View Full Version : Recommendations thread gone
Hmmmmm.
VERY sad to see this go...for obvious reasons
Yep, it's a shame it's gone.......
The Music Monster
07-Mar-11, 19:47
It is definitely sad... I relied on that to find out what the best place to eat out was, where to get a good window cleaner, and mechanics for the car. It was a really useful part of the board!
I feel it was great when it was positive but some used it to knock business in the area which could lead to unfair impressions.
silverlady
07-Mar-11, 20:39
So.....so we use the General section now? That won't stop the folk that want to knock local business. I think its a shame too.
I am also disapointed to see the recommendations section going. Once again the threat of legal action silencing the masses! It would be
intresting to know who was making the threats.
I am also disapointed to see the recommendations section going. Once again the threat of legal action silencing the masses! It would be
intresting to know who was making the threats.
It would be more interesting to know who were making the majority of the recommendations/defamatory comments and the real reasons they are making them........I'd say Org admin are more privy to the whose and whys than we know.....;)
Far from being the 'masses', I would say a miniscule of the population of Caithness posted on the recommendations thread.
Good ridance to it I say, nothing worse than 'Ivaflowershop' asking for a good Florist!
I'm sad to see it go; as an incomer to the area I relied upon it heavily for information.
Not the derogatory comments as such, but someone/business must be really good if a number of people comment on how they would use them again if required.
Bobinovich
07-Mar-11, 23:13
Also very sad to see it gone - it and Tech Support have most often been my first stops on the Forum :(
rogermellie
08-Mar-11, 00:52
seems a bit of a knee jerk reaction to completely remove the section rather than just remove any offending posts.
how can a company threaten legal action because of the views of their customers ?
this ain't China, if i think a company is crap then i'd like to have the freedom to let others know about it.
it also works both ways, some companies and individuals will likely lose custom because of the removal of this section.
bring back the section and deal with offending posts as and when :roll:
Bill Fernie
08-Mar-11, 01:01
The real problem with the recommendations section from my perspective is the endless hassle it causes for us. With complaints via pm. email and phone calls. Disagreements over ourdecisions, talking folk round about leaving coments on to see how the threads go. Repeat calls etc. At the end of the day it was taking too much time up dealing with it. No other section has created so many problems for us. If folk had done as Colin had said and used it for recommendations for something that was good and not for complaints then it might have remained.
Dog-eared
08-Mar-11, 01:02
I think there were quite a lot of people recommending friend's businesses and a bit of backbiting, but it was generally good.
I've acted on recommendations and been pleased,and you could generally suss the genuine ones.
rogermellie
08-Mar-11, 01:20
The real problem with the recommendations section from my perspective is the endless hassle it causes for us. With complaints via pm. email and phone calls. Disagreements over ourdecisions, talking folk round about leaving coments on to see how the threads go. Repeat calls etc. At the end of the day it was taking too much time up dealing with it. No other section has created so many problems for us. If folk had done as Colin had said and used it for recommendations for something that was good and not for complaints then it might have remained.
thanks for the explanation.
i took recommendations to mean the good and the bad. never realised it was meant just for praise.
fair enough, if it's too much hassle with complaints etc, but will this not just move similar threads and posts into the General section ?
Aquashield et al will be delighted by this decision and carry on ripping off the good folk of Caithness. (if that comment is libelous i'll pay the damages myself)
Interesting that someone with a bad recommendation would rather threaten legal action than address the problem and improve the service or quality
Hasn't suprised me 1 bit that it has been removed!!
Niall Fernie
08-Mar-11, 11:54
VERY sad to see this go.
So are we, it has been overall a very good section on our site however a couple of business categories, for example restaurants and anything to do with the motor industry, attract exactly the type of people and posts we had hoped to avoid.
A good rule in business is not to slag off your competitors as it makes you look like you are worried about the fact that they exist and perhaps not able to work to at least their standard.
Take for example one of the most recent recommendations where someone was recommending a company to do spray painting on their car. Well who pops up into the thread but upolian to agree that they might be cheap because their work is substandard. Of course if you look at upolian's profile you will see that he is the owner of ecosse auto detailing, a competitor feeling the pinch perhaps?
We have also had ex-employees slagging off their old employers and various other examples of business people trying to down their competitors.
I think its also sad that many of the businesses who have contact us to complain or to make threats of legal action were not robust enough to take the critism or to come on to the forum and deal with the issues head on.
Interesting that someone with a bad recommendation would rather threaten legal action than address the problem and improve the service or quality
A recent example was in the thread about websites for local property agents, like the solicitors. One of them at least had the wherewithall to take the comments head on, deal with them and not only that but make improvements to their setup as well. Fantastic, just the type of attitude you would expect from an experienced business person. I feel that type of response must have made that business look far more attractive than the alternative approach which seems to be denying any possibility that something might have gone wrong, doing something about it and then threatening legal action if the whole thing is not removed from our web site.
So.....so we use the General section now?
No, not unless when you ask for a recommendation, you lock the thread right away and allow people to Private Message their opinions to you.
