I did 3 product reviews the other day…2 were pretty good…1 review was a 1 star review. I wasnt offensive, just honest. Anyway I was playing around and I noticed that my 2 good reviews were added to the product review list while the 1 star review has NOT been added??? This was back on 2/8.
Any insight as to why this would be?
I have heard of 3 examples (and now yours) of this (on various homebrew sites) over the past month or two - very disturbing to me. All basically the same story. It seems to me that the “reviews” are pretty well censored. So, Lots of good reviews seems to indicate what is probably a good product. An absence of bad reviews… well that seems to mean nothing what-so-ever, because it seems highly likely that the vendors are removing them.
I can see this maybe to a certain point. For instance, if there is a product that is absolutely known to be outstanding, and someone screws it up due to operator error or something… well, then I guess the bad review is not warranted. But at the very least I think they owe it to the poster to contact them and see if the issue can be resolved…
Example: “We see you posted a negative review, could you tell us about your experience? Hundreds of people have used this successfully and we would love to help resolve whatever issue you have with what should be a dependable product.”
Basically, from what I have seen posted in several unrelated posts on different forums . . . . . product reviews are hand selected and only dependable to a point.
i also had 1 5 star and one 3 star - the 3 star never made it. go figure. I like NB but that was not good!
Not just NB - I have heard of 2 other ones doing it. But this is now at least 3 times I have heard NB doing it. Apparently, this is just Standard Operating Procedure for everyone.
What was the product that you did not like? I agree with the above in that it is possible that a product is viewed good by 98% of people and someone hates it but it is opinion (taste) and not really a problem.
OP, I am not suggesting this is the case with you.
To be fair to NB, I went to do a quick scan for negative reviews - I went to the pH 5.2 product, because I figured that would be one of the best places to find a legitimate negative review… and, several HORRIBLE reviews came up:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/revi ... tegory/18/So, It may come down a little to what is review, if it is subjective vs. if it is actually performance based. The pH 5.2 product has been proven NOT to work (which begs the question - why sell it?) so when it is reviewed with concrete information - it was posted.
Now, if someone reviews a recipe that they “did not like” or used 1056 and “got bad results” - well - either that is subjective or perhaps you did something wrong. It is unlikely that the product was bad.
At any rate - I stand by what I said earlier, if a company wants to have reviews, and then does not want to post negative reviews, I think they should at least make an attempt to find out why the reviewer was dissatisfied. Likewise, the reviewer should probably contact NB with the issue - they have a reputation for absolutely stellar customer service.
I don’t know if this is anything new, but about a year ago I posted a negative review on NB about a 1L erlehmeyer flask that broke the 1st time I used it. They posted it, and surprise, surprise sent me a new flask unrequested. They sold me on their customer service.
I fear with loss of the Brewing TV crew, NB has lost some of its soul. I’ve had some bizarre suggestions from some of the St. Paul employees and think I heard some mechanical clicking and whirring in the white noise that was the silence that passed between us. I’m pretty sure they’re all robots - or maybe one of them is human - but which one? There is no doubt that a genius has built NB, but I fear he’s turned to the dark side. Who will restore the store? Methinks I smell a quest!
And now for something completely different: Why would 1056 produce bad beer? Perhaps because it is such a work horse that it would be hard to fault? Let’s leave the yeast out of it. Blame everything on bacteria - always!!!
I haven’t had any issues with having my reviews being added. A quick search of NB and Midwest both show the 1star reviews that I have made.
Yeah I guess i was just curious…my poor review was for the dry irish stout. i realize that this is a pretty well liked kit, however my comments were that it was lacking darkness, body and roasty qualitites. I didnt flame anyone, i didnt even say it was a bad…just that it didnt live up to my expectations.
I agree that NB customer service is top notch, but excluding this kit review seems questionable at best. If 99 people like it and 1 doesnt that mean that 1 persons view isnt valid??
Interesting. I took a look at the reviews on the Dry Irish Stout. There are other (3 star) reviews that basically said the same things you did (see “Close but no cigar Review by Todd” on 07/12/12), and occasionally some two-star reviews, but no, I did not see yours yet posted.
Submit it again and see if it shows up
