[Lauren]

Hi everyone,

Did you know that 46% of people admit they NEVER buy anything online without checking the reviews first?

Why reviews matter:
Reviews from real customers gives people confidence. Confidence that they're making the right decision in choosing a trade professional to complete work on their homes.

We have a free guide to help you start asking and receiving more reviews, and excellent reviews too! Click h e r e >>

[ChelseaDave]

Hi @Lauren - I don’t think we need help with asking for customer reviews. If a customer decides not to respond there is very little you can do about it, plus if you hassle them they are more than likely to respond with poor feedback or both parties falling out. So rather than trying to educate the tradesperson with the importance of feedback, shouldn’t that be something brought up with the consumer? Most of my projects last at least a month and sometimes over three and you would think that over that period a good relationship would have been established but this can make no difference with getting feedback. Since mid-December 2022 I have carried out four projects with only one giving feedback and that equates to one in a third of a year! Some people simply can’t be bothered, are always too busy or say they will and don’t! I’m afraid Checkatrade has far too much faith in the consumer rather than the plight of the tradesperson because they believe it to be so simple. I also believe Checkatrade asks for too much information which can put some consumers off!

Can I also ask why you say ‘free’ guide? This should be something that is included as part of our membership (what we pay for) and not something we should be grateful for as an addition or some sort of bonus!

[Lauren]

@ChelseaDave
Points taken and understood, but also sharing the importance and educating the members on this means they can portray the message and importance to their customers.

Some members might not be as confident in asking for reviews, so we have created this blog as a guide and help.

We've got education pieces for the homeowner too for precisely that - but this is a member-only trade-only community which is why I shared it here.

It's a free guide as it is called that online on our blog - I think that the blogs and guides are a great addition to membership support and business support - it's something the team works very hard on which is an added bonus as there are many other places out there that do not offer this.

Having it all in-house saves you, members and homeowners from going elsewhere to seek help and education on all sorts! Check out the advice centre below:
Trade >>
Homeowner >>

[Lauren]

@ChelseaDave it also mentions letting the checkatrade app ask customers to review too, which saves you time and you can remind customers to review at a tap of a button!

#LightWork

[ChelseaDave]

Hi @Lauren - I take on board what you say in reply but sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do if the customer just doesn’t care! Personally, I mention feedback with my customers on introduction when we meet for the very first time to discuss and measure the project, on project completion, with final invoice and if necessary just the one reminder a week or two later. I think that is more than enough and if that doesn’t work I have to accept it is not going to happen, so it is not through the lack of trying. You mention that 46% of consumers prefer tradespeople with good reviews, but I would bet a high percentage of those not being prepared to leave reviews, I know this first hand! Can I also add that there are many out there that don’t even read tradespeople’s profiles to see what they actually do let alone bothering to read their reviews, another thing I have experienced. Checkatrade’s view of how it should work is way off what the tradesperson actually experiences. Ultimately people are very lazy and don’t do what they don’t have to, that’s the real world!