Morrisons - Fake review ratings

loquat1

Don't trust those product reviews further than you can throw them. Judging by my own experience, they only publish favourable reviews.

I posted an unfavourable review of Bardinet Grenadine, purchased on the strength of a single review that gave it 5*. My review (which would have been 0* if allowed) was completely ignored - twice, and would have brought the total aver. down to 3*. Not so impressive, and in my opinion still far too generous.

I found the product, which is basically just sweetened water and a whole bunch of chemicals, to be markedly inferior to others, such as Teisseire. At least the latter has real berry juices in it, and it shows in the taste. Shame on Morrisons for being so selective when it comes to customer reviews that tell the truth.

daytona0

Just to stop you for one second, but may I kindly point out that sugar content/fruit content/"bunch of chemcials" will be listed ON THE LABEL!

So how on earth can your review bring up those points? You had the opportunity to check the contents when you stood in the shop with the item in your hand!

You could probably get away with mentioning it with a 2-4 star review, if you acknowledge a good point about the product as well, but to go 1 star and base most of it on things you knew before purchase? THAT'S the fake review lad!

Also, I'd personally reserve a 0 or 1 star product review for situations like finding a worm in the bottle, or something dodgy like that!

loquat1

Hello daytona

Fair point old fruit (pun intended). In my defence, I placed undue reliance on that 5* review that claimed it was the best bar none - he/she tried others, apparently. I seriously doubt it. But even if I had read the ingredients list, I would still have made the purchase, if for no other reason than to see how well it measures up to that glowing review and other brands I have tried.

I think 1* for sweetened/coloured water with virtually no discernible taste is more than generous. It had no redeeming qualities that I could detect, otherwise I would have mentioned them. As for mine being the fake review, I would encourage you to subject the two brands mentioned above to a taste test for yourself, and report back here if you still think I have been unduly harsh in my criticism.

Aside from all that, you've also [slightly] missed the point. My gripe is not principally about being duped into making a purchase that I later regretted. In the grand scheme of things, 4 squid is neither here nor there. My point was mainly about the apparent dishonesty of Morrisons' product line reviews, based on two unsuccessful attempts to post an unfavourable review.

Sorry, but that smacks of censorship to me, and up with that I will not put. I won't be relying on any more of their 'reviews' in future.

jellie

loquat1 wrote: »

My point was mainly about the apparent dishonesty of Morrisons' product line reviews, based on two unsuccessful attempts to post an unfavourable review.

Sorry, but that smacks of censorship to me, and up with that I will not put. I won't be relying on any more of their 'reviews' in future.

Have you checked to see if any other products have unfavourable reviews against them? I think you will find plenty, so it could be the way your review was written which is the problem, not that it was negative about a product.

loquat1

Yes jellie, I don't doubt there are negative reviews on their site. I must have come across a few of them myself. My experience though begs the question how many more didn't get published coz they don't comply with some undisclosed literary standard known only to them. It's a review after all, not Shakespeare.

If my style was the problem, a brief note to that effect would at least allay my suspicions. In the absence of such a communication from them, I have no choice but to be suspicious about their motives for refusing an otherwise legit review.

forgotmyname

Probably depended on the wording, stating the products description as a negative may seem like you didnt know what you were buying.

eg, for sale faulty item, then leave negative feedback saying it was faulty.

In your case complaining that it was sweet water and chemicals when the label shows the ingredients to be just that. Or that it does have fruit juices and not all chemicals.

Can you leave another? Try rewording it. Bland taste and not as fruity as i was expecting it to be? or not as fruity as brand x?

loquat1

ok, let me be a little more explicit then. The 'bunch of chemicals' description only came into play coz of the virtual absence of any flavour, fruity or otherwise, artificial or natural. Some artificial flavours make a passable attempt at simulating the real thing, such as strawberry or banana, for example. The ingredients list of this product Includes something called 'grenadine aroma', which presumably is the key ingredient.

Now I have nothing against artificial flavours as such, but when they make no discernible difference to the concoction, then all you are left with is sugar and 'a bunch of chemicals'. That's it. If I could detect any flavour at all, that would not have been an issue. My review was phrased in those terms, and stood in stark contrast to the glowing review that, as far as I could tell, bore no semblance to reality. On its own terms, it amounts to a fail when compared to the competition. That was the central point made in my review.

But all that is subsidiary to the fact that my review failed to appear. If Morrisons had not censored it, I would not have posted here. Mine is just one view of the product, and we all have different tastes. I simply wanted to redress the balance and present a dissenting voice to the one glowing review. Since I was not permitted to do so, I thought it only right (as a matter of principle) to give fair warning to others who might have similar tastes to my own,

If you buy the product and are happy with it, great. If not, at least you were forewarned.

JReacher1

It says in the review guidelines that things which aren't allowed on a review include :-

"Reference to other websites, offers or even products. "

It sounds in your review that you compared it to another product (Teisseire) and as such the review was rightly deleted.

I believe if you had reviewed purely the product without bringing other products into it then the review wouldn't have been deleted.

Always read the guidelines before publishing a review.

loquat1

Also a fair point, but the competition was only named in my initial review, not in my second attempt. And since they also sell Teisseire (or at least they did at the time - that's where I first came across it and bought it), what exactly did they have to loose anyway? If I don't buy one brand but buy another instead in the same store, the net effect on their turnover is roughly the same.

But yeah, agreed. On a strict interpretation of that rule, and if there is no 'discretion', then that could well be the reason for their action regarding my first review, but it doesn't explain the 2nd failure.

JReacher1

loquat1 wrote: »

Also a fair point, but the competition was only named in my initial review, not in my second attempt. And since they also sell Teisseire (or at least they did at the time - that's where I first came across it and bought it), what exactly did they have to loose anyway? If I don't buy one brand but buy another instead in the same store, the net effect on their turnover is roughly the same.

But yeah, agreed. On a strict interpretation of that rule, and if there is no 'discretion', then that could well be the reason for their action regarding my first review, but it doesn't explain the 2nd failure.

You need to quote the second review as there may be another rule you've violated.

Product reviews are not actually controlled by Morrisons they will be controlled by a third party that Morrisons have employed. They moderate the reviews based on contractual rules that Morrisons have asked for.

Therefore there is no grey area. You violate a rule and you're review won't be published.

SpammyTheSpammer

but I rarely believe any review that I read on a commercal website.
Just look at DRI or Garden Buildings Direct etc etc.