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Thread: Fake Testimonials..
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10-16-2006, 11:54 AM #1Web Hosting Master
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Fake Testimonials..
Hi ,
I have heard many times that companies do put fake testimonials of customers..sometimes when they dont have a company and it's a fresh start..they display fake testimonials to attrack customers..is it okay?
I think this mostly happens with hosting companies owned by teens trying to make some $$.
What do you think?
regards,
Zafar
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10-16-2006, 12:00 PM #2Junior Guru
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Of course fake testimonials are not OK. Its blatant lying.
Its like defrauding your customers.Don't Lose Your Website Ever Again!
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10-16-2006, 12:02 PM #3Web Hosting Master
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No, of course it's not okay.
It's blatant fraud.
Being honest, having some integrity and just putting your nose to the grindstone results in a great, loyal clientbase who will respect you and stick it out in the end.
Shoddy, shady input will result in a shoddy, shady company in the end.
Do it the right way.
If you don't have any testimonials: Don't put any up!
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10-16-2006, 12:05 PM #4Texas Female
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Fake testimonials are NOT okay
After you've been in the business awhile it becomes pretty easy to spot fake ones too.HostCaters.com - Quality Web Hosting - Under A Gig! - Since 1999
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10-16-2006, 12:29 PM #5Retired Moderator
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Still, fake testimonials don't have to be blatant. Not everyone's a good salesman, not everyone's a "good" shill.
Many (if not most) testimonial pages are of no value anyway, as there' no way to identify the author. They could just as well be fake.
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10-16-2006, 01:02 PM #6Texas Female
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Originally Posted by ldcdc
I will agree with that IF a testimonial page is full of comments with no url, no email addy, etc.
We publish ours onsite and some may include their url and some not. Others may include an email without the url. Its posted however it was submitted to us.
Client privacy comes into play here and some clients do not wish to disclose certain info. Thats fine with us and we respect their wishes.
This is just another example of how some BAD hosts will stoop to anything and post fake reviews and in the end we "all" pay for it because it plants a negative feed within the mind.
Thats my cater centsHostCaters.com - Quality Web Hosting - Under A Gig! - Since 1999
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10-16-2006, 01:04 PM #7Web Hosting Master
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UMMM - i would think that word FAKE would be a no brainer for most on the question. Sure having testimonies up are great but if you don't include the link to their site with the testimonies then they are really pointless.
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10-16-2006, 01:08 PM #8Web Hosting Master
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I will agree with that IF a testimonial page is full of comments with no url, no email addy, etc.
We publish ours onsite and some may include their url and some not. Others may include an email without the url. Its posted however it was submitted to us.
Client privacy comes into play here and some clients do not wish to disclose certain info. Thats fine with us and we respect their wishes.
Some times the customer does not want their url published, which is perfectly fine.
Fake testimonials however are wrong.
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10-16-2006, 01:11 PM #9Web Hosting Evangelist
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Fake testimonies is something I think many use when they start their
business. But should not be donewww.xpindia.com hosting.
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10-16-2006, 01:31 PM #10Web Hosting Master
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Fake one and paid ones are not ok....
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10-16-2006, 02:25 PM #11Disabled
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testimonials are always a strange one in my book - a quick comment that was perhaps said in the heat of the moment (whether a good comment or bad comment) is only indicative of what the customer thought at that exact second; the only real way to use existing customers to assess a host is to ask your friends - to ensure impartiality, you should really only listen to testimonials from people you already trust, otherwise you don't know that the referee doesn't have some alterior motive.
You don't see people putting on their CV "You did a great job!" - CEO of Company XYZ, beacuse it's not indicative of overall performance. It may indeed be real (i think even the worst host would be hard pushed to have not a single customer who has ever said anything good), but it's useless.
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10-16-2006, 03:32 PM #12Web Hosting Guru
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Fake testimonials are becoming more common place these days and to be honest as other posters have said here, many people just ignore them.
A testimonial should only be added with the customers consent and with a valid URL or contact mail that the client has agreed you can place on the site.
If we see testimonials on any site that we intend to do business with, if they can't quantify when asked we don't deal with them and prefer to go off word of mouth and forum entries such as those here on WHT.
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10-16-2006, 04:34 PM #13Disabled
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i should have mentioned above that there is a big differentiation between customer testimonials and an in-depth case study; a case study will generally spell out exactly what the customer can offer, and how it can help a particular company, which is vastly better than a one-line quote.
Any companies that i work with, i advise only to use case studies, not testimonials - a testimonial, even if it is backed up by contact info and is genuine, puts the onus on the reader to research it, which is not what any business should be asking a potential customer to do; a case study, on the other hand, allows the customer to be spoonfed the information that they require.
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10-16-2006, 04:41 PM #14Web Hosting Master
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Originally Posted by ITAhmed
err..and what are paid ones?
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10-16-2006, 05:42 PM #15Web Hosting Master
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Yea, I'm curious too..what are paid testimonials?
And well..about not putting links for testimonials..some clients request that the URL isn't to be included for privacy reasons..but that shouldn't be the ruleCaro.Net: Support is everything
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10-16-2006, 08:51 PM #16Web Hosting Master
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Originally Posted by Zafar AhmedDaniel B., CEO - Bezoka.com and Ungigs.com
Hosting Solutions Optimized for: WordPress • Joomla • OpenCart • Moodle
Data Centers in: Chicago (US), London (UK), Sydney (AU), Sofia (BG), Pori (FI)
Email Daniel directly: ceo [at] bezoka.com
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10-16-2006, 08:59 PM #17antitheistic atheist
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10-16-2006, 09:12 PM #18Web Hosting Master
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Faced with a looming deadline and absolutely no customers, our organization was between a rock and a hard place. With nowhere to turn to our marketing team sat dejected at their desks, wondering where they would obtain that all important first testimonial, given the sales team had utterly failed to deliver the all important first client. Suddenly, while browsing an on-line poker gaming site, our VP of Marketing noted a brilliant flashing banner ad which quickly drew our attention to FakeTestimonials.com.
Immediately we seized upon the moment and checked out the web site. After browsing through the hundreds of heartwarming approvals from clients, we knew that we were in safe hands with FakeTestimonials DOT COM!
They delivered when nobody else could!
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10-16-2006, 09:24 PM #19Chief Penguin Chaser
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Woah! Who in the world uses Fake Testimonials?!? Thats just not right..
*runs to remove testimonials*
-- I've known a few people/companies to do this as well =\
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10-16-2006, 09:44 PM #20Web Hosting Master
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US-based hosts would do well not to use fake testimonials. If someone's smart,
s/he can report it to the FTC.
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10-16-2006, 10:05 PM #21Web Hosting Master
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Fake testimonials=
I have seen lot now days,<<< Please see Forum Guidelines for signature setup. >>>
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10-16-2006, 11:06 PM #22Web Hosting Master
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ive even seen disclaimers such as
"Testomonials may not be of acuall customers"I could tell you a joke about UDP. But I'm not sure you would get it!
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10-16-2006, 11:07 PM #23Chief Penguin Chaser
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Originally Posted by Dan541
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10-16-2006, 11:07 PM #24Junior Guru
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Putting up a link to the site of the author makes the testimonial appear more valid but is not always the best case to bank on authencity. And posting these links require the approvals of the author so that their privacy is protected.
IMHO, genuine testimonials are those that can be verified with the author by any means possible.Don't Lose Your Website Ever Again!
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10-17-2006, 06:27 AM #25Newbie
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Not Ok...
Originally Posted by Zafar Ahmed
Kind Regards
John Wood