if it was published in a newspaper they would be sued or shut down. Why are they still in business?
@oh the irony of it!
You seem to be forgetting that Transparent Agents have been threatened that if they don't PAY for advertising their own brand on their own review page, Allagents will sell the "advertsing space" to another transparent agent (apparantly their are transparent agents willing to do this).
So be wary of the word FREE, as you rarely get something for nothing.
Likewise their portal, which used to be pushed as "free forever". If you read their terms for becoming a transparent agent, you will see that "forever" in no longer in the picture.
Allagents really do make the rules up as they go along...
"I wouldnt be surprised if Allagents actually bring out a training programme to help Estate agents protect their online brand and improve their agent profile.
If they did, I am sure it would be very popular"
Ha! And it woiuld be MY guess that those Agents who embarked upon this hypothetical course you refer to would be rewarded for their 'investment' with an IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT - with glowing referrals flying in within days...
Sorry - I thought you were an "estate agent trainer" - not an alchemist.
You obvously don't know what the word verified means then!
get real;
Are you proposing that I be barred from commenting on this story and on allagents generally until I have a negative review myself?
Assuming you're commenting on my last three posts, where did I say that any review was false?
I object to being automatically tagged as a non-compliant outcast merely because I prefer not to participate with allagents, or because I might be unaware of their existence
FWIW, I'd rather have a hand-written testimonial from a satisfied client that I can show to others, than an anonymous posting that can't be verified on allagents.
@ who ever keeps putting the time in
If you haven't fit any reviews yourself then what qualifies you as knowing reviews are false... What from reading comments from anonymous people???
The only way that can remotely qualify you is if you have got negative reviews OR you have written negative reviews on another agents site. So what don't you base your comments on facts and not myths.
The only person that can remotely comment on reviews is Luke Wooster and even he is NOT stating that he reviews are false (read the wording)
Whether you like it or not, Allagents is not only here to stay but is probably going to grow like wildfire over the next 12 months. So there is going to be a lot more to come for hose agents that are in denial
Estate Agent Trainer;
"Its YOUR CUSTOMERS that are giving you the negative feedback, not Allagents. "
--------
Surely the point of the article, which was taken up earlier in the thread, is that allagents AREN'T CHECKING WHO IS POSTING - their website is open for anyone to post, and that there's no verification that those posting there are actually real customers....?
Estate Agent Trainer;
"Its YOUR CUSTOMERS that are giving you the negative feedback, not Allagents. So why don't you l start LiSTENING to them and learning from it. "
------------
No it isn't. Neither I, nor my local competitors, currently have any reviews on allagents that I can find.
I have a folder full of hand-written testimonials from past clients that I can show to new clients, but allagents, who don't know anything about me, will, if my details get entered onto their site, immediately brand me as a 'non-transparent agent', for no reason other than I don't wish to participate in their scheme, or even that I haven't heard of their scheme.
I object to this. I don't see why I have to participate in order to remove this automatic branding.
Estate Agent Trainer; what you're missing;
I don't actually want to use their portal, I'm happy with those I use at the moment.
I don't actually want the leads that they may generate.
But, despite my wish not to participate with them, they or someone else can enter my business details on their site, without my consent, and then, because I haven't immediately chosen to participate in THEIR transparent agent scheme (another agent in a similar situation may be totally unaware of them and their scheme), they immediately brand me as a 'non-transparent agent'
This is done without any reviews being placed, without any notification to me, and it effectively brands me as an outcast.
If we don't play with them, and play with their ball, they'll badmouth us out of the game.
What am I missing?
There are 10s of thousands of agents out there, all with different views ad opinions. The only thing that they would all agree on is that they want to earn money to survive.
This is without even taking into consideration the views and opinions of our customers.
So for a website that can come along, allow customers to a platform to provide agent feedback from their own experience.
A website that provides free landlord and sales enquiries, provides a free portal and allows managing directors to monitor staff performance ..... What is it I am missing from these negative views here???
Its YOUR CUSTOMERS that are giving you the negative feedback, not Allagents. So why don't you l start LiSTENING to them and learning from it.
We wil never keep ever customer happy, but if the trend is that few of your customers are happy then you should seriously be questioning your own skills and perhaps look at booking you and your staff on some training courses.
I wouldnt be surprised if Allagents actually bring out a training programme to help Estate agents protect their online brand and improve their agent profile.
If they did, I am sure it would be very popular
"1. The good agents that completely support openness and transparency
2. The good agents that are not sure about it or still a but weary of it "
-------------
I'm somewhere between the two.
Unfortunately, because I don't wish to participate in THEIR transparent agents scheme, they see fit to brand me as an outcast, someone who hasn't joined their scheme.
They know nothing about me, nobody's reviewed me, but if I do get listed there, I'll immediately be branded as a non-participant.
Is that fair?
@ 22.30
@22.30. We are getting some good leads from them, so why would you or (or any agent) not want free quality leads?
The more agents that link to the site, the more free leads we are all going to get back. So unless you have something to hide (and please bear in mind I don't know, I am just making a point) then it would be crazy not to take them up on this offer.
Here is another thought. I doubt any of the corporates or large chains will join. Only small independents. So here is a suggestion that would starve both the corporates AND rogue agents of business.
Now if all independents joined the scheme and linked to the site. Not only would we get more free leads but every search engine would push it up to no 1 slot for every search term.
This would then result in more traffic to the site, which would mean more leads for us. Allagents would also win as their advertising space gets more popular and they can make more money as well.
We are looking at the best opportunity ever to take an even bigger cut of business out there.
@ Saturday 22.30
No I do not work for them, but I am one of their top ranking "transparent agents" and completely support it.
There are 3 types of estate agents.
1. The good agents that completely support openness and transparency
2. The good agents that are not sure about it or still a but weary of it
3 . The rogue agents that are completely petrified and angry about it all. As the more popular it gets, the more exposed they are to scrutiny.
The great thing about Allagents is that If agents cheat then they are risking having their profile page branded "a cheat"
So it is very risky to even attempt to influence your rankings.
Does the estate agency still require regulation?
In my view, NOT NOW as we now have a platform to self regulate.
Just think about this.
1.It is impossible for rogue agents to promote.now every good agent knows who the rogue agents are in their areas.
2.Now if every good agent first ensured that every rogue agent was added. It takes 2 minutes to add an agent and it can be done anonymously.
3. Then all you have to do is promote the site and your own profile. You now just need to refer customer to this site and let the agents customers tell them how bad they are.
Simples!
"With regards to their "transparancy" demands, all they are really asking for is a few links from your site, letting customers know about their profile and using their FREE portal and in return they also will provide you with FREE landlord and vendor enquiries. "
----
I don't really want to use their portal, and I'd rather source my own leads and enquiries. In return for my non-participation, they'll effectively brand me as an outcast (a 'non-transparent agent' in allagents-speak).
If we don't play ball with them, they'll bad-mouth us to all the world, is that essentially how it is?
You write this like a sales pitch. Are you working within Allagents?
"Any other topic on EAT is fine, BUT criticising another forum for allowing users to use pseudonyms when you are all doing the same here! "
----
We're not criticising 'another forum'
Allagents isn't a forum, a platform for discussion and debate, at all.
Allagents puts a banner on any agents not joining its 'transparent agent' scheme, stating "Warning - this agent has not joined....etc etc" - The agent concerned may never have heard of Allagents, may never have heard of this scheme, but has their name tainted by implication.
No, their site is not a forum, by any means......
Any other topic on EAT is fine, BUT criticising another forum for allowing users to use pseudonyms when you are all doing the same here!
Honestly these public discussions is negative publicity to the estate agency industry and only reassuring the consumers that allagents website can be taken seriously a website with trusted reviews.
Google has also recognised this, hence the reason why it publishes its votes and star ratings along with most profiles
With regards to their "transparancy" demands, all they are really asking for is a few links from your site, letting customers know about their profile and using their FREE portal (now correct me if i am wrong, but are portal fees not one of the main complaints from agents these days???????????????????????) and in return they also will provide you with FREE landlord and vendor enquiries.
NO MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID HERE
Well put, MIke. Very well put.
Only a fool would ignore constructive criticism while one would be a fool to consider anonymous made-up slander without substance as being criticism.
Before you start i ,meant
As I have said before, critisism is a great tool for us, it allows us to CORRECT our failings and improve our service. We cannot do this if we do not know what is genuine and what is not.
@consumer power will win
"The public love Allagents (and so do a lot of agents) so lets start embracing it and look at it as a tool for gauging how well we are performing and not an excuse for bringing it down. "
All in our industry would welcome something as a measure of our performance, it's not the idea we are arguing against, that in itself is good, its the caviler and discriminatory way Allagents seem to be implementing it.
How can we have confidence in them when as you can see from multiple postings citing examples of how the site is not run fairly, or correctly.
Will Joe public still love it if they know results are filtered to favor the agents who join Allagents transparent agent scheme [as some claim here].
Will top listed agents still love it if they try dropping out of the transparent agent scheme and suddenly appear in the bottom 100.
The gist of this thread is that EAs are asking for the same transparency from Allagents, they demand from EAs, and a way to filter out malicious or false reviews from the genuine.
As I have said before, critisism is a great tool for us, it allows us to improve our failings and improve our service. We cannot do this if we do not know what is genuine and what is not.
Is this too much to ask Allagents?
HAHA
Hustle on BBC 1 is about a dodgy review site bullying small businesses or posting fake reviews - really!!!
Twitter and Facebook has helped the people end the rulings of dictators, so of any agent thinks they can ignore Allagents is shorty going to be in for a shock!
