get discount with positive review

[BLAKELYB]

I was sad to get this from CHI. They seem good except for this. After my order they emailed this to me.

"If you have had a satisfactory experience with us, please post positive comments on any internet forum, group or website, ... and we will email you a 5% discount code for your next purchase ..."

I had a satisfactory experience, except for this email. I guess this is common and I need to get used to it. Bribes are everywhere.

edit: CHI is this company: http://www.chicompany.net/

 

[Pie_Man]

I don't really see the big deal. They're trying to incentize you to write a positive review if your experience was positive.

Bribes are typically offered to change one's view on something. If your view was already satisfactory, then to me, it's more of an incentive than a bribe.

Anyway, that's my two pennies. Cheers

Full Disclosure: I have no idea what CHI is.

 

[Jayhem]

Restaurants do this nowadays. I don't consider it a bribe. It is just a marketing ploy to give incentive to customers to become repeat customers. Nothing unethical about that and if I was planning on patronizing the place again anyway I just saved a few bucks.

 

[ny101]

Eh, I understand that the ethics seem questionable. But when you think about all the people who will "1 star" something due to something stupid like the UPS man leaving it in the rain or something, you can kind of understand where these guys are coming from.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

What do you get if you write a negative review?

My experience with CHI has been 50/50.

If everything goes right, it goes very right.
If anything goes wrong, you are SCREWED. :smack:

 

[the_trout]

I don't have a problem with it. Its widely accepted that unhappy customers are more likely to complain than happy customer are to praise. Assuming you run a good business this is just a way to wake up your silent majority and reward them for their testimonials.

Also, what is CHI?

 

[fuzzy2133]

Also, what is CHI?

Ditto
All I can think of is CH sugar

 

[zachattack]

This is completely unethical. A company that gives you a financial incentive to write a positive review is negating objectivity and instantly biasing the review. It's hard enough to find honest reviews on Yelp etc. that aren't filtered, and practices like this don't help. Not to mention all the completely fake reviews that companies pay people to post. Since it goes against the guidelines/policies of all the major review sites, there's really no debating if it's ethical or not.

Yelp has a whole page about it here, and here are the general rules on it from a few sites:

From Yelp:

Does Yelp mind if I get a freebie in exchange for my review?

Please don't write a five-star review of your local watering hole in exchange for a free drink. That said, if you independently luck into a free drink or two because of your charming personality, by all means, enjoy the largesse but don't forget to mention the free perks when writing your review.

From Google:

We want people to get ratings, reviews, and recommendations that are relevant, helpful, and trustworthy. To protect both business owners and customers, we have systems in place that may remove individual reviews that include any of the following:

...

Conflict of interest: Reviews are only valuable when they are honest and unbiased. For instance, as a business owner or employee you should not review your own business or place of work. Don’t offer money or product to others to write reviews for your business or write negative reviews about a competitor. We also discourage specialized review stations or kiosks set up at your place of business for the sole purpose of soliciting reviews. As a reviewer, you should not accept money or product from a business to write a review about them. Additionally, don’t feel compelled to review a certain way just because an employee of that business asked you to do so. Finally, don’t post reviews on behalf of others or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with the place you are reviewing.

From Tripadvisor:

Why are incentives not okay?

We encourage accommodations to ask their guests to write reviews. Recent reviews count more in your popularity ranking and satisfy travelers’ desire to see fresh feedback before they make a booking decision. However, we prohibit incentives because they can hinder the validity and accuracy of reviews. If travelers have been promised a reward in return for a review, they are more likely to write a review that doesn’t reflect their true experience.

Bribes are typically offered to change one's view on something. If your view was already satisfactory, then to me, it's more of an incentive than a bribe.

A bribe has nothing to do with one's view. It's providing monetary or other incentives for someone to act in your favor. CHI's practice is the definition of a bribe.

 

[JDGator]

well bribe or not, give me the 5% off. hell you call me unethical all ya want!!

 

[DaleHair]

What do you get if you write a negative review?

My experience with CHI has been 50/50.

If everything goes right, it goes very right.
If anything goes wrong, you are SCREWED. :smack:

This has been my experience with them.

 

[JDGator]

This is completely unethical. A company that gives you a financial incentive to write a positive review is negating objectivity and instantly biasing the review. It's hard enough to find honest reviews on Yelp etc. that aren't filtered, and practices like this don't help. Not to mention all the completely fake reviews that companies pay people to post. Since it goes against the guidelines/policies of all the major review sites, there's really no debating if it's ethical or not.

