Reviews are a frequent area of concern for our sellers. Some sellers feel we should remove reviews at their request, or make a judgement call about who is at fault and adjust reviews accordingly.
The credibility of Palmstreet, as well as that of our sellers, is extremely important to us. Because of this, we have a fairly strict policy of not changing or removing reviews without the buyer's consent.
We continue to update and improve our review tool, and we take feedback from both sellers and buyers very seriously . We want a review system that is transparent, clear, and as fair as possible. Some other points to consider regarding reviews:
- Reviews can be left on products that have been physically received by the buyer.
- As a business, we deeply understand how it feels when a seller receives a bad review and when the seller believes the review is biased. We empathize with the sellers because we too, get reviewed by our customer.
- Our app also receives biased reviews on the App Store and Google Play Store all the time, but that never stops us from being downloaded and loved by users a million times.
- Our buyers are also sophisticated enough to understand that one or two bad reviews don't represent the service or the entirety of a seller and their business. The sellers can also share their side of the story as a reply to the review.
- In the Palmstreet app, sellers can respond back to any review that is left on their selling profile and state their side of the story and provide any additional information they see fit. This helps interested viewers to get a full picture of both sides.
- We do not remove reviews, unless they are racial, violent, an exposure of private information, or illegal. Most of the customer reviews are fair and helps sellers build up trust and grow within our platform. We offer a lot of ways to support sellers' growth. However, we feel that removing reviews is just not an option.
What NOT To Do When You Receive Negative Reviews
Here are a few of the things you should avoid doing when you see negative reviews:
- Ignore them. Disregarding reviews, especially negative ones, is never a good idea. This suggests that you aren't concerned about your reputation. When there's no response, some readers will conclude that the customer's comments are accurate.
- Get angry or defensive. This can be hard but it's important to understand. You don't want to get into a public war with an angry customer. You can't win and you'll end up alienating more potential customers. Respond in a calm and polite manner no matter how out of line you think the customer is.
- Deny legitimate criticism. Before you respond at all, make sure the customer doesn't have a valid point. It's better to admit that you're at fault than to argue something that's not true.
What You SHOULD Do When You Receive Negative Reviews
Here are some of the best ways to respond to negative reviews:
- Carefully consider the nature of the complaint. Before you get upset, ask yourself if the customer has a valid point. Businesses make mistakes. If you did something wrong, do your best to make amends. Apologize and, if appropriate, offer the customer a refund or a replacement.
- If you think the customer is out of line, respond in a calm and polite manner. Say that you're sorry he or she had a bad experience and that you hope they'll give you another chance.
- Deal with complex issues privately. You should always respond to reviews. However, for involved issues regarding specific transactions, it's best to resolve the issue privately by communicating with the buyer in Palmstreet messages. Visitors to the review site don't want to read long, complicated paragraphs. You also have to consider the customer's privacy. If you don't have their contact information, invite them to contact you by leaving phone or email information with your response.
How to Appeal a Review
If a buyer's review clearly violates our Community Guidelines, you can report it. For example, if it includes harassment or misinformation.
Following are some reasons when a review may be eligible for appeal:
- Review is for a completely different product.
- Review is about a purchase outside of Palmstreet.
- Hate speech or discrimination: Any review that contains racism, sexism, or derogatory language.
- Obscene or offensive content: Includes vulgar language, graphic descriptions, or inappropriate photos.
- Harassment or threats: Personal attacks or threats against individuals or businesses.
- Fake reviews: Posted by individuals who haven’t actually interacted with the business (e.g., competitors or bots).
- Spam or irrelevant content: Promotional posts or off-topic comments not related to the actual customer experience.
To submit an appeal for a review, reach out to PalmstreetSupport in the app, and provide the username and the order number or tracking number associated with the review you are appealing, along with why you feel it should be removed.
Reporting a review doesn't guarantee removal, but our team will review and take action if needed. Our team only removes reviews that clearly violate our policies, and reviews older than 30 days are rarely taken down.
Tip: If you disagree with a review, you can reply to the review to share your side. Buyers can’t edit reviews after posting, but they can choose to delete them.
No one likes negative reviews but they are a biproduct of owning a business. Don't let a few critical or even unreasonable reviews stress you out. Rather, respond as calmly as possible, listen to the constructive criticism, and do everything you can to deescalate the situation. Over time, this will help you accumulate more positive reviews to help support your business.
We take the integrity of customer reviews very seriously. If we determine that you have attempted to manipulate reviews by leaving reviews for yourself, having friends or family leave positive reviews for you, we will remove the reviews in question and you could be subject to immediate suspension or termination of your selling privileges.
