4 -Star Reviews - maybe issue from phones again?

[kathysimpressions]

All of a sudden, this past month, I've started getting some 4 star reviews but the comments are very positive and happy. One was talking to me today and said she was going to leave a glowing review because she was so happy, then it came in as 4 star. So I followed up with her even though I don't like to follow up in general on 4 stars. She said she hit all the stars. I'm wondering if the old issue of when people leave reviews from their phones, it's only giving us 4 stars instead of 5, and the person doesn't realize it? Is anyone else having this issue?  It's frustrating as it affects future customer confidence and our Star Seller rating.

[FullFeatherFinery]

Same thing happened to me two days ago. Customer communicated via messages she was very happy and would leave a good review, then I got a 4 star. No biggie, but if it's the phone glitch again....so annoying.

[PinkBirdCottage]

If accurate, this is not a small issue given the importance of reviews nowadays. I hope Etsy looks into it. 

[NickiesNest]

Hmmm, I wasn't aware of this issue but maybe it explains a 4-star review I got a week or so ago that had no comments with it.  It seemed strange but I let sleeping dogs lie rather than question the customer about it and risk annoying them.  Such a review has very little impact anyway.

[TonsOfPaper]

Hello there,

In cases like this, we recommend that you coordinate with the buyer to further understand as to why they left a 4-star review. In the event that they experienced any issue leaving a review, we suggest that your buyer contact us directly. This way, we can further check their account and help them further. They can contact us directly via this link.

Thank you very much!

[SunnytyDE]

It may not be an actual ‚glitch’ This happens quite often, even to me, because when you rate on the phone and hit the stars it goes to the next screen so fast you don’t know what you actually rated. There is no way to check again, no verifying and it doesn’t say when your done. You would have to go back to the actual order to see what you did. I always do that to make sure but all ourcustomers wouldn’t know that. Very annoying!

I do always follow up with them on 3 and bellow and 4 with glowing that don’t make sense and very rarely was it intentional. 

This would be an easy fix. Just have one more step added. Confirm? 

[kathysimpressions]

TonsOfPaper, 

  That link is a general help link. I had a customer try to contact Etsy about this and they've heard nothing. I had a customer leave 4 star review yesterday and they said they had put 5 star using the app. They try to click on it with their app and it turns off for them. It won't let them change it. It is definitely an app problem and it's starting to feel intentional if it turns off when they try to click on it to change it.  I don't know who can help look into this in general?  Or if there is a specific person I can send my customers to instead of just a generic help question one by one. I really don't like contacting people who leave 4 stars as that's not terrible feedback, but if their comments show they meant it to be 5 star, it's definitely a problem as it will take my Star Seller rating away. It's a brand new problem I've never had before a few months ago.  Still need help!! 

[WildCrockophile]

YES.  It most likely is when you get reviews from someone doing it on a phone.  Just about every single time I've gotten a four-star, I politely contact my buyer and ask them to help me learn what I can do better... and the poor things are always so apologetic, because they did not MEAN to leave four stars, they meant to leave five.  Obviously, something is either unclear or formatted off the side and unseen.  Coordinate with our buyer?  Yeah.  Thanks.  An extra step/hassle for both of us when in my experience, it has NOT been intentional on the buyer's part. 

[kathysimpressions]

I would like to add that my customer told me on her side she sees 5-Star for her review so she's not able to fix anything. On my side I see 4-Star. How is this possible even in a software glitch?  And the 4-Star is what is counted towards my Star Seller calculation.

[ChillwolfArt]

@kathysimpressions  I thought the same as TickleYourWitch stated below (that the erroneous 4 Stars issue pertained to older model cell phones).  But what you are describing makes me think there is definitely a glitch with the newer one. 

I agree with you; who wants to contact the Customer for a 4 Star Review (as you stated, it's still a good Review).  However, if it is not what the Customer intended, therefore it becomes an inaccurate Review.  And yes, it does affect Star Seller.  No Seller wants to backtrack every time they receive a 4 Star Review, wondering if it's really what the Buyer intended. And they shouldn't have to.

[EccentricHandbags]

I think a better question is who wants to ask buyers to use their own time contacting Etsy when it isn't the customers problem?  A better idea is for Etsy to fix broken features like this one before using their time on things like recreating the listing page.  Seriously, telling the customer to contact Etsy about this is terrible advice.   

[TickleYourWitch]

I thought this was determined to be an issue specific to certain older model cell phones where the display is partially cut off. I thought it was Samsung but I may be misremembering.

[SugarTaffySoap]

"we can further check their account and help them further". I'm wondering does this mean it has to do with the buyer's account or their cell phone? 

[DaysLongGone]

If this is from buyers using certain phones, then Etsy should just have a 4 star system in place.  As far as having the buyer contact Etsy, I would never ask my buyer to do this! 