Yelp has a whole page about it here, and here are the general rules on it from a few sites:

From Yelp:


From Google:


From Tripadvisor:




A bribe has nothing to do with one's view. It's providing monetary or other incentives for someone to act in your favor. CHI's practice is the definition of a bribe.

these are also company's that have a ton of weight to throw around. if you think that they don't use their money, i'd suggest banging your head against a wall!! not many company's do that good without greasing a few wheels!!! whether cash, service, or product changes hands, it's still the same.

 

[Tinhorn]

I don't have a problem with it. Its widely accepted that unhappy customers are more likely to complain than happy customer are to praise. Assuming you run a good business this is just a way to wake up your silent majority and reward them for their testimonials.

Also, what is CHI?

Thats it!! Next time i need to buy a CHI or 12 , I am totally going to... wait whats a CHI?

 

[the_trout]

Since it goes against the guidelines/policies of all the major review sites, there's really no debating if it's ethical or not.

Of course its debatable. Google, Yelp and Trip Advisor don't decide my personal ethics nor are they inherently right just because of their place in the market.

 

[Cider123]

Such a struggle of right and wrong over a silly statement and a 5% discount. I would say if you don't like it or didn't have a great experience then don't post one, ignore it.

Society has become so intolerant these days. Everyone is so fragile. It has practically become against the law to offend anyone. I watch the attitudes of children and the lessons they learn from their parents. Be prepared for a future of people that have no tolerance, are offended at the drop of a hat, and do not have the capability to solve their own dilemmas. And don't forget the law suits. Everyone who is offended has a right to make some money off it. That's my rant.

 

[zachattack]

Of course its debatable. Google, Yelp and Trip Advisor don't decide my personal ethics nor are they inherently right just because of their place in the market.

That's a valid point. It's pretty much impossible to make blanket statements about ethics, so I shouldn't have said it that firmly.

I think most people would agree that this is a dishonest practice. I certainly think that dishonest is generally an unethical practice, although of course there are exceptions. In this case, I view it as unethical.

 

[zachattack]

Such a struggle of right and wrong over a silly statement and a 5% discount. I would say if you don't like it or didn't have a great experience then don't post one, ignore it.

Society has become so intolerant these days. Everyone is so fragile. It has practically become against the law to offend anyone. I watch the attitudes of children and the lessons they learn from their parents. Be prepared for a future of people that have no tolerance, are offended at the drop of a hat, and do not have the capability to solve their own dilemmas. And don't forget the law suits. Everyone who is offended has a right to make some money off it. That's my rant.

Wow way to blow this up and take it completely out of context. It's not about offending people or violating laws or raising a generation of fragile people, we're just talking about honest/ethical business practices here

 

[srice]

Thats it!! Next time i need to buy a CHI or 12 , I am totally going to... wait whats a CHI?

http://www.chicompany.net/ ???

 

[Pie_Man]

Yeah, and Yelp has been accused of filtering to only show negative reviews, some say because the small business doesn't advertise with them, so I don't put a lot of stock in their guidelines. Reference, http://searchenginewatch.com/articl...ews-From-Small-Business-Owners-in-Los-Angeles (many other articles too, I just happened to recently read this one).

I myself am an ethical person, so I would review the site honestly and if I had a postive thing to say, I'd take their discount as a way of them saying "thanks for going though the time and effort to write something positive about us". If you are offended by their offer, then don't.

The difference between incentives and bribes can usually be a fine line. In this case, we are talking about the customer experience of a home brew store, not some high ranking government official voting on public policy because they received kick backs from a lobbyist. I think it's fine of the HBS to do this. They probably had very genuine intentions. Let's not be so uptight.

Not every conflict of interest is a bad thing, it usually depends on the person and/or company, and ultimately it boils down to the integrity of the person providing the service. There are good salespeople that work on commission, and there are bad ones. That can be considered a conflict of interest.

 

[JDGator]

Wow way to blow this up and take it completely out of context. It's not about offending people or violating laws or raising a generation of fragile people, we're just talking about honest/ethical business practices here

i just like arguing with you, Zach!! :rockin:

 

[Hello]

I'm still wondering what CHI is. I was thinking it was about my ceramic flat iron I use on my hair, but I don't think that is right.

 

[Tinhorn]

http://www.chicompany.net/ ???

I think you solved the mystery !! Thanks

 

[Zamial]

I do NOT recommend doing business with this company. The money you MAY save is not worth the headache when something goes wrong or the product received is not what was ordered. There is a vendor review section below read for yourself.

 

[ny101]

Having worked closely with sales reps for nearly every major brand out there... if 5% off for a positive review qualifies as a bribe, I have to wonder what company you actually do trust.