Far from being the 'masses', I would say a miniscule of the population of Caithness posted on the recommendations thread.
Well you are entitled to your opinion but the section did manage to clock up over 18,000 posts and I know that a large number of people, much like in any other section of the forum, read the posts there with interest. The first page of threads had almost 20,000 views between them.
bring back the section and deal with offending posts as and when
This is something we will be considering in the future when we have had further discussions about it.
A recent example was in the thread about websites for local property agents, like the solicitors. One of them at least had the wherewithall to take the comments head on, deal with them and not only that but make improvements to their setup as well. Fantastic, just the type of attitude you would expect from an experienced business person. I feel that type of response must have made that business look far more attractive than the alternative approach which seems to be denying any possibility that something might have gone wrong, doing something about it and then threatening legal action if the whole thing is not removed from our web site.
I know the one you mean, and thought it was a brilliant response - a good bit of PR to boot, but they certainly listened and responded - you should have made it a sticky thread at the top of the Recommendations section to shame the others.
northener
08-Mar-11, 13:18
Unfortunately there will always be those who are very vocal when they've got a problem, many times to the detriment of a little matter called truth.
Wasn't it odd that some peoples' first port of call when they had a problem was the 'Recommend' section and not the business they had a gripe with? Says a lot about some people.....
Hope we get it back one day.
northener
08-Mar-11, 13:20
It would be more interesting to know who were making the majority of the recommendations/defamatory comments and the real reasons they are making them........I'd say Org admin are more privy to the whose and whys than we know.....;)
Far from being the 'masses', I would say a miniscule of the population of Caithness posted on the recommendations thread.
Good ridance to it I say, nothing worse than 'Ivaflowershop' asking for a good Florist!
Horsepoop, Droopy.
I've had plenty of business directed my way via the Recommend section.
And I've used it myself for eating/services recommends, too.
SunnyChick
08-Mar-11, 13:23
Sad to read about this. I often used this thread to share a good experience of local business with you orgers! In particular I used to recommend good places to eat!
So...what about a reviews spot instead? So, and this is just a thought, so don't shoot me down in flames please anyone...
Local businesses would first have to request for their name to be added in - i.e., they would need to give permission first!
Orgers could use a star/points system to rate the business on certain aspects (i.e., cleanliness, customer care, efficiency, etc).
It could help provide local business with HELPFUL feedback, rather than angry criticism.
It could also provide orgers who were looking for a particular service - example: a family friendly restaurant, the best place to buy a box of nails, a reliable dog walker, etc....
It's one thing for a company to respond to criticism of their services or failings but when there is a situation of pure lies being peddled, especially by a competitor, it becomes a different game. Hence why some would respond with legal action, or threaten it.
I don't know the ins and outs of what may have gone on on the .org and certainly don't know what, why or how legal action as been used against Messrs Fernie. But from a business' point of view it may be their only option to get untruths removed.
Naturally as they have pointed out they have neither the time nor finance to try and counter any of these potential claims nor validate the accuracy of posts so they are forced to remove the risk.
Shame though really.
orkneycadian
08-Mar-11, 17:16
Maybe admin could fill the space left by this section with a large link to Google, and a tutorial page on how it can be used? ;)
Maybe admin could fill the space left by this section with a large link to Google, and a tutorial page on how it can be used? ;)
Or a list of phone numbers and opening times of all the shops in Caithness !!!
C3.....:roll:;)
I have always made the recommendations section my first port of call.
Sad to see it gone.
rogermellie
08-Mar-11, 18:46
Maybe admin could fill the space left by this section with a large link to Google, and a tutorial page on how it can be used? ;)
Or a list of phone numbers and opening times of all the shops in Caithness !!!
C3.....:roll:;)
but surely this would spell the end of the general section ?
orkneycadian
08-Mar-11, 18:48
Yep, could be a close call!
oldmarine
08-Mar-11, 19:38
I never used the thread, but there appears to be a lot of disappointed people who did use it. The Administrator did gave a good reason for its discontinuation. Too bad that there are people who insist on abusing the system.
leafylass
08-Mar-11, 20:16
Also sad to see this section go as one of the first sections I looked in when I go into the messageboard. Unfortunately some people need to go back to school and refresh their knowledge of the definition of the word recommendation
"something that recommends (or expresses commendation of) a person or thing as worthy or desirable"
As stated by Niall, too many people used it to have a go at competitors or ex employers OR perhaps not having the most positive experience with a service have decided to tell the world about it. This is not a recommendation.
If the rules made it that persons had to stick to any "recommendations" of products/services rather than opinions then it would avoid such problems.
Unfortunately, whilst I do like review websites (use them a lot for pre booking of holidays), I think the intro of such as a replacement would end up with even more slagging off and libelous remarks being made as reviews are by nature intended to be positive or negative.
Would like to see the section back in some form though!
Walter Ego
08-Mar-11, 23:18
Maybe admin could fill the space left by this section with a large link to Google, and a tutorial page on how it can be used? ;)
Could someone Google stuff for me?
Could someone Google stuff for me?
What's Google, has anyone got a web address for it, and when does it shut ?
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.