[CreatefulStore]

I have had the same issue all last 3 of my feedbacks have been 4 stars and the comments are great. Contacted the customers they said they left 5 showing me 4 and one customer went back into the stars to change it again as she thought it was a mistake just incase and it’s still showing 4 star even though she clicked 5 star again. My star seller status will be gone this month if this carries on

[hopeandjoystudios]

I am not contacting a customer over a 4 star. It is awkward and embarrassing to have a seller grill you about why you left the review you left.  I have gotten occasional 4s with positive comments. If it is a glitch it sucks but oh well. Even if an accident I don't see how making them feel dumb or bad about it helps.  Should we be rated on a system with known glitches? No.

[theCopperPoppy]

THIS ^^

I've seen a few more 4 stars with glowing, happy text in my shop too and thought it was weird. I have enough 5 stars to float these odd occurrences, but in NO way am I going to bother a buyer with emails and ask them to wade through Etsy's clunky "help" link to request a change. How unprofessional!

[hopeandjoystudios]

I seriously can't believe Etsy suggests it. Hey..here's an idea..how about fixing the review system so it works on common devices?

[DaintyAndVibrant]

Wow, this might have happened to me, too. That would explain it. I got three reviews from a customer - all comments very positive, everything great, 4 stars. I thought: oh, well, they are all positive, I'm happy anyway. Even though it was the one thing that prevented me from getting the start seller badge this month. But, hey, the badge is not that important to me.

If a glitch is the reason for it though, that super unfair. No way I'm going to bother the customer to try to change it. I'm already grateful that she took the time to leave positive feedback.

[SecretPocketBooks]

That makes sense now.

I did think it was a bit odd that the buyer was thrilled with the lovely item, yet only gave 4 stars, but then again that's their prerogative.

If it's a blip on mobiles, then I'm sure that Etsy are on it and it'll get sorted out. 

However, I'm not bothered enough to personally do anything about it further.

[WildCrockophile]

HAHAHAHA... "I'm sure that Etsy are on it and it'll get sorted out". 

You haven't been here long, have you?  And I mean that kindly, with absolutely no malicious or jeering intent.  Etsy does not fix what's broken, they just change what is already working fine.  It's pretty obvious, from what I've seen on the forums, that it's been going on for a while and there's no sign it will ever get fixed.  ::sigh:: 

Hang in there.  Some say it's not worth bothering about, but if you get several and feel a lack of their silly Star Seller badge WILL affect your sales, just do what has been suggested... send ONE note asking if there was something you could have done better (if you're still learning the ropes, you have a perfectly good reason to ask, IMHO!), and if they respond, hey, that's great.  I have had folks apologize up and down for only leaving four, so I make SURE to reassure them that it's a known problem and I do not blame them, I was just checking to make sure they were absolutely happy.  

If they don't respond... c'est la vie, I don't nag.  

[thePaperFramer]

HAHAHAHA Also. "If it's a blip on mobiles, then I'm sure that Etsy are on it and it'll get sorted out." NOT

It hasn't been sorted out. I just got a 4 star yesterday from a very good customer with glowing words in the review. I contacted her and asked about the 4 star.

She sent me screen shot showing a 5 star on her phone and I sent her a screen shot showing a 4 star on my screen.

I asked her to check it on her desktop and it was a 4 star there so she updated it on her desktop and now its showing as a 5 star to me.

I wouldn't have gone through this except that this is a very good customer that I have a good relationship with and I wanted to find out exactly what was going on.

ESTY - FIX THIS MESS>

[MicrostepCustoms]

I've always followed up on any review less than 5 stars that didn't seem to make sense.  Only once did the customer not respond, and every time they responded they told me they thought they hit 5-stars and it ended being an issue of them using their phone.  Every time they gladly changed it to 5 stars, and I didn't have to ask them to.  Simply following up to see if there was an issue I could address for them was all it took to bring the error to their attention.  I know a lot of folks don't recommend reaching out to a customer in fear of aggravating them, but that hasn't been my experience at all. 

I'll reach out one time.  I won't be annoying about it.  I only want to take care of my customers.  If there was a legit issue, I'm simply asking for an opportunity to address it.  I won't ask them to change their review.  I'm looking for an opportunity to make things right and hopefully keep them coming back or recommending me to their friends.  If a customer gets annoyed about that then they're probably not the type of customer I want anyways.

[WildCrockophile]

I do the exact same.  99% of my customers are absolutely LOVELY people and the only reason I'm still here.  

As for feeling it might embarrass a customer as someone else mentioned?  Well, yeah.  Sometimes it does, poor things.  So if someone says, woops, sorry, didn't mean to...  I always assure them that I know it's not their fault and it's a known glitch.

[MosaicSmith]

Hm, I wonder if this is what happened with my buyer last month. I'll never know because, like many of you, I do not contact my buyers over 4 or 5 star reviews because I certainly would not be thrilled if a seller contacted ME over my review. (Not even if I left a five star because now with the Star Seller program, I must then reply to that message, sigh.)

Not loving that this is marked Solved because, judging by the other responses here, it definitely deserve a critical look by Etsy.