In the publics eye, estate agents have got a bad reputation so consumers will love this. Just look at how successful and popular martin Lewis's site is.
I genuinely believe Allagents can help the industry improve its profile and bring some confidence and trust back into the industry.
Will this mean that there will be casualties?
Of course it will, but only for the agents that up until now didnt give a shite about it's customers... Up until now.
This site has got MD's of major chains responding personally to reviews, why because every unresolved complaint will be stairing them in the face every time they read their reviews now.
For years agents have got away with Conning customers into giving them business, now I am glad to say those days are long gone.
The public love Allagents (and so do a lot of agents) so lets start embracing it and look at it as a tool for gauging how well we are performing and not an excuse for bringing it down.
Good agents dont have a bad word to say about all agents - ask them - in fact they love it. Funny how the top 10 don't get many fake, malicious reviews.
There is no point in putting crap reviews on a one star agents page. They already have one star
Or perhaps - how is this for a conspiracy....... good agents are good and get good reviews - bad agents are bad and get bad reviews.
Even of these moaning agents get malicious reviews - where are the good ones.
It is really conceivable that All Agents are persecuting a small SE London Agent all the way from Scotland? No.
first paragrath on their transparent agent page
"It is all very easy for Property agents to publish glowing testimonials on their websites and at the same time hide any unfavourable critiques. While directly influencing what prospective customers can find and read about a company is a widely used practice, in principle companies and individuals are clearly not being open with consumers. In a world of instant communication and social networking (where even the police and politicians cannot escape scrutiny shared over the internet), Estate and Lettings Agents are under increasing pressure to come clean or be cleaned."
Could this be the end of the rogue agents out there?
Does that mean they will be able to track negs movements from one company to another? This is not good - but think it will too difficult to update
Wait until you see what All Agents have got planned.
It will be a one stop resource for customers detailing every company, negotiator, terms of business, complaints procedure and even financials..... hence 'Transparent......'
No wonder agents are scared. Who will be next - lawyers, conveyancers, contractors? Wait and see. But just look at the tabs already being developed "Reviews - Agent Details - Review Stats - Agent Fees - Staff Members - Complaints Procedure - Contact Agent - be afraid and be nice to them
Ahahahaha - [Evil laugh]
@Wooster & Stock - well done Luke - stick to your guns mate. Better that than be a critic in silence like many on here.
A fair balanced (and sensible) comment.
@Friday 17,24 - no - I certainly do not. I know the agent concerned and he asked my opinion - He received an email from All Agents advising HIM of the activity and the reviews were removed for reasons known by All Agents
@transparent
"If you genuinely don't have issues with allagent as a review site, then you should let them know your concerns.
The guys actually do listen to agents and will take your concerns or suggestions on board."
I do hope so, because that is not what a lot of agents are saying here. I have posted some small recommendations which would give the site credibility, If Allagents value their business, they will have to learn to work in tandem with agents, not bully, cajole or intimidate them.
I will get a message to them but cannot approach personally, if they want a full consultancy it can be arranged. I can get a team to demonstrate the model I suggest , supply all the software and implement changes at a fair price, anyone from Allagent intrested?
Wooster & Stock wholeheartedly supports and encourages fair, genuine, accountable and verifiable review sites.
Managed properly and within the law, review sites are one of the best mediums of independent customer feedback for other customers and for the agency itself.
Wooster & Stock does not want to close down or silence AllAgents or any other review sites; quite the contrary we like them, as long as they operated fairly, openly, transparently and without ulterior motives.
The Wooster & Stock website publicises all of our contact details, physical addresses, landline telephone numbers, contact email addresses, registration forms, and even pictures of our offices. We meet our clients face to face.
By contrast, try and find one identifiable business address or telephone number or email address on the AllAgents site. There is a company registered address on their Ts & Cs page, and PO Box Address mentioned elsewhere. Click on their Contact Us page, and you are presented with the following message:
“Please contact us on temp.contact@allagents.co.uk.
“We have found a bug on our contact page and as a result we have temporarily disabled it. If you have contacted us in the last few days we would ask if you could please resend your email. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
We find it quite incredible that while AllAgents are virtually impossible to speak to or locate, they at the same time have an initiative called “Transparent Agent”, which requires the agent to:
“Put an allAgents banner in a prominent position on all pages of the agent’s own website (in the header of each page)
“Put two small text links in the footer of all the agent’s own web pages
“Provide a transparent agent information brochure to each prospective new client at the initial introduction or valuation meeting
“Have a senior member of the company respond to every review, good and bad - to ensure that the public know that the agent is listening to customer feedback
“Actively promote their allAgents profile in marketing activities and promotional materials in conjunction with allAgents 'best Practice' procedures.
“Sign a declaration to operate within and maintain the scheme membership standards, best practice and terms and conditions
“Support and promote allAgents FREE products and services. In particular, agents MUST advertise all properties on the FREE listings section of the AllAgents property portal”
For over two years, Wooster & Stock has attempted to reply to reviews on AllAgents, using its own name. Not one reply has successfully been listed by AllAgents. Wooster & Stock has also emailed AllAgents to query the legitimacy and/or appropriateness of posts on the site, and has not received one response.
Yesterday, a satisfied vendor client of Wooster & Stock posted a positive review on AllAgents (he sent a copy of his posting to Wooster & Stock). Today, we see the positive posting as been removed from AllAgents. This is not the first time that this has happened.
Would any reputable, transparent, contactable company that delivers a real and valued service want to associate themselves with an underground organisation that conducts its business in such a manner? Wooster & Stock certainly does not.
And so, Wooster & Stock will continue to work with other reputable agents and the law to bring about fairness and accountability - with AllAgents and/or any other reviewing sites.
Sorry, that should have read "and then in the last TWO months, 12 absolutley glowing reviews".
Yes, just two months, a chunk of which was Christmas!
And I know one agency, who are a complete bunch of rude and arogant cowboys, that received several appaling reviews starting from 2010, and then in the last few months 12 absolutley glowing reviews. No "unusual account activity" or deletion has taken place for them!
Annonymous at 2012-01-27 13:48:30
"I know of one agents who suddenly got a surge of bad reviews which was identified as 'unusual account activity' and deleted."
How do you know this? Do you work behind the scenes at allagents?
@interesting - Family tree?
So first agents has their own profile, then each branch got it's own profile, now staff are getting their own profile!
What's next, tenants, landlords, vendors, buyers!
Soon the whole property market will have its own mini facebook!
Ah - BUT.... if you are NOT a transparent agent and have a 100% 5 star rating with dozens of current reviews (like Roy Brooks) your ranking disappears altogether.... spooky.
That means that the rankings are FALSE as the list of top 10 agents doesnt say 'Top 10 Transparent agents'
None of the bottom agents are transparent agents.
So - the integrity of the site is a but of a misnomer.
Just a quickie regarding this site's 'ranking' system.
Is it just me - or is it abysmal?
Here's the thing. There aren't a great number of Agents here 'oop North who seem to be affected - so I picked on one of the areas it mentions on the website - namely Birmingham. Found an Agent - I won't name names for obvious reasons - who are ranked #257 out of 8389 in the UK. Not bad, thinks I. Must be purdy good at what they do...
Nope. ONE review, TWO YEARS OLD, with NO COMMENTS WHATSOEVER.
So - I picks another - from another location. This one is #749 - so not as good, obviously. Still only one review - although in fairness it is only six months old - but the reviewer gave them a glowing report - "...we have been extremely impressed...very pleased with the service...service and advice we were given was clear and prompt...and Donna has been fantastic."
Now then - to the other end of the scale. One of the highest rated Agents has a massive number of reviews - but nearly SEVEN PERCENT of them give a rating of three stars or less and do NOT recommend the company.
So - please explain to someone who would potentially WANT to use this site HOW THE HELL DO YOU SORT THROUGH THE MDT??
I had to laugh, though, at one of the 'disapproving' reviews I mention above. The numpty gave the Agent four stars(?) - and went on to say "...typical agents, sell at the lowest poss price and encourage you to buy at the highest price."
(Sorry - how does THAT work??)
There's nowt stranger than folk...
...except, maybe, Agent Rankings at AllAgents... ;o)
Adding staff members will be their undoing - crazy idea with no merit
I have a number of offices, but one neg appears as the sole employee in every office!
@PeeBee I agree - they will over complicate it and it will require to much updating and maintenance and this will undermine its validity.
Keep it simple. a vendor / LL will choose XYZ estates - they wont choose them and say -" I only want to deal with John as Dave is a knob."
An office is a team
"However what makes this issue really sad is that you can come on EAT under an aliase to criticise a website that allows reviewers to do the same to you.
I agree with he others. You will get more respect if you stood up and declared yourself. "
THAT, from someone who comes on and criticises someone anonymously (couldn't even be bothered to think up an aliase (sic)...)!
Beggars belief, dunnit?
Oh - hang on. I'M doing it now! Bugger!
(only semi-anonymously though - I suppose that's not so heinous a crime... ;o) )
Check out your agents profile page. Have have tabs for agent statistics, staff and complaints now!
Before we know it we will have staff getting ranked in the UK as well !
**** Easily abused website?****
Surely if the post was abuse and it has been removed - then you are arguing against yourself as abusing it ain't that easy after all.
@mike
If you genuinely don't have issues with allagent as a review site, then you should let them know your concerns.
The guys actually do listen to agents and will take your concerns or suggestions on board.
TA
We get good reviews - we get bad reviews - undoubtedly we get some false reviews BUT on average they pan out to being well above average and the overall accuracy is enhanced by volume.
