Why You Rarely see Negative Product Reviews on our Blog
Negative Product Reviews can severely impact a company, yet as a blogger, you want to be honest with your readers and the company that wants a review. What’s a blogger to do?
Considerations in regards to a Negative Product Review:
No review should ever be done without a sample.
- I think WAAAAAYYYY to many bloggers make the error of going by a picture to say something is cute, and that you’d love to wear it/eat it/use it. But really, anything would look cute on some of those models? Any food item would look like it tastes great when a master photographer takes the pictures. You really must experience a line to comment on it, I believe. Also, don’t accept a review from a company, if you already KNOW you aren’t really that interested in the product.
It’s quite alright to dislike and EVEN HATE a product that you have been sent.
- 9 times out of 10, I like the products I get to review. Usually, that’s because I don’t accept reviews for products that I don’t think I will like. I just reject them right up front. Still…sometimes I get a product for review, that either doesn’t fit my quality standards or isn’t what I expected. If I don’t like a product, I don’t do the review. PERIOD! My policy on my blog is that I only do positive reviews. My readers know that, that means that I won’t even give blog time to those products that don’t meet my standards.
Let a company know how you handle negative product reviews.
- In my initial pitch letter, when I give my address and other particulars…I actually state this in the finer print (which I doubt is rarely read). I indicate that “samples are not returned” and that “if for any reason a review product will incur a negative review, I will contact you to determine the best approach”. In response to a company when I do not do a review, I very simply outline WHY I didn’t care for their product, tell them that I will NOT be posting a negative review (as on my blog I only do positive reviews), and seeing if we can work out anything such that their company CAN get a positive review from me. I NEVER return a sample. I never apologize. That’s what a review really means..you are looking at it to see if YOU would recommend that others buy it. If you can’t, you shouldn’t.
Here’s a perfect example. When accepting a review opportunity for clothing, I clearly specify size and preferred products. I even link them with my outfit posts such that they can see what I look like. Sometimes I’ll even highlight certain aspects like…”I’d rather not have anything too short as I am a women over 45″…”I’d rather not have sleeveless tops as my arms are not an aspect that I like to features”..etc. Well, this one company sent me a really long tunic top (even though I am 5′ 4″) which could have easily have been a short summer dress. They also sent me Capris to wear with it. Well you can imagine how silly I looked, even in the highest shoes, with that great big top, and capris cutting off my not-too-long legs . I specified a Small or size 4 top..they sent me a medium. It was just terrible. So I emailed them and said, “I can’t review or photograph myself in this top. I am swimming in it.” They were so great. They agreed and sent me another top and jacket (didn’t have to return the first) and all went well.
As a reader, is this a review Policy that you can appreciate?
As a Blogger, how do you handle negative reviews?
If this post was helpful to you, please stumble it and smack that little Like button below. Hey, a blonde needs a positive review now and then too!
I know that nobody likes to have a negative review. But the only thing worse is NOT getting the review so you have the chance to correct the problem, rather than the reviewer not saying anything and the next thing you know everyone isn’t saying anything and you still have an unreported problem.
I gave a negative review once as a blogger and was slammed by everyone but the author. The author was very sweet and told me that he appreciated the review as it was well thought out, not a negative attack, and written with tact. That made me appreciate the writer and look for other works by him that were more in line with my preferences. However the attacks from other reviewers made me reluctant to post negative reviews, which defeats the purpose of realistic reviews. I even said that while it was not my cup of tea that people who liked these certain topics would enjoy it as it was well written. I appreciated the writer standing up for me. It certainly was not meant to be an attack, but rather my opinion which is what reviewers do.
I appreciate that you only do reviews for things you like. I can find negative reviews on Amazon.
Great post, you definitely make some very good points. I completely agree that most bloggers only accept items that they want to review. And most give very honest opinions, which I love. I think it’s great when bloggers show real pictures, it’s very important.
I have often thought about this. I rarely go by reviews anyhow. If I like what I see on a blog post, I research it.
I do enjoy all the positivity!! But I also can appreciate an honest negative review with reasoning!! I would love to know that certain items that are just “lemons” or just not up to par. I can understand how companies would enjoy your direct contact for a negative review instead of a blog negative review but I think as a reader I like to be informed either way!
I have often wondered what bloggers do when they don’t like a product they have been asked to review. I have seen a couple of negative reviews, but not many.
I commend you for how you handle the few products you have a negative review about. I want to hear positive reviews from tested products and not waste my time reading about a bad product I will not purchase. I appreciate your policy.
So if you review a product which you decide could cause injury or death, like a child’s toy with small breakable parts which the kid could choke on, you would try and work with the company to have them fix the problem. If they refuse, you wouldn’t warn anyone that the product could harm their child? What about your responsibility to truthfully inform the public about a product? I don’t agree to the idea of never giving a negative review. I would probably discount your positive reviews as bias and probably a “mole blogger for the company” because you never had anything negative to say about products, which in the real world, we know is not true.
We are a blog for Women over 45 so we do not review toys and such. We do ask for products that we don’t believe our readers would enjoy. That being said we probably reject between 5-10% of the products given to us for review. To date we have not reviewed any products which have the issues you outline. It would be important to me to let my readers know of any real concerns. THanks!
Great post! It is a tough one though! When I receive a product and don’t have anything positive to say about it, I do the same thing and let the company know. I’ve had a couple of situations where they actually insisted I post anyway. Whether they say “we welcome all reviews” or one Etsy shop owner got a little feisty and asked “are you going to post the review or not?”. I reminded her my experience wasn’t a positive one and neither was the customer service (or lack there of) and she replied with “post it”. So, I did.
Al other reviews have either been positive or not written.
I would reflect that in my review in my case as my readers have been told repeatedly I only review and post about what I like!
If I could like this 1000 I would. It highlights to me that I may need to tweak some of my own policy verbiage.
I also don’t post a negative review and wondered if my policy was the same as others.
THanks Lucy. Every one must have an approach! The Chief Blonde
I’ve wondered how bloggers handle reviews for products they didn’t care for. Thanks for the informative post!
I’ve often wondered if readers question why my reviews are always positive. I have the same policy as you… if I don’t like a product I contact the company first. This works well. 🙂