Build Trust Through Authentic Feedback

Our aim is to help businesses build and maintain fair and transparent representations of their customer service. But achieving this goal requires us to reinforce some reputation management guidelines, which are essential for keeping our review system fair for all—searchers, buyers, and businesses.

To maintain an authentic environment, all businesses must comply with these standards.

The Fundamental Rules for Businesses

• Zero-Incentives Policy: You must never offer incentives to your customers in exchange for customized reviews. Incentives include but aren’t limited to cash, coupons, discounts, gifts, store credit, or entry into giveaways.
• No Self-Reviewing: You cannot review a business as its owner, employee, or a third-party agency working with the business.
• No Competitor Sabotage: As a business owner, employee, or a third-party agency working with the business, you cannot leave negative reviews against a competitor business.
• No Abusing the Dispute System: Some negative reviews can be unfair and dispute-worthy, but disputing every negative review just because it’s negative, and not necessarily inauthentic, is prohibited and seen as abusive behavior.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Managing Reviews & Responding to Customer Reviews

When responding to customer reviews, your public replies reflect your company’s commitment to services. Understanding how to handle negative reviews professionally helps you protect your brand reputation and comply with the platform’s guidelines.

DO:

• Keep Responses Professional: Address customer criticism calmly and keep your responses constructive, even for negative reviews.
• Focus on Solution: Explain how you intend to address the customer’s problem. Direct them to support channels or explain steps to resolve issues.
• Acknowledge Feedback: Instead of dismissing the point, acknowledge customers’ feedback. Thank them for taking the time to share their experience.

DON’T:

• Don’t Attack: Refrain from attacking the customer with hostile, sarcastic, or insulting language and keep your responses positive. If their review comes across as misleading or dishonest, report it to the platform instead—our moderation team will review the content.
• Don’t Argue: Avoid arguing with customers in public replies. Demonstrate a positive attitude toward them by offering guidance and working toward a resolution.
• Don’t Disclose Customer Personal Data: Never dox a customer by posting their sensitive information, such as full names, private phone numbers, home addresses, or private email addresses, in your responses.
• Don’t Offer Bribes for Deletion: Never offer any kind of refund or perk to customers who leave negative reviews in exchange for deletion.

The Review Dispute Process

We understand that unfair or fake reviews can occasionally pass moderation. We offer a way to dispute fake reviews, which allows you to request an audit of the review that you believe violates our platform guidelines.

Valid Reasons for Disputing a Review

• Misleading or No Transaction Record: Customer’s transaction record is misleading, incorrect, or the reviewer was never a customer and their receipt is fraudulent.
• Guideline Violations: The review violates our platform and community guidelines, such as by using hate speech, derogatory language, threats, or doxxing.
• Wrong Business Profile: The customer mistakenly reviews your business profile while intending to review a different business.
• Conflict of Interest Content: The review is confirmed to be posted by a competitor, former employee, or a person who never happened to be your customer.
• Star Rating & Feedback Mismatch: The customer’s sentiment clearly mismatches their star rating, such as if a customer expresses positive sentiment but gives a 1-star rating.

Invalid Reasons for Disputing a Review

• Disagreeing With an Opinion: Disagreeing with a customer’s subjective rating or taste is not a valid reason for disputing their review.
• Customer Received a Refund or Fix: Disputing a negative review (based on an issue or complaint) because you later resolved the issue through a refund or fix is considered an invalid reason. Customers may voluntarily delete the review and post a new one, but genuine initial feedback remains valid and customers remain in charge.
• General Customer Frustration: Disputing a review is not valid if a customer was difficult to deal with, expressed harsh critique, or left a low star rating due to a specific issue, even if their overall experience had positive aspects.
• The Review Is Negative: As long as a review is genuine and complies with community guidelines, disputing it just because it’s negative and affects your rating is not a valid reason.
• Customer Profile Name Mismatch: Disputing a review because the customer’s The Trust Search profile name doesn’t match your internal CRM is considered an invalid reason. We allow customers to use aliases for privacy purposes while their invoice remains proof of their transaction.