The more reviews you get, the less impact a malicious one will have. In isolation a review is of no value, on mass its very powerful.
Embrace it
I would be less concerned about the 3/4 bad reviews from Aril last year - which seem a tad suspect, and more concerned about the lack of good ones from their genuine customers!
People in glass houses.....
You lose your right to complain about false reviews if post a few of your own - hope that didnt happen
Interesting that Wooster and Stock, had a 5 star review published two days ago, which has now been removed.
And today they have now received a 4 star review.
Easily abused website.
Mike - All agents criticise no one - its the people posting reviews who criticise. Same with Tripadviser and restaurants.
They request the following:
** "I have read and understood the rules above, and hereby agree to the Terms and Conditions of this website. I also confirm this review is based on my direct experience with the agent, and is truthful, honest and fair.
** I confirm that I am not associated with this agent in any capacity other than as an existing or past customer. I understand the consequences of attempting to influence a ranking by posting a false or misleading review."
If reviewers lie there isn't much that can be done unless evidence is offered to prove it provided that they have some protocols in place to spot unusual activity.
If a complaint is levied - it should be investigated but every agent has a right of reply to put their side across. If they chose not to then that's their lookout and one must ask whether they really care.
Check out Marsh and Parsons and see what they do in response. Very professional.
Forums are review sites as well - same rules apply.
I agree All Agents need a proper complaints procedure and perhaps a method of redress.
They have an email address from the reviewer - AA should send notification of a challenge from the agent and ask for evidence which they can review in confidence - if not received or not responded to - the post should be removed. It really is that simple
Someone, who I seem to have annoyed wrote:
"It's clear here that you are obviously not as good an agent as you thought you were" .
Why is it when you are unable to construct an argument you make a personal attack on another contributor. We are supposed to be working together to improve our industry, not cutting each others throats.
"However what makes this issue really sad is that you can come on EAT under an aliase to criticise a website that allows reviewers to do the same to you."
Get it right, Allagents policies are what I , and the majority here are criticising, as they are clearly wrong! I have never been critisised on Allagents, I doubt if they would have the balls to even try.
If you have read any of my previous posts you will find I am part of a very old, well established family business, of which the property division amongst other interests, employs [what are called in the UK] Estate Agents world wide.
I am concerned at the way the EA industry is developing in the UK and want input from the independent sector, coming on here and participating in discussions relevant to the industry is just one way of monitoring what the current thinking is.
Now if you wish to snipe at me go ahead.
This has been an interesting thread for all to read.
Whilst still controversial, What is clear about things is that there does appear to be a growing number of agents accepting the whole review concept of Allagents
@Mike to replace Ann Robinson on Watchdog
Here is a good example of what is wrong with All Agents
http://www.allagents.co.uk/roy-brooks
Perfect 5 star rating - not listed in the top agents because they aren't a 'Transparent' agent.
They dont even have a ranking.
So - the top agents are filtered - the bottom 10 are not and there is no explanation of this.
But do they care? I doubt it. Like us - its not the b all and end all - its a nice, free bonus.
Agree with anon:
Did you READ what I wrote
"I don't think anyone here [despite the rants, angst & venom] is against review sites per say [I write reviews about every restaurant I visit, good or bad].
The compliant is about the way Allagents operate the review process, in a previous post I outlined the very simple steps needed to enable it to function effectively, if they took this on board then it would become a useful tool for us all."
Do you Understand: its not Allagents in principle, I argue against, but the way it is run, their are no controls, no accountability. Everyone likes good reviews, and everyone needs to act on bad reviews [take them as constructive criticisism] by improving whatever service is failing. But what do you do about the malicious or unfounded reviews?
I am one of those calling for regulation in our industry to 'clean it up and give the public a better perception of us.
We have extensive operations in America; licenses, trained real estate brokers who have to serve time in the industry [call it a 2 year apprenticeship] before they are allowed to apply to become brokers , professional government accredited exams, random checks on realtors to ensure they meet the high standards expected of those in this industry.
If Allagent would clean up their act it could be a start.
Incidentally, the review site I write on have my home address and contact no. on record so if I do false malicious reviews the restaurant can get my contact info and take proceedings against me. I have had 2 restaurants I was disappointed with contact me, via the site. One I went back to met the owner and spoke to him, the other was a fleeting foreign visit. We e-mailed each other and I now have the promise of a free meal when ever I return, and the owner thanked me and was quite upset that no one had brought certain failings to his attention before.
This is how review sites are supposed to work, as a partnership between provider and customer resulting in an improved industry for all.
@mike
It's clear here that you are obviously not as good an agent as you thought you were .
Sadly this is the problem with some estate agents. They think they are great ( and some actually believe it) however in reality they are not.
The truth can hurt mike and sometimes you need to accept that in life and either change your ways or change your career.
However what makes this issue really sad is that you can come on EAT under an aliase to criticise a website that allows reviewers to do the same to you.
I agree with he others. You will get more respect if you stood up and declared yourself.
Ladies and Gentlemen
This is getting out of hand. Too many over reactions and conspiracy theorists.
I know of one agents who suddenly got a surge of bad reviews which was identified as 'unusual account activity' and deleted.
We had four five star reviews in one day because a neg emailed his landlords and tenants asking for them - we received the same email reporting concerns - we explained - it was fine.
There are agents who do well from all agents - they are entitled to their opinion.
There are those who are certain bad reviews are false and they are quite right to challenge them and, if they have reasonable grounds, AA should provide a full response. Its this silence and sense of injustice which will cause feeling to boil over.
Without being rude, I dont think Wooster & stock is a firm who are a threat to most agents - just another competitor and I really don't see anyone trying to gain commercial advantage by posting fake reviews.
Maybe its a grudge form an old employee of serial postings from one mightily miffed person.
One thing is that a handful of negative comments over a year doesn't look like an orchestrated campaign unless its being waged by Hally's comet
The CIA and US Government couldn't shut up Wikileaks
Good luck to Julia Arnold and Luke Wooster.
Fact is, is all agents so influential that legal action which will probably fail is warranted?
And lo, as we speak - W&S get another 5 star review. These reviews are like buses - nothing for a year, then 2 come along at once.
Jones.
To some business is war.
Do you think everyone in this industry has your ethical outlook, if they did then the public would not think so badly of us.
What has given us a bad name are the amount of shysters, spivs, conmen and outright thieves who have used our industry to ply their trade, running of with the loot and leaving us with a tarnished reputation.
This is why I rail against these satellite businesses which are creating profits by emphasising the dodgy nature of the industry, whilst in fact doing nothing for us. And for Allagents to imply that if we don’t ‘sign up’ with them then we are dodgy, is disingenuous to say the least.
Allagents can make a few minor adjustments to it’s practices and become an effective tool to benefit all. Why don’t they, because they don’t give a damn about our industry, just about how much traffic they can drive to their site and the advertising revenue this brings in.
About your situation, you have 70 agencies in your area. Dismiss the chains, Foxtons, Ludlow etc…. now how many of the independents are just about ticking over, or are not really taking any business from you? Dismiss them.
Concentrate on those, geographically closest and which are doing better business than you, how many is that.
Maybe you would never do this, but we all know there are some who not only would, but are doing so right now, and the weapon of choice Allagents !
I agree Mike - stand up and be counted or shut up.
I don't necessarily agree with Luke - but at least he broke ranks and had the balls to go public - respect for that.
Mike write restaurant reviews - most of these are anonymous as well. Why does he believe that this is fine yet all agents is not? Does your restaurant review site demand proof you actually ate there?
Guys - I would love to post my company name and show you how many reviews we have - identify those which we doubt and the reasons - sadly I cant because it would result in a flurry of 1 star ratings from some of the idiots on here trying to prove a point.
We have 34 reviews - all but 2 are undoubtedly genuine. we have a 5 star ranking (4.55) which has evolved - its hasn't been prompted or promoted - we aren't transparent agents - its just evolved over 3 years.
Anyone would think that EVERY review on AA was fake. Many on here are almost prompting agents to do just that.
You lot gang up and take action against negative reviews - the public will laugh at you and it will not do you any favours whatsoever and will acheive nothing more than a public confirmation you have lots of bad reviews.
Deal or no Deal.
We have forced Google to remove content [US case]
The info you provide is informative, telling and a serious wake up call to all who believe that review sites have no business impact.
I recommend to all EAs give it a serious read.
[Think long and hard about the consequences, a megaportal with a review site will de-list your properties if you get too many bad reviews, justified or not, how dependent is your business on the Megaportals now?]
However your article ends with.
You can hire the best agency, an awesome SEO genius, and an army of social media gurus – all of this talent cannot stop consumers from telling the world the truth about your business.
You could have added;
Or stop just a small number of people destroying your business by a campaign of malicious reviews.
I don't think anyone here [despite the rants, angst & venom] is against review sites per say [I write reviews about every restaurant i visit, good or bad].
The compliant is about the way Allagents operate the review process, in a previous post I outlined the very simple steps needed to enable it to function effectively, if they took this on board then it would become a useful tool for us all.
@mike
Whilst he has made an ass of himself, at least luke had the guts to come out the closet and speak up for his business.
Why don't you come out from your "mike" profile and stand up for yourself and your business.
You would get more credibility for doing so if you did, rather than griping about reviewers that do the same!
MIke - alternatively, assume most agents have better things to do, focus on service and stop being such a plank.
It would never cross my mind to post fake reviews - we just try our best to keep customers happy and take what comes.
bearing in mind we have about 70 competitors in our area, it would take a army of people to actually influence our overall position - you would need a lot of internet cafe's, an inexhaustible supply if email addresses and nothing else to do with your life.
