I saw this thread and decided that I would like to post a reply but first I made sure that I read every post in the thread. I don't happen to have a "review" function on either of my shaving websites so I don't have that as experience. However, I have had reviews of my products on Message Boards and I do have experience on that end!
I main complaint would be that although everyone has the right to express their opinion that often it is not done in a "gentlemanly" way. If you don't happen to like a product that is fine but is "bashing it" the only way to deal with it? If you are expressing your opinion, wouldn't it be more beneficial to express it as your opinion rather than try to express it as fact? That, in my mind, is the more "gentlemanly" way of dealing with it! On the flip side, many people who read these "bashing" reviews take this into consideration while reading them. A review that is a complete "bashing" is not always taken seriously because of its presentation! Fortunately, these people who read the "bashing" reviews will often ignore them which, in my mind, is a good thing! Unfortunately, there are others who read negative reviews and accept opinion as fact and that makes it difficult for the merchant. I can see why some merchants might not want to post all reviews but that, in my opinion is not fair to everyone involved. So, I want to suggest to anyone who has a problem with a review of theirs not being posted that they ask themselves this question: "Was my review a fair, polite and gentlemanly response to the product/company that covered all positive and negative aspects of your opinion about the product? If your answer is "Yes!" and the review that you sent was not posted then that was not fair! However, if you answer "No!" (or anything close to "No!") then you've got your answer as to why it was not posted!
Merchants are merchants and we are all different from each other in many ways and also share characteristics but none of us are exactly equal to each other! Kindly have the courtesy to not lump us all into one of your "imaginary" categories because you think that being an "artisan" somehow makes us different from one another... I work really hard to create the best product I am capable of and do whatever I can to attract customers and try to find devoted customers who will support my business because they understand what I do and how much dedication I have toward this goal! But, those who don't make their own products work very hard in finding just the right product to sell, present it in the best way possible and stand behind what they sell and may put in the same amount of time and effort or maybe even more!
In my response, I tried my best to express my opinion in the most "gentlemanly" way I know how and hope to be treated with the same respect. I think if we all have this kind of positive attitude toward dealing with an issue like this then we have a much better chance of handling the issue in the best way possible and getting the results we desire!
