I recently had to deal with a business that had no poor reviews for the past 3 years. This appears to be an affluent business with two young, attractive white owners. The dealings I had initially with the business were good. But it deteriorated when they refused to assist with a certain aspect that they could control. They told me to go through another route for complaints. That route was unsuccessful in assisting me.
I posted a poor review online. That was a bad idea. I was stalked on Facebook and then when they found my phone number, called and left a message stating their attorney would become involved if I didn’t respond to them within an hour. They were condescending when speaking with me, so I just gave up and removed the review. I’m still having major issues which will probably force me to move. If I had more resources, this may not have been the case.
I’m deliberately being vague because A: I don’t want to be sued, and B: there are many more offenders out there than just this one. After this happened, I started talking to a few people and it seems that some local businesses maintain this practice. It’s almost impossible to please everyone. If you run across this when researching a small business, my advice to you is to be careful and take the reviews with a grain of salt. Just look at the reviews. If there isn’t a recent bad review, then they’re most likely getting the reviews taken down, or bullying the complainants into submission with their rabid attorneys.
It seems that corporate America’s attitude has permeated small businesses now too. They don’t care about anything but making a buck. Anyone else’s safety and well-being are not their concern unless the complainant is able to afford an attorney, and even then, good luck.
It’s laughable that anyone would think that a google review is THAT important. I miss the time when small businesses were honest. Some still are, I’m sure, but I think they’re becoming a dying breed.
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