Julia Arnold
Thank you, I just hope some of my colleagues can see exactly where this is headed and join you. I am so pissed of by what these people are doing I have requested a full investigation into their business.
To those smug chappies boasting about good ratings, I could give you a demo about how this site works, I call all my offices, employees and contacts and tell them to put enough negative reviews up to push you to the bottom of the pile, then watch you scream.
Because that is how this site works, want to do more business in your area, everytime you pass an internet cafe, pop in and 'dis the competition online'. Ask your mates to write positive reviews, then mailshot your area asking people to go to Allagents and check just who is the best agent ion the area.
What? A tantric hate campaign waged at the rate of one review every 3 months.... do me a favour.
Then, suddenly. a 5 star review "Great service, fantastic client database. Thoughtful and creative profile production with excellent photography and website" - really?
In 27 years, no one has ever said 'fantastic client database'
Really, take a leaf out of Streets Ahead and all the other agents with decent reviews. Why does Wooster think they are being victimised?
Has the elusive Martin rented through them perhaps?
brian b.
says
"They have come up with a clever scheme that makes it very difficult for any respectable agent to say no to.
The only agents that will have an issue with this are the agents that have something to hide! "
That is my point and it looks like you have swallowed it, you believe that an agent who does not want to use this site must have something to hide?
Or are they just not respectable?
Why?
Because Allagents told you so, but on what basis.
I dont use supermarkets loyalty card scheme, does that mean i am not a respectable shopper?
Why do you believe that using our freedom of choice about which businesses to use is somehow linked to our business respectability?
If I tell people that anyone who does not park in one of my car parks, must be doing so because there is something wrong with their car, would you then only use my car parks, because you are scared others will think your car is shite, or would you confront me and ask what the hell do I think I am doing implying your car is shite because you don't park where I tell you?
What allagents is doing is bullying OK, pure and simple, they are forcing EAs to join in with their 'clever idea, because it they dont the sheep will believe they are not respectable.
How about improving service and getting some decent reviews?
I do not accept that a smattering of reviews over 3 years represents some sort of hate campaign.
If reviews are not posted then there is a reason - or do you think All Agents are picking on Wooster and Stock and deliberately withholding them - to what end.
I have a review not posted - spoke to the reviewer who had not clicked the activation link as it had found its way into a spam filter.
Likewise, links emanating from the same IP address wont get published - I suspect there is a good reason and I absolutely detest this lynch mob culture forming from agents. You cant win this battle. Internet is freedom of information and people have a right to opinions.
Anyone can threaten legal action, but you have to know facts of law to win an argument.
Allagents have covered themselves perfectly here. Any lawyer will tell you this.
It appear the complainers are complaining do not even have their facts right. It says on the thread (and next to every review) that agents have a right to reply!!!
Honestly of you can't even get simple facts like har right then it's no suprize that you customers are unhappy!
Have a look at this interesting article. Google at even going to kick businesses off their site of they are found not toe be providing a good service !
http://www.techipedia.com/2012/negative-reviews/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Attack+of+the+Consumer%21+The+Many+Ways+Consumers+Can+Put+You+Out+of+Business+Online&utm_content=Moz+Top+10+-+January+2012%2C+Issue+2&utm_campaign=Moz+Top+10+-+January+%232
I am a property PR consultant and have been looking after the reputations of estate agents and house builders for 15 years.
There is obviously an overwhwelming feeling here that allAgents is an unprofessional and unorthodox website that often does not give a right to reply and is operating potentially illegal practices that are damaging to many businesses.
I have tried to speak to allagents about not allowing responses to be posted.
They insist on remaining anonymous and refuse to speak to us on the phone.
If you are genuinely interested in clubbing together to get legal action taken against this unorthodox site, please email me on: julia.arnold@skycommunications.co.uk
If enough estate agents sign up I will see what we can do.
I bought through Wooster and Stock and reccomended them to friends who also bought. We both posted positive comments as a result.
Five months later none of the positive comments have appeared.
Funny that.
I'm afraid you won't get much response from the report abuse button. We tried it with a reviewer who was sore about not getting their deposit back because they'd done endless damage to a property including knocking down the wall round the driveway... No luck in getting it removed, or even so much of a reply out of courtesy from All Agents.
The problem with the site is unless an agent actively encourages reviewers to use it, and quite frankly we'd prefer our customers to review us on Google places, you will just get ranty tenants who in most cases have caused their own issues AND have had the option to dispute through the TDS and haven't, AND who haven't reported their problems to the agent in the first place.
I just wish these sites would insist on taking the contact information for these tenants so that the reviews can be validated and the tenants contacted to try and put things right IF the agent is at fault.
KellyS - 11 replies over 2 years is hardly onerous. Hardly much of a vendetta either.
In fact, they have had 7 negative reviews in the last 12 months - so clearly this is either the single worst vendetta on earth - or perhaps true.
I think it's unrealistic to expect Wooster & Stock to respond to all the comments when half seem to be clearly fabricated or offering no particular details of issues encountered.
It then turns into a case of engaging with internet trolls, which is an entirely pointless exercise which will always leave the agents looking worse off.
Until credibility can be given to the source of the reviews, this website will remain a platform for libellous vitriol.
@ Thursday 21.50
yeah you try telling your next customer that (if you actually get the opportunity to picth in front off them).
I am sure the 150th ranked tennis player is saying the same thing to his sponsors!
"When we watch tennis and see Andy Murray ranked No4 in the world, WE BELIEVE IT. "
Of course, because the ranking is based on the results of matches actually witnessed by hundreds, if not thousands of people.
That's not the case with allagents.
My goodness, this has got to be one of the biggest threads i hae seen on EAT for a while!
I think people have lost site of what allagents is all about. Its an independant review website. A platform to give consumers the oportunity to review their estate agent and to allow customers to read reviews about their agent BEFORE they use them.
Its irrelevant what the agent thinks about the site. The fact of the matter is that they are geting reviewed and read about whether they like it or not.
having said that, they have givien us something that has NEVER BEEN DONE IN THE ESTATE AGENCY MARKET. The ability to rank agents based on their customer reviews. THIS IS DYNAMITE!
When we watch tennis and see Andy Murray ranked No4 in the world, WE BELIEVE IT.
When a customers asks "why should i use you",agents can now say because I am ranked No1 [this postcode] on Allagents the "trip advisor" for estate agents.
Now how can anyone say thats not a powerful selling tool to be armed with.
EAT should interview the top 10 agents in the UK and ask them what THEY think of Allagents. It would make interesting reading
Poor old Wooster & stock - I feel for them and good that someone at least had the courage to stand up and say what they think. Fair play - too many idiots on here moaning about exactly what they are doing themselves - but expect to be taken seriously.
No name or company name - no credibility
Still great thread and GREAT advertising for ALL AGENTS about who I have no issues whatsoever
Simon - dont waste your time
Modern agents embrace change and new ideas and are not scared by it - they manage their on line profile - how many have Google alerts?
Probably the same people who reckon twitter and facebook were a waste of time.
One of my friends commented "YX Agents are a bunch of crooks" and added some detail - its on my wall - will I get sued as well? ;)
Dear Agents
Who cares? I love review sites - we nurture ours. We encourage customers to use them we get lots of business.
If you dont like them and dont think they have any impact - just ignore them. Its very simple.
And, when you go bust, I may have a job in a new office somewhere with a vacancy.
Face facts - opinions are everywhere and google doesnt give a fig if they are fair or not - if they are online they can be found and read - that's why you MUST respond - you need to manage your on line presence and you can if you stop moaning and look at how it works.
Angry agent makes a good point
Why would anyone post a fake review on an agent who already has one star - its pointless
Instead - you would sabotage those with higher rankings... it doesnt seem to happen. Odd that.
We are not transparent agents - have a good rating - a couple of bad reviews to which we have replied to - both genuine and recognisable even if not really our making
We get free PR - our competitors are ranked much lower - we recommend potential customers check the AA site
It works - make it work
God in heaven - some people on here.....
It seems some are very scared about a site they reckon has no impact!
Others make like an ostrich and kid themselves someone will ride in a a white charger with a libel writ and save the world
Some even seem to believe every bad review is a fake review. Easy excuse.
Many complain about anonymity - but do so anonymously and haven't the guts to stand up and be counted
No wonder agents get such a poor reputation. What about the top agents on AA? How come they dont get fake reviews - in truth they probably do - but because they focus heavily on service, the effect is negligible.
Put up - or shut up
@Mike
"bullying agents that don't comply with its model"
Allagents are bullying no one.
I assuming you are referring to their transparent agent scheme.
They have come up with a clever scheme that makes it very difficult for any respectable agent to say no to.
The only agents that will have an issue with this are the agents that have something to hide!
brian b
"Then Allagents could become the industries most powerful online tool".
Try, 'Then Allagents will control our industry, on its terms'.
Forcing changes to drive traffic to it's site generating massive revenue for itself, bullying agents which don't comply with it's model, and never ever having to sell, rent or even view a property.
Thats right, another business sector leaps in only interested in making a buck or 2 out of us, not giving a damn about the industry it is bleeding.
1 person with malicious intent can close down your business by launching a defamation campaign on line, it has already happened in other sectors.
Allagent is allowing this to happen and don't give a damn.
Most powerful tool indeed, most powerful dictatorial influence more like.
Any businessman worth his salt welcomes constructive criticisim, it enables us to identify weaknesses act on them and improve our businesses. What we abhor is those who attack our businesses out of sheer malice. This is what Allagents are allowing to happen, do they care?
