Now I am impressed! (grin)
The factor that you cannot see from your side of the screen (so you could not include in your data) is that we do have guys that already submit weekly reviews on certain provider. This is already a problem that our policy resolves.
I added 15 days to your VIP account for doing your homework. Thanks for the suggestion.
-- Staff
There has been some heated discussion on reviews on the Twin City board.
I understand you have to have policies and practices. My question is why the policies are the way they are.
1) Negative review removed
It is claimed that providers can get negative reviews removed. I understand there are false reviews posted and a provider should be able to have these removed. I also understand that as a group you need to reserve the right to remove anything that is considered actionable or offensive.
On the other hand as a customer of TER, I would want to see the negative reviews and draw my own conclusion.
What is the criteria a provider must go through to have the reviews removed?
If a provider has an off day - that's fine. Most of us understand that the client himself could have been the problem. If the provider has an entire list of 7 - 10 ratings and a couple of 2 - 5 ratings - as a consumer - I can draw my own conclusions, but would still like to see the reviews posted.
The reviews have helped me meet some great people as well as help me avoid potential trouble or rip offs. If factual negative reviews are removed, then we are not getting a clear picture of the provider.
2) Time limit on same customer provider reviews.
Not sure why this rule is in place either. If I am searching for a provider and see an entire page of 10 ratings from the same client, and the rest are low scores - again, I can draw my own conclusion. But for the most part - if a provider has repeat clients - that in and of itself can say alot about the provider. If a client wishes to spend all of his time with one provider and wishes to advise others about the times that he has had - then he should be able to.
I am sure this discussion has come up many time before and you have answered it many times - but I am a relative newbie to TER. I find TER one of the easiest and most comprehensive sites available. Just looking to make it better with more particpation and more accurate reviews. If the credability of the board is in question, the participation will start to decline. If the participation declines, TER looses, the clients loose and the Providers will loose as well.
Lastly, what does it take to change policies?
Hopefully you can explain the reasons behind these policies and how they can be changed. Looking forward to your responses!!!
Well, a few of good questions.
In order for a provider to have a review removed she has one of 2 options. Show the review should not have been posted in the first place because it did not follow TER posting policy (http://theeroticreview.com/reviews/submit.html) or prove to our satisfaction that the review is false or that the reviewer had ulterior motives.
Time limit on same customer provider reviews.
Though there may be guys who would like to tell us there stories of the same provider on a weekly basis, we are not going to give them VIP credit for it. Our policy (http://theeroticreview.com/reviews/submit.html) states “You may also submit an update on a provider that you have already reviewed. We will replace your old review, but you won’t be credited for an additional 15 days. Your new review must be a complete rewrite that adds something new to the experience in order for it to replace the old one.”
We do not allow the multiple reviews from the same member on the same provider to stay up because they would skew the provider’s average score. Example: If a regular submits enough 10,10 reviews, a 7 rated provider would be a 9 rated provider. This is not a fair to other providers.
What does it take to change policies?
The policies that are currently in place have been hammered out by the member’s wishes and tempered with fairness to everyone involved. Many times people make suggestions without really understanding all the factors involved. Many times it is difficult for us to explain the same issues over and over again.
The best way to make suggestions is to first read the message boards to see if this idea has been brought up 20 times before (hint). The next step would be to look at your suggestion from the point of view of the membership, the site, and the provider. If after doing your homework, you still feel that your suggestion would be helpful, please tell us. We would love to hear it.
I am fully aware of the provider that has a problem with TER policy. I would like to inform you that that particular provider has been delisted for posting then deleting very damaging misinformation concerning another provider. Providers posting slanderous statements intended to hurt other providers is a direct violation of what we stand for and will not be tolerated by this site.
FYI, the provider whom she was attacking has had one review removed from TER in the past 3 years.
I hope this helps clear up any questions that you had. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have more.
-- Staff
Thank you for the quick and professional response. While it may appear I was trying to take sides, as I have seen one provider and not the other, I wasn’t trying to dig deeper for gossip, dirt or dish. I thought there are valid issues, and I was looking for clarification. I was somewhat surprised by your inclusion of the details.
I have seen reviews of providers that include negative and positive reviews. There probably isn’t a better way to handle the situation and keep everyone happy. The only recourse a customer may have would be to post messages to the board when his review is deleted. Then it appears Armageddon takes place and the shit starts to fly and postings get deleted. There are ass hole clients and crazy providers - I don’t have a viable solution to this issue.
I still think the policy on repeat reviews of the same provider could use a little tweaking. As you suggested in your post back to me – make sure to do my research – so I did – but now you will have to bear with me as I explain why I think that allowing repeat reviews is best for all concerned – the membership – the site and the provider.
By TER surveys, 82% of the participants are degreed. Almost 70% earn over $ 60,000 per year. Point being, the customers of the providers are intelligent. If they are earning this type of salary, they typically have positions of some type of responsibility and decision making. They know how to review data and make decisions.
Lets look at other statistics from your surveys. – 84% of the respondents stated they spend less then $ 1000.00 per month on the hobby. Lets assume they see 3 providers for an hour or 3 engagements per month. To reinforce this – 88% said they see providers 3 times or less a month. When asked how many times they have seen the same provider – 66 % said 3 times or less.
More importantly – only 9% of the population submits a review every time they see a provider. 62% say they rarely or never submit a review. 27% review every provider they see – but the rest submit reviews anywhere from none to 1 in 3.
Lastly 63% of the populations stated that a GFE is a must. What says GFE other then repeat clients!!!???
To wrap this up – using this data – I don’t think reviews will be skewed by allowing repeat reviews of the same provider by the same person. A large percentage of the hobbyists have 3 or fewer engagements per month. I doubt they see the same provider each time. Even if they did, only 9% submit reviews every time. There would have to be many submissions to skew the reviews. The data in your surveys doesn’t show that that is a likely happening.
If it is you don’t want to allow VIP credits for repeat reviews, I think that’s fine. It appears from the surveys, that not many really care about the VIP credits from the reviews.
Guess my suggestion to the board is this – Allow repeat reviews with out VIP credits for a period of time and see if it your concern is realized. If reviews start to get skewed and your concerned is realized, then go back to the old policy. If it is not – then allow repeat reviews and grant VIP credits.
We are educated people and we can tell if someone has tried to pad the scores for some one else. But, let us make that call when we are screening the providers.
To repeat what I stated before – I think the board is the easiest and most comprehensive board available – looking to help all involved.
Now I am impressed! (grin)
The factor that you cannot see from your side of the screen (so you could not include in your data) is that we do have guys that already submit weekly reviews on certain provider. This is already a problem that our policy resolves.
I added 15 days to your VIP account for doing your homework. Thanks for the suggestion.
-- Staff
I just discovered this forum, and I guess a post I made in the DC forum this AM really belongs here. Be that as it may.....
I think that there should be a timing limitation on follow-up reviews that aren't re-writes. If a client sees a provider regularly, and wishes to update, say, every 6 months, he be able to do so, provided he adds additional original information tot hat revised review. Since 6 months have gone by, and new data has been added, he would be entitled to membership credit. Just my opinion.