The Internet giveth and the Internet taketh away. Reviews that you read online are at the same time your best and your worst ally when it comes to accessing whether a moving company is to be trusted. And, when looking for reliable, professional, and experienced moving companies Manhattan offers, you want to make sure your decision is correct. As we want to help, we have created a guide for you that will help you recognize fake company reviews with greater ease. So, let’s see what you need to pay attention to.
Recognizing fake company reviews online
What is great about reviews online is that it gives every customer the ability to leave their honest comment on the service they have been provided with. However, it also opens its doors to everyone else who either wants to glorify or put a company down. With that in mind, here is how you can determine whether the comments for Financial District movers are indeed reliable.
Overzealous in their claims
In the vast majority of cases, things that seem too good to be true often are. While one person might indeed be extra happy with the service movers have provided, all 100 of them simply cannot be that happy. A nice balance that tips towards a moving company is professional and reliable is what you are looking for. Simply put, no one company is so perfect to fit everyone. On the other hand, if a company has too many bad reviews, that is a clear sign you should keep looking.
Bonus tip
Certain research has shown that the overuse of an ”I” and ”me” with a lot of verbs is a sign of a comment likely to be fake. This possibly happens due to people trying to make themselves sound more credible when lying by using personal pronouns. In addition, deceivers tend to use more verbs and truth-tellers often opt for more nouns, some research finds.
Scene-setting is also a red flag to keep a lookout for. People who came to leave an honest review will simply tell it like it is. Deceivers, however, will like to go into detail about the scenery, using words like ‘business trip’, ‘vacation’, and so on.
Using generic names and/or lacking a photo
One of the great ways to recognize fake company reviews is to spot the ones who come from a faceless, generic-named profile. So, make sure to look out for Johns, Janes, Marks, and Shawns, as they tend to be a crowd favorite, especially when paired with the surname of Smith, Jackson, and House. Of course, employ your own instinct, as you will certainly be able to pick out a few obviously fake names, as well as a combination of numbers and letters. It is usually an offshore company pushing bulk reviews on a site under different accounts.
Timing can be everything
While Americans move a lot, it is not like everyone is moving all the time, and also has the time to leave a review. So, check to see if there is a spike in the total number of reviews during a very short time frame. This is likely to indicate a targeted campaign. In addition, pay attention to phrase repetition. Go through several reviews and see whether they are any words or phrasing that seem to repeat in different reviews. In most cases, reviews that use the same phrases have been instructed to do so by the party faking the reviews for whatever reason.
Common sense plays a big role in spotting fake reviews. That is why you should also check for spelling and grammar. See whether certain phrases sound like you yourself would tell them. After all, these reviews ought to come from real people expressing their opinion. Poor English can be fine, but too much of it is a bad sign.
Check the user’s profile in order to recognize fake company reviews
If a comment seems especially fishy, you can dig a bit deeper into the reviewer’s profile. What you may find is that a person who has left the review has done so multiple times prior. And, let’s face it, who moves more than a couple of times in a lifetime? If the user has a big trend of giving all five-star reviews, no negativity included, odds are they are getting paid for that comment.
Look for the middle ground comments
As we mentioned, you ought to steer clear from a company that has all five star reviews. Find the company that does not have the perfect score, and look for comments that are in the middle. These reviews then to be most honest and insightful about both the positive and negative aspects of the experience. You can also use them to cross-reference other reviews and look for trends in both positive and negative feedback.
When all else fails, know that you can reach out directly to the reviews with questions about their comment. Keep in mind that most of the fake ones will not respond. However, the real ones often appreciate the opportunity to be more helpful and share the details of their experience. After all, chances are they themselves have struggled with the way to recognize fake company reviews.
We urge you to leave a comment of your own after you have finalized your move with a moving company. With the goal of spreading as much truth as possible, this will be a great way to contribute to the community, and let others know which company is to be trusted.