You tell me.
Thursday 18.32 - No - I have no idea. Ask them. It was a general comment about libel.
No case will be brought. You see, if say 10 negative reviews are examined and 2 are false, then the persons who posted them would be the target of legal action but AA may be compelled to release their names. They may even be liable for negligence unless they can demonstrate they were diligent
Then of course, the remaining 8 bad reviews would be officially and legally endorsed. Ouch - but not all reviews will be false.
Imagine bringing action and discovering the claim to be true - egg on face!!
Head Office of big companies have no idea - staff who screwed have a defence of "Not true boss - it was malicious" instead of "Yeah - its true - we should be sacked'
Costs would be immense - All Agents only started trading last year - they are a limited company - they wind up and sell out - plaintiff loses a fortune.
If it managed to get its moderation right
If it managed to successfully compare agents fees
If it can successfully get its property portal off the ground
Then Allagents could become the industries most powerful online tool.
With a these portals fighting for marketshare and monthly fees could just creep up behind them and do it all for free!
Imagine that, the biggest uk property portal being free. Rightmove would be out of business overnight !
LegalEagle
A practical and less costly solution for most parties is to approach the Internet Service Provider of the site, which will generally remove the information in question.
Sound and sage advice, notice how Google are now rolling over.
I look forward to the 'solicitor' review site, is there one out there. I have a lot of libelous bile to vent :-)
Am I detecting that you guys are scared by these people?
Imagine 'Corporate Estates plc" hit the headlines - "Uk's biggest agents sue small review site over negative reviews"
I would imagine there would be a surge of people adding even more - and would Corporate Estates plc want the press telling millions of people that there were so many negative reviews?
They wont ALL be false - and I can see a journo on the BBC interviewing Mr & Mrs Angry from Scunthorpe about the mean nasty agent who made a deduction from their deposit for a dirty net curtain.
Well, my litigious friends, it wont happen. You see, to remedy a claim for libel, all that has to happen is for the comment to be removed and perhaps a 'sorry'
Thing is - the person submitting the review warrants it is true
TripAdvisor has never faced formal proceedings and maintains that it is careful to allow hotels to respond to negative reviews and will also remove comments that it deems are intentionally meant to damage a company’s reputation. Now, some cases are being prepared as a joint action and the outcome of that will be profound - but no one will sue all agents until after and its not worth it - they aren't exactly cash rich.
ost parties try to avoid taking legal action and work out their disputes among themselves
Not only can the legal process be time-consuming, the cost of bringing a libel case can reach into the millions, while the potential award is minimal by comparison.
“The highest amount of damages awarded in a libel case was £200,000 and that was for gross defamation,” says Macmillan.
A practical and less costly solution for most parties is to approach the Internet Service Provider of the site, which will generally remove the information in question.
There are only 3 subjects on EAT that every get debates going like this. They are
1. Portals
2. Agent fees
3. Reviews
1.Allagents have just brought out a new portal (and it looks ok)
2.Allagents appear to be bringing out something about agent fees
3. Well I think we all know this one.
Draw your own conclusions to this one, but this site has definitely got the potential to become the most powerful website in the uk property market. And the fact that everything is free.
This site is more like a uk property version of google !
"Libel is hard to prove and the defendant only needs to show that they took reasons steps"
Assuming you mean reasonable steps, would you care to tell us what reasonable steps allagents have taken to ensure the agents reviewed aren't being libelled....?
@ libel case waiting to happen
I think after Wooster & stocks slating here, it would take a brave agent to that!
Imagine the publicity and headlines " corporate estate agents try to shut up customer review site because it's getting bad reviews "
It the very least every decent agent would be taking those news clips out to every valuation.
As the old saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them!
We can identify 90% of people who have posted and they are genuine. 4 bad reviews to which we have responded. One reviewer actually asked for their comments to be removed as written in temper. Can't see what the problem is really.
Lots of hotels have tried and failed to sue trip adviser. Cling on to crumbs of comfort - pretend the public wont take notice and you will lose out in the long run. Libel is hard to prove and the defendant only needs to show that they took reasons steps. Papers don't get sued for reporting what x says about y. They only get sued if their opinion is defamatory. They don't even have to reveal the identity of a poster unless a court says they must. A Scottish court. And besides - how many juries will sympathise with an agent?
All Agents will get sued shortly, you cannot keep ignoring libellous comments for ever. One of the corporates will be instructing a big London law firm on them soon...
Referenceline is a far better review site. For a start, you have to be a legitimate client!
To all you lovers of reviews and who believe in this sites worthiness.
My new venture, youragent.com will come online 1st March.
It is a review EA & LA site.
For a registration fee of £150 per year.
I will give you a page which will tell the public about you your business: Size, number employees, how long you have being operating, you know the basics about you & the service you offer. I may even allow you to list 5 sample proprieties, as a taster of your wares [premium package £250 per year].
Then the review section.
All reviews shall be written by my team, I will give 1 medium per 10 good. For balance I will allow every 100th review from the public to be published [that should keep the wool over their eyes ha ha].
For those of you stupid enough not to join and pay me £150. Your reviews shall be 10 bad to 1 medium.
And I will reccommend that Joe public not use you as you have not joined my translucent agents scheme. When they look at the reviews they will see why.
Any takers?
OK, Jamie. I am thrilled for you. Elated.
As Mike has already said, the aim for AA is to make/take money.
The actual 'service' on offer suffers as a consequence as there is no quality control. Rightmove could liaise with agents to produce this service properly.
From the sounds of what other agents in and out of my area have told me and encountered, you are in the minority by not being targeted.
Or maybe, me, the south east and areas beyond that are all just utterly terrible. And nice. And reasonable.
Just looked at some reviews for a local EA, and out of 20 or so reviews, over 50% of them are written in impeccable english, are unfailingly positive, and consistently mention the agent's name, in full, in the first line of the review.
Out of the remainder, the critical ones are in poor english, and - funnily enough - don't mention the agent's name.....
Coincidence is all.
Very funny comments - even funnier - all the reviews of All Agents are from anonymous people.
If you want to moan about fake reviews, add a link and we can see them - otherwise - shut up - who knows - you could be another one of the review site writing nasty things about All Agents.
Odd that - no one has mentioned any other review sites.
@aceofspades " if YOU HAVE ACTUALLY DONE BUSINESS WITH THEM. "
Really? What about someone such as an applicant who hasn't done business with an agent because that agent was rude or disinterested - how do they prove it?
Ram Jammed with with phoney reviews? Really - that's a review of them and you are anonymous - irony is funny. Its also a libellous claim as you cannot substantiate or qualify your claim and again, you fail to understand the issue - but hey.
are there any reviews of your firm on there? what is your rating?
Ours is very very good - 2 bad reviews - both genuine but not our fault - so we added a response explaining we were sorry they lost the property, but we can stop a landlord accepting an offer through another agent.
In fact, of our 26 reviews, I honestly don't think one is fake.
maybe, if you have some bad reviews, someone just doesnt like you which is odd as you seem so nice and reasonable.
OK.
Want to see just how these outsider ancillary 'businesses'. Who dont sell, buy, rent or deal in property are affecting our industry.
Taken from Allagents site:
Bairstow Eves has not joined our 'transparent agent' scheme yet.
AllAgents recommend that consumers use an Agent that has signed up to our FREE 'Transparent Agent Scheme'. Transparent agent reviews are also subject to additional random verification checks by the allAgents Team. If you do choose to contact or use Bairstow Eves, please make them aware and ask them to get in touch with allAgents to clarify their position. - Learn more about 'Transparent Agents'.
Who the F*** are these people telling our clients who to and who not to use?
Allagents recommend......how many agencies have they visited, how many have they sent monitors in to see how they function, how many surveys of EAs have they done, how many mystery shoppers have they sent in, where is the market research to back there claim to be able to recommend which EAs to use.
This is bullying of the worse sort, they are effectively telling people not to use agents who are not listed with them, notice how they emphasis FREE, inferring that they have no reason to join, so they must be 'dodgy if they don't'. They should emphasis OUR SCHEME, cos that what it is. Not only that they are trying to get Joe public to pressurize agents on their behalf.
Once again a business opens claiming to aid our industry, and what does it do, infer we are all spivs unless we join them
Love or hate BE, we cannot be treated like this.
JamieK - Don't be a moron.
I agree that "Review sites, forums, opinions count" for a lot - NOT more than I think because I know how powerful they are.
The problem here is that this is a cowboy site, ram jammed with phoney reviews - while they claim to be an independent review service.
Now listen closely Billy Big Time...
Idea of AA = Very good
Eexcution = Poor
The only people with any right to comment on any estate agent is someone who has dealt with them. What is the point on ANYONE being able to write something? Result = ridiculus, rubbish 'reviews' that are total lies.
It is elementary. You can't go on ebay and leave negative feedback for someone who sells socks. You can only leave feedback if YOU HAVE ACTUALLY DONE BUSINESS WITH THEM.
For every bit "deluded" you think I am, I think you lack common sense, ten fold.
Mike - Of course it is. I was being generous, trying to give them some sort of professional reognition. But, yes you are right, they are out to take whatever money they can get their hands on.
@HD. You would have to take AA up on that one.
I'm only just telling you that these guys know what they are doing.
They at even collecting branch IP addresses (try and edit your profile and see) so that they know what ip addresses belong to what branch.
Cheating is a no go with them. You might get away with the odd review, but then one day you look at your profile and suddenly it's got "cheating agent" all over it!
That's why it's regarded as the industry trip advisor
@HD - you like to generalise.
