x

Dave Robertson

974 Profile Views

About Me

my expertise in the industry

Dave's Recent Activity

Please find an official comment from Trustpilot below: As the original article in The Times, unfortunately, includes a misrepresentation of the Trustpilot platform and the way we work, we would like to take this opportunity to clarify these to avoid any misunderstandings. The Times article claims that “Trustpilot admits that its technology allows subscribers to filter out bad reviews…”. However, the fact is that no company - paying or non-paying can filter reviews on Trustpilot. Companies that subscribe to one of our paid plans do have access to widgets that allow them to pull in reviews dynamically from their Trustpilot company profile pages to their own website. But we do not allow in any way companies to filter out bad reviews on Trustpilot. The Times article says that “Critics of the company say the findings show how corporate subscribers are able to use its marketing and reputation management tools to manipulate their ratings.” However, no company can pre-moderate, pre-select or censor reviews written on Trustpilot. We strongly believe in the power of being open to everyone and again no company can edit, delay, deselect or prohibit a review from being published on Trustpilot. All companies on Trustpilot must abide by the same rules - whether a company is a paying customer at Trustpilot or not has no bearing whatsoever on how their reviews are treated. The Times article references a British Hospitality Association survey - from 2017 - but it’s not made clear that all companies - paying or non-paying - have access to the exact same reporting tools and that reporting a review is as simple as sending the Compliance Team at Trustpilot an email. The Times article also refers to an individual who owns the company R3 who’s frustrated with Truspilot’s dealings with what he thinks are fake reviews. Since 2016 he has sent Trustpilot more than 2,300 emails. We’ve investigated every single claim that he has presented to us and have happily shared our findings publicly. At Trustpilot, we have a zero-tolerance policy towards any misuse of our review platform and we invest heavily in this area. If we find that any company is violating our guidelines, we investigate and take appropriate action. If a company is found to have solicited fake reviews, we can issue a Consumer Alert on its Trustpilot page, letting the world know of attempts to mislead consumers. We see this as a key way to combat fraud, as sharing this type of information in a transparent way can help better inform both consumers and companies. The review industry has got plenty of work ahead. It’s by no means a perfect world. And yes, now and then you’ll find someone who is trying to game the system and manages to publish the occasional fake review, on our platform or any other. But with the very best processes, people and technology we have in place, we make sure everyone can use Trustpilot with confidence.

From: Dave Robertson 23 March 2019 10:46 AM

Hi there, I'm responding on behalf of Trustpilot. Trustpilot is an open platform that any company or consumer can use for free. Companies who wish to engage even more with their customers can buy additional services. Paid services include automatic review invitations and access to statistical and analytical tools. All companies on Trustpilot must abide by the same rules - whether a company is a paying customer at Trustpilot or not has no bearing whatsoever on how their reviews are treated. No company can edit, delay, deselect or prohibit a review from being published on Trustpilot. If we find that any company is violating our guidelines, we investigate and take appropriate action. This could include a Cease & Desist procedure that may result in a Consumer Alert being placed on the company’s Trustpilot profile. A Consumer Alert informs Trustpilot users about the company’s deliberate attempts to mislead consumers. I hope this clarifies on the comment made above.

From: Dave Robertson 08 February 2019 11:23 AM

Breaking News