vendor feedback policy

[89 RS]

Originally Posted by Flash68

And for the record, you and Scott have done a tremendous job of taking care of business and running the best forum in the best way possible around here. Most will agree with me on that.

I agree, you guys run a great site which allows people to share their cars, knowledge, and passion. With regards to the vendor issues, I think there has been drama for sure and it seems like more drama recently than I have seen in the short time I have been a member on this site. I think people can offer their experience(s) as long as it is done in a mature and intelligent manner. As far as two people or however many people jabbing back and forth, I don't think their problem will be solved by airing it on an internet forum open to the wide world.

I think Jody and Scott are trying to curb the drama before it turns into episodes of the Kardashians or Housewives of wherever...just my opinion.

[Scorpner]

I'd have to agree about people posting things that aren't true, they do it all the time and for many reasons. From my experience, some are even competing companies or friends helping out. If it isn't justified or legit, it's not fair to the company IMO.

[DRJDVM's '69]

One thing to consider Jody and Scott...

If you guys are the only ones hearing both sides of the story and deciding the real truth and which vendors stay and which ones go, in essence you are vouching for ALL the vendors that are sponsors on the site... You are by defacto giving your endorsement of everything that vendor does

In other words if I spend a lot of $$ with a sponsor and then they screw me or I have a terrible experience, I' not only pissed at them but I'm pissed at you because you vouched for them by being the sole judge of their business ethics

For me, that's kinda sticking my neck out more than I would want...

Right now there is some tie to the sponsors by having them sponsor your site but not nearly as much as if you guys are the sole "judge" of the company

[camcojb]

Originally Posted by DRJDVM's '69

One thing to consider Jody and Scott...

If you guys are the only ones hearing both sides of the story and deciding the real truth and which vendors stay and which ones go, in essence you are vouching for ALL the vendors that are sponsors on the site... You are by defacto giving your endorsement of everything that vendor does

In other words if I spend a lot of $$ with a sponsor and then they screw me or I have a terrible experience, I' not only pissed at them but I'm pissed at you because you vouched for them by being the sole judge of their business ethics

For me, that's kinda sticking my neck out more than I would want...

Right now there is some tie to the sponsors by having them sponsor your site but not nearly as much as if you guys are the sole "judge" of the company

I can't speak for Scott, but I don't look at it that way Ned. The site vendors pay for the privilege of being able to use the site to post info on their products, run sales, new product introductions, etc. We do not try to censor any feedback, good or bad about a vendor whether they are a site supporter or not. If you search you'll find where we've locked threads that have had both sides say their piece, or have turned into a bash fest. There have been a few that are deleted, but few and far between.

I've always felt that mistakes happen. If a guy starts a thread about waiting too long for a part and the dealer or manufacturer comes in and explains what happened, maybe they completely drop the ball. We will usually lock it once it's resolved, but the thread and issue still remains on the site. Also, the fact that it was resolved and that the vendor/manufacturer handled it. That's good for both sides in my opinion.

As far as who gets to decide what's bashing or not, how to or if to moderate a thread, that will always be up to the site staff. There's no way we can set up a poll for these threads and let the members vote as to who's right or wrong, etc. I know that's not what you mean exactly, but I don't see a lot of good coming out of letting some of these threads run their course. We've had far more pm's and emails over the years saying they appreciated us locking them down than we've had getting mad because we did lock them. And no, they weren't from the vendors that were the topic of the threads.

We are looking at alternatives for a vendor feedback forum. As it stands you're all welcome to give your feedback, good or bad, as long as it's your first-hand experience and you stick to the facts and don't get personal. As far as vouch for the vendors, we don't necessarily know their business practices when they sign up. We will however intercede for any of our members if there is an issue, and we've been extremely successful getting the problem handled. If a vendor shows they cannot take care of our members, then we remove them. It is really that simple.

[fleetus macmullitz]

Well said Jody.

[DRJDVM's '69]

We do not try to censor any feedback, good or bad about a vendor whether they are a site supporter or not

But by having a strict "no vendor bashing policy" where the customer cant come on here and give their account and opinion of a vendor, you are essentially censoring them... the goal to keep the online drama to a minimum is great, but opens the doorway for others to fall into the same abyss that other customers have experienced.

By locking the thread and taking everything "behind the scenes" is in some way censoring the customer from letting everyone know their experience with the vendor.

The hard thing is that there are always 3 sides to the story and keeping the online drama to a minimum is unquestionably better for the greater good

Its a sticky issue and I dont envy you guys having to deal with it. You guys do a fantastic job with this website, and I dont want any more drama than you guys. Its a tough thing to deal with because there is no real easy answer, or a solution that fits every scenario and makes everyone happy

Best I can think of is the "star" or feedback number type system.....even that is filled with pros and cons.

[Vegas69]

Is it really Lateral G's responsibility to be the middle man? When companies advertise on TV, is the TV station required to disclose their consumer approval rating? Do they mediate bad service? There are plenty of other examples.

With that being said, I do like the rating system idea bases on a handful of questions. No commentary or definitely no outside commentary. Just not sure it's easy to implement.

As Stuart said, buyer beware, ALWAYS.

[camcojb]

Originally Posted by DRJDVM's '69

But by having a strict "no vendor bashing policy" where the customer cant come on here and give their account and opinion of a vendor, you are essentially censoring them... the goal to keep the online drama to a minimum is great, but opens the doorway for others to fall into the same abyss that other customers have experienced.

By locking the thread and taking everything "behind the scenes" is in some way censoring the customer from letting everyone know their experience with the vendor.

The hard thing is that there are always 3 sides to the story and keeping the online drama to a minimum is unquestionably better for the greater good

Its a sticky issue and I dont envy you guys having to deal with it. You guys do a fantastic job with this website, and I dont want any more drama than you guys. Its a tough thing to deal with because there is no real easy answer, or a solution that fits every scenario and makes everyone happy

Best I can think of is the "star" or feedback number type system.....even that is filled with pros and cons.

we have "no vendor bashing" period. We do NOT have "no vendor feedback". Is that a better explanation? There is a difference between "bashing" and a posting about a negative experience.

Locking a thread is usually reserved for a few reasons. Original poster asks that it be locked, like the one today. Or the problem has been solved; leaving it open almost always ends in someone bringing it back from the dead months later to complain about so and so. If it's locked they can start a new thread, much easier for everyone to see what's going on instead of multiple stories in one thread.

The last reason would be the thread has gone so far off track that it's better and easier to lock it. I will say, there's been several of these that I should have locked but instead spent a long time editing the "comments that couldn't stay", plus edit the quoted "comments that couldn't stay" where another member responds to that, and on and on.

No matter what we do you have to realize that you are not going to make everyone happy. I see your point and others who've responded. We're not ignoring them, just looking at all the options.

For now, the way it's going to be is no vendor bashing. You can of course post experiences or feedback though, whether good or bad, as long as it's your experience and you keep it civil and honest. I really don't see that as any type of censorship, all we've said is that if it gets out of control we're going to step in and edit/lock it up.

There are many sites on the Net that "anything goes". This isn't one of them. I'm willing to give it a shot and add a feedback forum, see if everyone can keep things civil.