I had a review removed - and was happy. Its only those who dont get their own way who complain.
Funny how many of these people moan on here - using anonymous methods and expect to be taken seriously - we call that irony
Pardon,
Not Dominic.
AceOfSpades wrote
JamieK - I think you are completely out of touch. The sole purpose of this site is to rate agents. True or true? Then why can anyone post? It defeats the object.
NO NO NO NO..................
The sole purpose of this site is to attract traffic to gain money from advertising.
This Lad is not providing us a service, he is not doing us a favour [misguided or not].
He is an entrepreneur out to make some money from this idea. He doesn't give a toss about EAs or the industry. He has probably already got exit strategy planned, which means when it has achieved the value he has set he will sell it on to the highest bidder.
And there you are the smug ones, boasting about 'oh we tell our clients to check our good reviews', whilst Dominic is laughing his bottom off as you publicize his money spinner for free.
And exactly what do we get out of it, apart from the chance to beat each other up for his amusement?
@HD - no - not having fun - I am explaining what All Agents told me when I challenged them on this subject and to show its not as easy as your perhaps thought
Agents may leave fake reviews - but one review will have little impact. If they try to add multiple reviews - they will probably get caught
Meerkat
You said
'These guys will not only remove any reviews that are found false, but the will public ally publish on your profile that you are a CHEAT!'
But in many previous chats in these forums, other agents have complained to all agents about fake reviews, bogus comments and actual slandering, and AA have done nothing about it.
5 star agents - "Great instruction getter"
1 star agents - "All made up lies"
HD - "This internet thingy will never catch on."
Me - I would rather have good reviews than defend bad ones. Work with it - embrace it - make it work for you.
If you had to have your FULL name published - the reviews would simply stop. Imagine being the person who said 2I give Foxtons 5 stars" - you would be hunted down
Mike
I can see your having fun picking apart my post. Just for the record I haven't and will not be posting any reviews there.
You say why would people go to so much effort, but I am sure there are agents out there right now, leaving fake and poor reviews on their competitors AA pages.
Acronym
Your last sentence somes it all up, its all to easy to post bogus reviews and fake details.
@hd
It is impossible to do that. AA have been so successful to date because of their integrity and they take any form of cheating seriously.
Have
You read section 8 of their terms and conditions yet http://www.allagents.co.uk/terms-conditions/
These guys will not only remove any reviews that are found false, but the will public ally publish on your profile that you are a CHEAT!
How damaging would that be if you had an independent review site state that you were caught cheating . You would be better closing up shop!
@HD - if you think you have 5 forms of IP address which you could use at your desk then try and see what happens.
All agents doesnt take reviews from 3G connections - all mobile devices which use your wireless network will have the same IP address. Of course you can set up 5 new emails addresses - but why would anyone go to so much effort - they wouldnt and amazingly, review sites which use this formula are recorded as being uncannily accurate over time.
Top Table - Trip adviser - all agents
All have to start somewhere - all use a similar format - all open to the same abuse. All influence decisions. This is a fact.
@happy agent is spot on.
We never criticise anyone - but we ask potential clients whether they have checked reviews on All Agents - most appreciate it.
One even said "I am so glad you gave me that All Agents site - I nearly instructed XXXXXXX - glad I didnt"
Pinch of Salt?
We were TODAY instructed on a house based upon a thread on a local web forum headed "Can anyone recommended a good estate agent" - ALL comments are anonymous - but we got the call based on the comments.
Mike
Why is it a stupid comment, when it is really that easy to do.
I said 'I could' do it, not 'I am going to do it'. Not hard to make up and email address and i have 5 different forms of an IP address just sitting on my desk.
All I'm trying to point out is, these reviews, whether good or bad, can only be taking at face value because it is extremely easy to abuse, thats all.
@HD "displaying full names of the reviewers,"
Are you insane? It could lead to all sorts of trouble, retribution, confrontation etc. many people would feel scared to do that - heavens above - even workers in banks etc don't have surnames on their name badges these days.
Besides - who is to say the name is real and even if it is - the person reading the review doesnt know the person who left it
Even if the customer hasn't Heard of the site personally, I am sure he is getting pointed in the right direction by the higher ranking agents.
I agree 100% with London agent. If agents believe this site is not affecting their business then they are in for a big surprise.
We come up against the corporates and can beat them hands down thanks to our customer reviews.
The big boys must surely be feeling the pinch now.
HD - really? What a stupid comment.
Try it - and see what happens. AA are not stupid. You would need 20 different IP addresses and 20 different email addresses - why would anyone bother?
Incidentally, 20 5 star reviews would result in their average rank increasing to 3 stars assuming none of their customers add anything
Interesting but the agent i think always has the right to reply so this should be used.
Also why does he not want his surname used, I had to laugh at that.
We had a bad google review from a would be tenant who didn't meet necessary criteria saying we were 'mandatory about who we let to'.
Brilliant, it brought me two landlords, one read it and was encouraged then his friend followed suit.
However reviews from any T,Dor H without substance are not fair. Like HD though, anyone who pitches by slagging off a competitor is shown the door.
Over the next couple of months I could post 20 or so, 5 star reviews on Wooster and Stock, they would move up the ratings and their 1 star comments would be far forgotten about.
And that is that main problem with Allagents.
As said below, if they actually worked with the agents, and then took a lot more detail from the potential reviewiers, along with displaying full names of the reviewiers, they may start getting somewhere towards be fair.
Review sites are generally bogus, most reviews are fake and written by those with ulterior motives, anyone who thinks otherwise is gullible.
Its an argument that you wont win.
High ranked agents will use it to their advantage, low ranked agents will dismiss it as irrelevant and may even believe that
It is indeed true that one review has no relevance, but a dozen all saying the same thing WILL influence a potential customer.
Only people who are interested in reviews will visit All Agents - people who don't place importance on such things wont visit.
In a world where Tripadviser has been so immensely successful there is hunger for such things and if anything too much importance attached to anonymous comments.
Restaurants have closed because of anonymous reviews.
Everyone wants to be a judge and a critic. If you think this business is different, you are bonkers.
8 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskers, -Note- all these cats where anonymous - but it sold pet food.
Argue all the points you like - but research disagrees.
Aceofspades - you are deluded mate - believe what you will, but in the world of social media you are alone. Review sites, forums, opinions count far more than you think.
As someone said - its about trends.
People with heads in sand here thinking that people don't take note of reviews and looking for reasons it doesn't affect them - fools.
Zoopla web ranking: 21,575
All Agents Web rank: 10,000
The average person views 4 pages and spends 7 mins on the site
QED
Is there any other agents in the bottom 100 prepared to go public about their ratings??
JamieK - I think you are completely out of touch. The sole purpose of this site is to rate agents. True or true? Then why can anyone post? It defeats the object.
If AA wanted to provide a useful service, it would be linked with agents to ensure only those who have dealt with them can review.
Otherwise, it is just another site full of crap - AA seem to think they are different/better than that, but I don't see it.
You said "All agents just puts them in context and in one place. "
In one place, arguably. In context, definitely not!
This forum is getting interesting now!
Luke you have the whole industry now interested in this now (as well as your competition)
Luke your reputation is at stake here, take up the wooster challenge and shut your critiques up
If Luke joins Lind Bellinghams franchise - will the be Wooster & Stock & Sock or Wooster & Stock cubed?
Well said @serco
Wooster & stock have not responded to a single review defending themselves yet they choose to go public about it!
So the challenge to Wooster is to respond to every review on their profile page stating that they are false and to ask the reviewer to provide further details.
If luke can't do that then you have to take these reviews as a true reflection on how he runs his business.
Why is it that we have agents here complaining that all negative reviews are false and not a mention of the false ones.
I have been reading a lot of the negative reviews (that's the ones you claim are false) and very rarely have I seen an agent go on there to defend it via this sites "right to reply"
Look at wooster & stocks profile for instance. They are fully aware of these negative reviews and even claim that they are false, HOWEVER have they ever responded to any of them stating that.....the short answer is NO. The long answer is NO because they are probably all true..
This is the rubbish we hear from agents. Everything is false when its negative but true when its positive.
IT Guru is absolutely correct. Anyone who thinks anonymous reviews have no influence is kidding themselves.
We KNOW that one review is not influential - but when there are 20 - a customer will think "They can all be wrong"
Its how trip adviser works - one off comments have little effect - but recurring themes and repeated faults have an impact.
Its rather like Twitter and data mining - that ONE person had for dinner is of no relevance - what 10,000 people eat has commercial value. Trends are key.
Gallop and Mori make a living from what are effectively anonymous opinions.
Ignore them at your peril.
So - as if by magic, Wooster & Stock get a 5 star review - it reads
"Great service, fantastic client database. Thoughtful and creative profile production with excellent photography and website. Friendly efficient and patient."
A very odd review.
Thursday - You are incorrect. Review sites make a difference for many reasons - look at the traffic All Agents gets. Are you suggesting that thousands of people visit it because they are NOT interested? No - they visit and are influenced. FACT
Its exactly the same with local web forums and notice boards - anonymous posters, but huge impact. I was a seminar re: Rightmove Places and met a number of social media / web gurus and the power of comment is huge.
Studies by independent research groups like Forrester Research, comScore, The Kelsey Group, and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association show that rating and review sites influence consumer behaviour.
Jamie - no-one can guarantee that anything written on Twitter, FB etc was written by a genuine client or customer. Therefore they're taken with a pinch of salt, and not taken as gospel.
Likewise, no-one can guarantee that anything written on Allagents was written by a genuine client or customer, therefore the same 'pinch of salt' rule applies......