I'm looking at the top 5 "most admired companies" in the US, and I can tell you for a fact every single one of them closes business deals by having "business meetings" in "unethical locations" that they themselves do not pay for. Does this make it right? No. But it's business and businesses are all unethical to certain degrees. It is my personal believe that a 5% discount for a positive review ranks very low on the scale of what I allow to bother me.

 

[mattd2]

Having worked closely with sales reps for nearly every major brand out there... if 5% off for a positive review qualifies as a bribe, I have to wonder what company you actually do trust.

I'm looking at the top 5 "most admired companies" in the US, and I can tell you for a fact every single one of them closes business deals by having "business meetings" in "unethical locations" that they themselves do not pay for. Does this make it right? No. But it's business and businesses are all unethical to certain degrees. It is my personal believe that a 5% discount for a positive review ranks very low on the scale of what I allow to bother me.

I am strugling with what would be the top 5 admired companies: Google, Apple, Amazon, Coke... i don't knwo. But are you really trying ot tell me that they all take their clients to strip clubs to get deals done... really???

I was sad to get this from CHI. They seem good except for this. After my order they emailed this to me.


I had a satisfactory experience, except for this email. I guess this is common and I need to get used to it. Bribes are everywhere.

I just want to know if you got you 5% discount?

 

[ny101]

I am strugling with what would be the top 5 admired companies: Google, Apple, Amazon, Coke... i don't knwo. But are you really trying ot tell me that they all take their clients to strip clubs to get deals done... really???



I just want to know if you got you 5% discount?

Strip clubs... definitely. You like myself a few years ago are probably thinking of a US strip club. Once you start dealing with the international brands especially the ones in South East Asia it gets much much worse. God I wish I could forget a lot of the things I learned there. Definitely learned to Google the establishment before I ever attended a meeting.

 

[BLAKELYB]

Here are two reviews. Do they impact you differently?

• Reviewer #1: "CHI is a good company to do business with."
• Reviewer #2: "CHI is a good company to do business with, and they are giving me 5% off for writing a positive review."

Does it make any difference if Reviewer #1 got a $500 credit but did not tell us?

My opinion is that the more the incentive, the more unethical it is. So a small incentive is just a little unethical, but still unethical. If thousands of companies are doing it, we get used to it, and accept it. Still does not make it ethical.

I will continue to do business with CHI if they are good in other respects. It is not a deal breaker. Not that unethical. Now I know i have to be a little more skeptical of positive reviews about them. I know the negative reviews will have slightly more weight, because the reviewer could not be swayed by the incentive. But I will forget.

 

[BoShimTang]

Of course its debatable. Google, Yelp and Trip Advisor don't decide my personal ethics nor are they inherently right just because of their place in the market.

Ahhh yes... Moral relativism. Just because you think I'm screwing you over it doesn't mean I personally am acting in an unethical manner.

 

[BLAKELYB]

Of course its debatable. Google, Yelp and Trip Advisor don't decide my personal ethics nor are they inherently right just because of their place in the market.

They do not decide my personal ethics either, but their rules to avoid conflict of interest that could affect the truth of a review is common sense.

 

[jhoneycutt]

I'm just wandering where to get a NEW 15.5 gallon ball lock keg like that got on their home page and not refurbished.

 

[Hamaki]

I've made one purchase from CHI and had a good experience. Living nearby (they're in Diamond Springs, just east of Sacramento, CA) I did in store pickup so can't really speak to shipping time. I bought one of their "new - old stock" regulators for under $30 along with some other hardware at more average prices. I think they're the only distributor of ventmatic faucets so I know I'll be going back again. Just need to factor in my 5% discount

 

[zachattack]

This has been a very entertaining thread. Happy thanksgiving everyone!

 

[zachattack]

i just like arguing with you, Zach!! :rockin:

Well crap, I'm sorry I agreed with you then

 

[zachattack]

I do NOT recommend doing business with this company. The money you MAY save is not worth the headache when something goes wrong or the product received is not what was ordered. There is a vendor review section below read for yourself.

5% price increase on your next order

 

[Bobby_M]

The ethical way to do it, purely in my opinion, is to offer an incentive to leave A review, positive or negative. As a vendor myself, I know it would sting to give someone the discount for a negative review but hey, provider better service and you'll have to do it a lot less.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

The ethical way to do it, purely in my opinion, is to offer an incentive to leave A review, positive or negative. As a vendor myself, I know it would sting to give someone the discount for a negative review but hey, provider better service and you'll have to do it a lot less.

Dang it Bobby!

There you go, interjecting common sense into a good ***** fest!

 

[Pappers_]

This company is a former member at HBT and has a thread in the company reviews section. If you'd like more info, read through that, or add your experience as a customer there. I'm closing this, continue the conversation there, if you'd like.