Google Reviews Versus Actual Experience
I recently had a dental emergency that couldn’t wait till a weekday to address. I found a reputable 5-star Google reviewed dental facility about an hour away that was open on a Saturday, and was excited at the prospect of receiving 5-star treatment on a Saturday despite the fact that they didn’t take my insurance. The reviews were literally the main reason I went there. I couldn’t go wrong with such rave reviews, right? In comparison, my local doctor only has 2.7 stars on Google, so I was interested in seeing the difference in service.
Surprisingly, the service was very disappointing. The agonizing and painful wait of several hours, the pushy salesmanship trying to get me to pay several thousands of dollars for a root canal versus a few hundred for an extraction. To top it all off, no post-operation instruction or antibiotics to handle the infection afterwards.
I was feeling pretty beaten and bruised by the time the day was over.
Today, I went to my local 2.7 star doctor, was seen right away, paid my $20 co-pay since they took my insurance, and they immediately sent in a prescription for antibiotics right to my preferred pharmacy.
The stark difference in service was staggering, especially when the Google Reviews were the exact opposite.
What does this mean for Google Reviews?
It basically means that while every small business should be asking for and caring about Google Reviews, it also means every consumer needs to be checking up on those reviews.
I always encourage people interested in Misfit Interactive service to use any of our clients for references on our web design work. Compare them with our reviews, ask to interview a review or testimonial. Do some work to make sure someone isn’t just stocking filler reviews from fake people or companies in order to make themselves look better. Google doesn’t like that, and neither should you 🙂
Pro Tip: Take a look at the dates on the reviews too. If they are all the same day/week, likely they were being posted from fake accounts. It takes a LONG time to gather up reviews and testimonials unless you’ve gone viral for one reason or another. A small business getting 10 reviews in a day is almost unheard of.
A Woman-Owned Company
A client recently signed up for service that pretty much dominates their market for all of the Mid-Atlantic area. Out of all of the web design and Search Engine Optimization companies in the area, they chose to go with Misfit Interactive. We might be tooting our own horn a little bit there.
I did ask them why they chose us over the hundreds of similar companies in the region. There were two reasons, really. The first, we were highly recommended in their research in Frederick, Maryland for Web Design and SEO. We have a lot of colleagues there that recommended us and know the quality of our work. It’s where I got my first professional break into the digital agency world, afterall.
Secondly, they hired us because we are a woman-owned company, and they wanted the care and consideration that they personally felt with a woman-owned company. I can’t say either way whether that judgement is accurate or fair. I know my father prefers female doctors for his primary care, but I honestly thought that was because he likes to flirt with them 🙂
It did get me thinking though about the level of care we provide our clients. We have consistently, in every project, gone above and beyond the scope of what we were being paid for. I’m checking my email first thing when I wake up in the morning and as the last thing I do before bed. It’s rare that I’m not thinking about business, and I want to make sure my clients are being taken care of.
I don’t know that being a woman has anything to do with that, but being Crystal certainly does.
Being Quick to Respond is Someting We Think is Important
Another story that is fairly recent is our acquisition of a new web maintenance client here in Gettysburg that needed someone to take over their online store at a reasonable rate. Technically they were shopping around to various companies, but I called them immediately when they sent in their inquiry for pricing, and the woman I spoke with loved my personality so much and my immediate desire to help, she decided not to call anyone else. We were hired immediately.
She did say that she was not interested in me trying to sell her a new website. Apparently that was something she had dealt with regarding other web companies before, being pushed into things they didn’t want or need. I assured her that wasn’t a problem.
Kinda sounds similar to my root canal versus tooth extraction, doesn’t it?
My point with all these recent stories is that, we take a lot of pride in our care of our customers. We’re by no means perfect, but if you call us, you’re going to talk to the owner directly, and I’m going to sit with you right then and there to go over what you need done and offer solutions on how we can make it happen.
I guess that makes us Misfits.