AceofSpades - with respect, you appear out of touch. Anyone can write anything on the internet - Twitter, Facebook etc are all searchable through Google and comments are effectively indelible. All agents just puts them in context and in one place.
Wooster & Stocks ranking is no surprise frankly - I know them well and we have picked up lots of business as a result on customer perception.
Opportunity here - That is ridiculous.
How can this present an opportunity when Tom, Dick or Harry can write whatever the hell they like without any control of genuine posts?
How can ANYONE post? Defeats the object...The quality of the information that AA provide is inaccurate. Not good when your whole business model revolves around providing information.
The fact that Wooster & Stock are in this terrible ratings position confirms just how shoddy this 'get rich quick' scheme actually is.
For a consumer to read an unverified and possibly false review does that consumer no favours at all. A reply to a bad review won’t do you any good as the damage has already been done.
While unscrupulous agents can slander better competitors and leave reviews on their own firms this site has zero credibility. Nobody is saying agents shouldn’t be reviewed but if it can’t be done in a controlled fashion then what’s the point?
Thats without going into the 'transparent agent' ethics
Opportunity wrote;
"What ever we think of Allagents, it has given us a platform to force these agents into the limelight. "
No it hasn't. It's given a platform to any Tom, Dick and Harry to post anything they like. It's essentially an internet
forum where everyone posts under aliases, same as this 'forum' that we're posting in now. There's no guarantee that anyone posting there is a genuine customer of the EA reviewed.
I'll repeat someone else's post from earlier -
==================
Allagents have no way of verifying if the reviews of agency performance is coming from:
Genuine clients with complaints or praise.
Rogue clients with an axe to grind.
Rival agencies trying to discredit the competition.
Internet trolls with time on their hands, and malice in mind.
Megaportal bosses punishing those who will not sign up with them.
=======================
and be honest, it's all very well saying "Encourage your satisfied clients to post reviews" but if there's two or three malicious or ill-informed reviews on allagents already, would you want to send your good clients there to read them....?
These review sites are a very controversial subject to discuss, however there is a positive aspect here.
There is no doubt that there are rogue agents out there and unless mandatory regulation comes in, these guys are going to continue "under the radar".
What ever we think of Allagents, it has given us a platform to force these agents into the limelight.
If agents were to promote Allagents and made more customers aware of it then it would only be a matter of time before it hurt the rogue agents and in return the law abiding agents would win by gaining their business.
We all agree they shouldnt be in business, this is perhaps the best opportunity we have got of putting them out of business
@ get real
You really never really put a lot of thought into what you wrote, did you?
The site give balanced reviews???
Are you implying that agents have a right to have good reviews even though they don't deserve them??
The site has plenty of balanced reviews on agents. That's why some agents are doing great on it and rightfully capitalizing on it, where as the bad agents are finding it hard now to hide behind their false charm.
We don't need regulation anymore. Consumers will force self regulation in the industry with the help of this site.
And one thing is for sure, the negative comments here are certainly not coming from their 5 star agents
Martin (LegalEagle), Ambitions to be as big as Trip Advisor?
Sorry mate, never going to happen. Holiday review sites work as you get a balance of good and bad reviews and the consumer can then make up their own mind based on lots of information on the resort.
However with estate agents its a bit like asking holidaymakers to rate the airline. Most people who post will be moaners, as people who like the airline don;t have any reason to post. Thats the same for estate agency, most people will only post if they've had a poor service. Some may be asked to post if they've had a good service, but it is against human nature to spend time saying how good something is.
The business model for allagents does not stackup. Its a fad that won't last and won't be treated seriously by consumers. In fact its mainly for naval gazing by the industry who probably make up the majority of hits on the site. Next..!
Referenceline has been providing reviews for the Property Ombudsman and the Office of Fair Trading approved Sales code since 2003.
Anonymous, malicious users are blocked because agents only give access to genuine customers. Agents can't block negative reviews because genuine customers can contact Referenceline directly. Both sides are protected.
Negative reviews account for roughly 3% of the total. The most important indicator isn't the rating, or the occasional complaint, but a track record of hundreds of reviews established over several years.
Was this not a bit stupid asking eat to highlight the fact that you were one of the worst rated agents in the uk!
This is now permanently on record and I am sure any
Competitor will use to their advantage!
Rumor
Ha ha love it.
And if you get 5 bad reviews the megaportal bars your properties. Until you improve by paying a £1000 fine to get your listings back up. After all they have to police their members!
Think it cant happen.
Never thought you would pay a fine for a photo of your car.
Never thought you would be barred from smoking in a pub.
Never thought.......well fill the rest in yourself
There is a rumour going about that one of the portals is about to buy it.
Has anyone else heard that? Is there any truth in it?
Rightmove abuses agents
Give him a call, he may very well ask if those affected want to pursue a joint action.
Ahhh how it works, get 1000, desperate to increase business EAs, signing up to something nice and shiny at a mere £100 registration fee and walk away with £100,000.
No wonder we attract these Pettemore types
Mike as well:
Do you read my posts?
If I have had any negative reviews I have never read them, I am not interested in what these minnows have to say about me, my family or our operations. I am interested in protecting my industry from spivs and sharks.
If Google publish anything detrimental which may affect any of our operations, I have a damned good legal team in America we pay them a hell of a lot of money to deal with things of that sort.
I don't need to or am inclined to bully anyone to gain business.
What I am interested in is how our industry is developing, and how best to utilize new technology to benefit us all, I am not fond of those who latch onto this industry, leech out profits and provide nothing, and slag us off in the process.
Anon Poster, 5 posts down.
If you really are an agent then thats a massive worry.
If you came to value my home, waiving someones bad review in my face, i guarantee you wouldn't be getting my business.
@rightmove abuses agents
No its ok, ive changed my mind now. We just got a good review there :)
Mike,
What if Yair Cohen at Bains Cohen were to set up am 'Allagent Fighting Fund' at £50 a subscription and he got 1000 letting and sales agents on board as subscribers, that would give him a £50k in the kitty to get busy.
1. Would Yair fancy it
2. Would at least 1000 agents shell out to stop Martin in his bedroom, clicking his way to fortune at our expense?
Just a thought.
If he was any good, he could then take on Rightmove for us.
You obviously must spend a lot of your time fighting review sites like google and Allagents.
This is just my opinion but would it not be better to perhaps try and Improve on your service than to try and bully every review site from publishing negative reviews about you??
another nice post Mike, I like the cut of your jib.
If I was a competitor of this agent, I would now be printing off this story and showing it to everyone of my valuations.
What a stupid thing to publicise.
Thanks for the info, that is very interesting, however, agents are not going to do anything about it. We will moan until the cows come home, knowing full well the information you have posted and yet we will not have the sense to join forces and threaten with legal action.
Everybody waits for someone else to start.
To deal with Allagents [source unverified] detrimental reviews.
Try Yair Cohen at Bains Cohen, he is an internet law specialist.
Please note I have no connection with this company, but I have found they give very good advice, and have done so for free!!!!
Allagents must adopt the following practice or the only publicity they will be getting is the reporting of lawsuits against them.
A reviewer must give their correct name and contact details, along with a brief description of what service they required the agency to perform.
The comments then go into moderation whilst the reviewed agency is contacted to say a review is pending [the content is not revealed].
The agency confirm that this is a client of theirs, and therefore has aright to comment on their service.
The review is then published, with the agent given right of reply.
If the review is unfounded and malicious, the EA can then pursue that person, through the courts if necessary, the fact that they are no longer anonymous or invisible will stop most unfounded detrimental postings.
This would give the site credibility, and we would then be able to take bad reviews as constructive criticism, a tool to improve our service., and revel in the genuinely good comment.
Allagents, for this advice on correcting and improving your service I would normally charge a very heavy consultancy fee, if you do take this on board, just donate £5K to a decent local charity and post the details on your website.
A story is writen today about Wooster & stocks negative reviews and yet they have now they suddenly get a 5 star review!
You never know, by the end of the day they might have even joined their transparent agent scheme!!
It's all very well telling the customer that it's a lot of rubbish, but who does he customer believe?
An agent that's being slated on it or an agent that has been praised on it!
And that's only if the agent indeed gets the opportunity of coming out to do a valulation!
It's very controversial but it is influencing customers decision making
Bulldog,
I am listed on Allagents.
And I do ignore them.
They are meaningless, unknown, not a factor, I am still top lister in my patch.
I have just one comment there, an unhappy renter who was refused a tenancy.
Not a customer i.e. a vendor or a landlord.
What use is it?
If allagents only took comments from Landlords and vendors regarding the let or sale of their property it might just have a tad of meaning.
As it is, it will always draw comments from both buyers and renters and by default many of these people will be unhappy because thet will often not get what they want.
How would the comments go if they set up allauctions?
All those unhappy bidders compared to winners...
It is meaningless
Forget it
dont promote it
If you find a competitor is promoting it, point out the stupidity of this site and the stupidity of any agent who would promote it. Then ask the potential client if they really want such a nieve, stupid agent representing the sale or let of their property, then whip out your contract and give them a higher fee
Allagents have no way of verifying if the reviews of agency performance is coming from:
Genuine clients with complaints or praise.
Rouge clients with an axe to grind.
Rival agencies trying to discredit the competition.
Internet trolls with time on their hands, and malice in mind.
Megaportal bosses punishing those who will not sign up with them.
What they are doing is giving unfettered access for unregulated and unverified comment to be posted on their site.
They know nothing about the individual agencies, not even if they actually exist.
