It’s pretty easy to tell when a Yelp review is phony — a plant by or on behalf of the business owner.
The secret?
Just look for the ones that read like bad radio commercials written by station *account executives.
*Not all station reps are bad at commercial copywriting. But most are, in large part because they’ve never had any real training in how to craft an effective spot.
Plus, of course, demands of clients, pressures from management, etc.
Here are four “reviews” for two different companies that offer DVD duplication services.
At least one of the four is a fake.
Can you spot the fake(s)?
CONTENDER #1 (2 reviews for Company A)
A-1
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COMPANY A is one of the most profound groups of professionals in the business. Their insight and attention to detail was surprisingly pleasant. They handled my project as if it was personally their very own, and I knew I could rely on them to get the job done in excellent fashion. That type of dependability is rare in any industry. They were active listeners, and engaged in what I was trying to accomplish, making the experience uncomplicated and effortless. I highly recommend the sterling service that COMPANY A produces and I will definitely be taking advantage of their products again in the near future!
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Dan Comments: A-1 is a bogus review.
I had just finished writing explanations of why each individual line clearly is fake when I realized:
Not only is that review fake; it’s a generic fake review, written so it can be used by virtually any business.
A-2
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COMPANY A handled a cd project for my company and we were very pleased with the experience. We were helped on the phone by Judy, Jill and Barbara who were available by phone – live – to answer our questions and walk us through the process. The workflow via their website and e-mail for getting our graphic materials and release documentation to COMPANY A was easy and effective. The results were perfect; cd’s well mastered and duplicated and graphic packaging well printed. Our customer was delighted. We will be back with more work. We are highly satisfied.
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Dan Comments: No real customer would name all three employees who at times answer the phone.
Don’t believe me?
Okay, how many times have you recommended a business by raving about 3 employees, by name, simply for being willing to answer your questions over the phone?
“The workflow via their website and e-mail for getting our graphic materials and release documentation to COMPANY A was easy and effective.”
Huh? “The workflow via their website…?”
A real person would’ve said, “You do it all through their website, and it’s pretty easy.”
“The results were perfect; cd’s well mastered and duplicated and graphic packaging well printed.”
Think about that. The “customer” is raving about the fact that the company they hired to master, duplicate and package their CDs…mastered, duplicated and packaged their CDs.
“We will be back with more work”
Translation: “Here’s our subtle suggestion that you bring your work to our…uh, to this company.”
CONTENDER #2 (2 reviews for Company B)
B-1
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I found COMPANY B online in search of a DVD manufacturer. I was happily surprised to discover that they not only offer DVD duplication, but also packaging and printing options to really make a company’s vision become reality. We ordered just 100 DVDs from COMPANY B and every single one is BEAUTIFUL! The quality is spectacular and the customer service was everything I would expect from a business. David primarily helped me through the entire process, but other members of the COMPANY B team were invaluable along the way. They even shipped the DVDs to our company address!!! Thank you COMPANY B, we will be coming back for more DVDs soon, I promise.
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Dan Comments: That fake blurb is written exactly as a radio station account executive would write a terrible radio commercial.
“Not only do they offer…!”
“Packaging and printing options”
“…to really make a company’s vision become a reality.”
Really?
“Hey, Bob, you had your DVDs duplicated by COMPANY B. How were they to work with?”
“Well, Stan, every single DVD they made for us is BEAUTIFUL. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find a business that could make our company’s vision a reality; thank GOD for COMPANY B.”
“The quality was spectacular.”
Really??
The contents of the DVD might have been spectacular.
The graphics might’ve been spectacular.
But the quality of the DVD duplication was spectacular?
I don’t think so.
B-2
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I will definitely be taking all of my future DVD projects to David and COMPANY B Duplication. They were beyond helpful during every step of the production process. No other companies could beat COMPANY B’s fast turnaround and fair prices. The DVDs are perfect, I’m so pleased!
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Dan Comments: This one is real. It sounds like an enthusiastically satisfied customer.
I do find two of those words suspicious:
“Fair prices.”
Customers refer to a business’ “good prices.”
I’ve never heard a human describe a company’s prices as “fair.”
But the review isn’t “over the top” enough to fit the “phony” category.
Summing Up
A-1, A-2 and B-1 clearly are phony.
Despite my “fair prices” reservation, I’m willing to give B-2 the doubt as the only one of these four reviews that isn’t bogus.
Here’s a Question for You.
Did you notice words, phrases or sentences that immediately told you, “This is fake”?
Yes?
How many commercials are airing on your radio station right now that rely on equally “obviously bogus” dialogues?
