Merchants who only publish positive reviews...

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?  

What is a gentlemanly way? Please explain that to me. How about letting the readers decide if a review/comment was written in a 'gentlemanly' way? Why create a vague standard for reviews which can easily be manipulated to suite one's benefit? What if a vendor/artisan/whatever decides that any criticism is 'un-gentlemanly' as his/her mother taught him/her 'don't say anything unless it's good'?

What is bashing? If I don't like the performance, why wouldn't I say this product isn't delivering? If the scent of a product seems like fart to me, what's wrong in saying so?

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!

For the second time in this thread, I have this question: If I write something online, say something in person, why wouldn't that by default be considered my opinion? Why would I state someone else's opinion? English isn't my first language, but who, in their right mind, consider 'this smells like something else' as a fact? A fact has to be backed by evidence, numbers, experiments, a fact has to be validated by others through independent methods. Why would someone consider a statement made by a nobody like me a 'fact'? And why am I responsible for making clear that what I am stating is mere personal opinion, rather than fact?


All these criticisms toward 'reviews/bashings/what not' assume the average reader is stupid - not able to sort between trash talk and honest opinion.

I saw the term subjective used at least once in this thread. A simple word with an incredibly important meaning; which in my opinion is very important almost like the Bill of Rights. What I like you may not and visa versa. I believe anything we consume or apply to our bodies must pass the personal test called subjective. I have been cooking for decades (not my profession and I am not a Chief) and generally a good wine accompanies the meal. I have read reviews stating a particular wine came down from the heavens. I tried it and I would never purchase it again. I was not impressed. Shaving products are no different. I have read reviews where people have said this soap is incredible and I did not like it at all. There is one particular soap (no name) which had a description (I assume written by the brand) which appears on many web sites word for word (verbatim) frankly I was not in agreement with that description. What am I trying to say? A persons opinion of a product is their opinion. Opinion means “…a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact…”. Anytime I purchase a new soap or even a blade it is a crap shoot. You may have made an excellent decision or, not. If you accept this premise you may be less disappointed and not try to bash the manufacture for a decision you yourself made. And lastly, if I guy drove 500 miles to beat me up he would have made a serious mistake.

The only way a review doesn't get published by me is if it contains vulgar language, is spam (we have a filter that catches most, but still get the Vaigra links and links for hot Asian teens that want you), or if they are shilling for another product line.

Negative reviews hurt sometimes. No lie. There are times we get them in and it's literally like, wow, what the heck. You click them through anyway. Especially for us. We've got so many products and so many scents that it would be ridiculous to think that everyone will like everything. Quite the opposite. I fully expect every single person to be able to find something, even if it's just one scent, that they hate. It's just statistics.

That said, it still is not fun to read someone with a negative take on your work. It's part of life though. If you start getting tons of negative reviews for one product, you get rid said product or find a way to improve it. You can't let it get you down.

I will say, sometimes I get reviews that I just laugh at. Like the guy who's overly bitter that his $13 bottle of Executive Man is not 100% the same as his $185 bottle of Creed Aventus.

Reviews are not the be-all-end-all anyway. They are a tool. The only way anyone is ever going to know for sure is just to try it.

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?  

What is a gentlemanly way? Please explain that to me. How about letting the readers decide if a review/comment was written in a 'gentlemanly' way? Why create a vague standard for reviews which can easily be manipulated to suite one's benefit? What if a vendor/artisan/whatever decides that any criticism is 'un-gentlemanly' as his/her mother taught him/her 'don't say anything unless it's good'?

What is bashing? If I don't like the performance, why wouldn't I say this product isn't delivering? If the scent of a product seems like fart to me, what's wrong in saying so?

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!

For the second time in this thread, I have this question: If I write something online, say something in person, why wouldn't that by default be considered my opinion? Why would I state someone else's opinion? English isn't my first language, but who, in their right mind, consider 'this smells like something else' as a fact? A fact has to be backed by evidence, numbers, experiments, a fact has to be validated by others through independent methods. Why would someone consider a statement made by a nobody like me a 'fact'? And why am I responsible for making clear that what I am stating is mere personal opinion, rather than fact?


All these criticisms toward 'reviews/bashings/what not' assume the average reader is stupid - not able to sort between trash talk and honest opinion.

Replying to your points, iamsms! Here are two examples of what I would consider to be "gentlemanly" and "ungentlemanly" responses:

"the product did not work for me" - "gentlemanly" type of response...
"it was so terrible I threw it in the trash" - "bashing" type of response...

You also gave me two responses that I can fit into each of the "categories"

"why wouldn't I say this product isn't delivering?" - this would be a polite response

"If the scent of a product seems like fart to me" - this is considered by me to me a vulgar, rude and ignorant response. "I didn't like the scent" would be much better response.

Regarding the responses to "fact versus opinion" issue you commented on:
As I stated there are many people who can read something and understand that it is an opinion being expressed but there are also others who tend to believe that anything they see in print online is a fact. This is why I was suggesting that one make others aware that they are stating their "opinions" As an example, "My opinion on this product is that the scent doesn't meet up to my standards but the texture is OK" this will leave it open for the reader to judge the product on their own! If they were to see several "opinions" that were identical then they could decide the opinion may be fact. I'm sorry that you used the word "stupid" in last line. I would have chosen the word ignorant. Stupid means you are unable to learn and ignorant means you have not yet learned something - two different things! I would say that unfortunately there are some people who have not learned to not accept everything they read online to be fact but rather it is an opinion.

You mentioned that English was not your first language. I have been fortunate to have experienced language as a singer and have sung in at least seven different languages over quite a number of decades! I am aware through this and having been fortunate to have traveled in Europe, the Middle East, the UK and more that there are quite a bit of differences in culture as well. These differences have also changed with time and since I grew up in the 1950's and 1960's when things were quite a bit different that my ideal of what would be considered "gentlemanly" has changed, is not what it was and has evolved quite a bit since then. Perhaps my ideals may seem conservative but that is how I was raised and how I believe things should be!

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 that 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!

Excellent post David. In my case, the review that I wrote was written in a gentlemanly fashion. I stuck to the facts. I, as I stated in the original thread, complimented the merchant on excellent service. So, it was "not fair" that it was unpublished. There have been a few threads regarding the term "gentlemanly". Some have an issue with the word. I don't. You could easily substitute the word "polite". Both terms are applicable in my opinion. And lastly, regarding my font choice, it's my favorite font, I like it. It makes me feel good. I love how it looks. Thank you DFS for making font choices available. If it bothers anyone, please accept my sincerest apology.

our review system is unbiased and one of the best out there, IMHO: https://damnfineshave.com/reviews

our review system is unbiased and one of the best out there, IMHO:  https://damnfineshave.com/reviews

Lovely! And how does one get ones product reviewed?

our review system is unbiased and one of the best out there, IMHO:  https://damnfineshave.com/reviews

Lovely!  And how does one get ones product reviewed?  

direct people over to our review system!

His apple is a mess.

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.

Bashing a brand or product by a large number of people prompts me to try the brand or product. That's actually how I found one of my all-time favorite artisans. I believe some people like to join the popular group whether it's to bash or praise. In either case I prefer to try the product myself and come to my own conclusion.