This can be extremely detrimental [in business terms] if someone takes umbridge with an agency [for whatever reason] , forget the brick through the window in the middle of the night, they will just destroy your business on line.
We have had this problem with Google for years, taking unchecked stuff from anyone, publishing it, then refusing to take it down when it is proved false, some fellow entrepreneurs have actually lost their businesses due to this.
Well we have now found out how to deal with Google and get them to take stuff down.
I suggest the same method with with Allagents.
I have tried to post a good review on AA before and could not change the star rating - so I know this 'Martin' fellow is not exactly forthcoming with the truth! (But why would he be when the truth will highlight the ridiculousness of this site!!!)
Good for Wooster & Stock being brave enough to speak out about this ridiculous and malicious website! W&S's confidence in their success obviously outweighs being too timid to speak out about something that is wrong.
A few months ago, allagents was being slated on this site. Now it appears to be getting welcomed.
have agents now got over the shock factor and started accepting that its time to embrace allagents?
Wooster & Stock appear to have got it, latest post today and all five stars ticked, see its not hard to fix it , is it?
@rightmove abuses agents
"the way to deal with it is to ignore it"
Do you honestly believe that is he way forward??
This site has got local and national rankings that are getting used by customers to compare one agent against the other now.
It's like football leagues now that they have brought out.
This site cannot cannot be ignored anymore and any agent that wants to remain in the game has to now play the game.
We too had issues with this website as the comments
that were attributed to our company were infact for a company that has the same name but is over 10 miles away AND is trading with totally different owners, different VAT registration and totally different registration at companies house. In short allagents did not even do the most basic check to see if the two companies were one of the same. When i raised this and sited a potential legal issue they did not resolve this or contact me they actually just made BOTH companies invisable. NO GOOD OR BAD comments? Its a shame because the comments that related to us were really good.
The way to deal with it is ignore them.
If you do want to tell your customers about this site, do mention trip advisor in the same conversation, 'You Know'
"want a giggle? Look up where you last had a holiday on Trip Advisor' and see what the perpetual whinging angry thought, it will give you such a laugh"
"Oh, don't forget compare the market.com, I believe Direct Line will have no truck with them"
Lastly, look up these blokes Allagents, look up some of the big agencies like Haart, Your Move and Foxtons, you will giggle for hours.
It's a joke.
Take it as that.
Do not promote it
It's all very well saying "Encourage your satisfied clients to post reviews" but honestly - if there's two or three malicious or ill-informed reviews on allagents already, would you want to send good clients there to read them....?
Given the nature of our beast dissatisfied customers are inevitable. Imagine if you will, a review site for Benefits Agencies (DSS) and you start to get the picture.
Impossible to police, subjugating any right to defence their shock and awe tactics are working, we're getting f****ed and they didn't even buy us dinner!
Maybe the way forward is aggressively soliciting a positive review from every customer, hey If you can't beat them...
I really think Wooster & stock were very ill advised to highlight themselves in this way.
Own Goal or what?
If you know Wooster & Stock you will know that All Agents are providing a service to would be clients.
my only big gripe is that the 10 Best Rated Agents in the UK / London are transparent agents - an agent who is not one of the club cant break into the top ten, so the list is selective
HOWEVER the worst 10 agents can be anyone!!
Thats not fair and certainly is NOT transparent and not explained.
Yea there are malicious reviews on their site that has resulted in them being 8367.
It's the 2 good ones that they wrote themselves!
Steve is absolutely correct, tenants who post their moans on AllAgents are the ones who know they have not played the game e.g. have not read their contract, trashed the house, or will not accept that the landlord is our client and if the landlord says he does not want to spend additional money on the property there is nothing we can do about it.
These people know they have no genuine case otherwise they would complain to the TDS, The Lettings Ombudsman, ARLA or the RICS, it is far too easy for them to post spiteful lies on All Agents or the web generally and be totally anonymous.
Agents don't sign up to All Agents they are dragged into it as soon as a rogue tenant posts unproven damming accusations about them
@ SteveFromLeicester - Excellent point - some advice pages with 'Before you complain' would be very useful
By the way, when I say "Why do people give this site credibility" I do of course mean Allagents, not LAT :-)
Why do people keep giving this site credibility by engaging with it?
I can only speak from a lettings point of view. Virtually all the criticism of letting agents revolves around deposit disputes and failure to carry out maintenance. As we all (should) know, both of these issues are down to the landlord - the agent is merely the landlord's representative, and if the landlord in question happens to be an arse there's nothing the agent can do (except dis-instruct him of course, but by then the damage is done).
Instead of providing a platform for tenants who misunderstand to vent their spleen why doesn't Allagents do something useful?
If Allagents publicised the fact that tenants can take deposit disputes to independent arbitration, take maintenance issues to Environmental Health via HHSRS etc, and of course explain that the agent is paid by the landlord and therefore has a legal requirement to act in the landlord (not the tenant's) best interests, they'd be providing a useful service whilst retaining a platform for those who have genuinely received poor service from their agent
We have testimonials on our website - but obviously they are all good. How much credence will a potential client give them? Good for SEO - but falls in to the 'they would say that wouldn't they'. There is no more guarantee that such postings on agents websites are any more genuine that All Agents.
Review sites such as Tripadviser will always have the odd malicious review. Likewise most people only comment when service is exceptionally good, or exceptionally bad - there are few 3 star reviews.
Simply, customers are not stupid and will look at the majority opinion and compare that with other local agents. Its self levelling really so I agree, focus on the good and respond to the bad in a professional, dispassionate manner. Even the odd apology isn't a bad thing.
and can help exploit the rogue agents out there...
Do you mean 'expose'?
2012-01-25 10:34:40 -
Your posting reads like a sales pitch. Are you the operater of AllAgents, by any chance?
AA appears to have just sprung up over the last few months and RM has become the most talked out site in the industry.
I have spoken to martin and they have some fantastic ideas on where they want to take it.
It's all very positive for the industry (well at least for the law abiding ones), so don't be afraid of it.
They have started adding new features and are allowing agents to publish their own internal complaints procedures.
Allagents is good for the industry and can help exploit the rogue agents out there
In my opinion, the star rating could also apply to how much the agent likes the site. 5 star agents love it - 1 star agents hate it.
We had a 5 star review - and we aren't very good. I wont complain though.
Odd that ;)
@Get real - er, Get Real and dream on mate.
Trip adviser is EXACTLY the same and is WORLDWIDE. Its growing. Its now the 77th most visited site in the UK and in the top 2000 in the world.
Check up on libel laws. The reviewer could be sued for libel, not the site. If I say something to a journalist which is reported in a paper, its me who would be sued - not the paper.
If All Agents can demonstrate that they have mechanisms for abuse in place and moderation together with checks to detect repeated vendetta like claims, then they have a defence.
If I were Wooster & Stock I would spend more time generating positive reviews and less time telling everyone they are ranked as one of the worst agents in the UK.
We have had 4 bad reviews. 2 were tenants misunderstanding what an agent must do my law - one was utter nonsense and seemed made up, and the other inexplicable. Our overall ranking hardly changed due to the number of positive reviews.
Every time a deal goes through, we ask the parties concerned if they are happy with the service. Those who say YES get a link and a plea to add a comment.
Works for us and we love it. We never moan about other agents, we just suggest customers check the site. Independent reviews are very very powerful.
I like All agents - its a good system and looking at the traffic rank, so do customers.
Fact is, a good agent will generate lots of good reviews and the bad ones will have a minimal effect on overall rating.
Play the game - ask happy customers to leave a review and get all staff to do the same. You cant opt out of the site - so its better to embrace it. Moaning about it wont change anything and potential customers will just see the bad and not know the context.
We suspected a few malicious posts - so challenged them.
I know All Agents track IP addresses and email addresses - so if a malicious idiot is operating a vendetta, they would have to use different computers in different locations with different email addresses. Does that really seem likely?
Just waiting for this site to be closed under the pressure of libel cases from agents who have been falsely reviewed by their competitor agents (agents surely wouldn't do such a thing ? It's only a matter of time.
Signing up to the "Transparent Agent" scheme would be the eqivalent of appearing on the Jeremy Kyle/ Jerry Springer Show. Does anyone really want to deal with their car crash clients. Really!! Jerry Jerry Jerry Jerry.
OMG- They have even brought out a featured reviews section for the public to feature their favourite reviews!!!!
Alhough they say that the agent can use this facility as well, I can see it getting abused!
Old debate, but you only have to see the illogical stupid comments from folk that have no idea how the industry works, the likes of rantnrave will Hicks etc on here, that any site like this is going to be full or similar nonsense, many don’t even realise the agent works for the seller not buyers, so when the latter lose out to a job well done, they will squeal as the HPC crew that infest this site do.
Suggest learn to live with it.
I note that the IP reference has now been removed from AllAgents. This means that you cannot see on the screen where the reviews are coming. This was originally put in to prevent agents from giving themselves positive self-reviews, but is also useful to stop competitors from posting false reviews.
I find the site incredibly depressing to read and it is very one sided. The operators of these types of sites need to take more responsibility for what is said and offer an automatic right to reply before posting.
whether you like them or not, allagents is here to stay and i know of 2 agents that are promoting it heavily. So it is clearly giving some agents a competitive edge
In fairness to the website, if it gives the agents a right to reply then they only have themselves to blame
Signing up to this scheme is signing up to Russian roulette.
They may have been successful, however to be in the bottom worst agents in the uk then they clearly have issues that need to be addressed!
to be honest who in their right mind would saign up to Allagents it is just asking for trouble of this nature