Several customers leaving 4 star review, but meant to leave 5 stars

[JustArtinAround]

Recently, we have noticed a lot more 4 star reviews from our customers with extremely positive comments. After reaching out to see if there is anything we can do to address any issues, the customers inform us that they meant to leave 5 stars and immediately update their reviews. We are very careful with our wording to make sure not to sway their opinion and just check on the order to see if there were any issues we could address. This is really odd since it just started to happen.

Has anyone else run into this? Does anyone know if the wording on the reviews have changed? Does anyone know if the review form has changed?

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

[bradgoodell]

It's been said that leaving feedback on the app can change the feedback to 4 stars.  However, I've left feedback on the app, and haven't had that happen.  I checked, after the fact, to be safe.  

[NanaLetha]

That happens sometimes when the buyer has an outdated version of the app. 

[ChillwolfArt]

(I've said the following before and will repeat it again).  If a Customer intended to leave 5 Stars and did not have the ABILITY to leave anything higher than 4 Stars, that Review is INACCURATE.  And yes, we are being graded on it with the SS Metrics.

I personally wouldn't reach out for a 4 Star Review (it's your preference that you did).  But I did receive my first one last Fall since 2011 (when I came to Etsy).  I did not reach out (a four is still a good Review, just not with the SS Metrics, which Etsy is very well aware of).  

As NanaLetha said, I too have heard about glitches with the outdated app (not letting a Customer leave anything higher than 4 Stars).  I am not going to write a Customer to ask about it.  We know large volume Shops can recoup from the ding/s on Reviews much faster than smaller volume Shops can.  But the bottom line is NO Review is accurate when it is not what the Customer intended to leave.

[JustArtinAround]

We always are striving for 5 star reviews. Prior to SS metrics, we would just let the 4 stars go since they were good but with the SS metric, they are equivalent to a 1 star review. Because of this, we reach out to all customers who leave anything less to address any issues and to make sure we are continuing to grow. We do not receive many, so it is not very time consuming. What we have notice is very concerning to us which is why I asked in the forum.

In all the cases in which we reached out to the customer, we:

1. checked the communication thread for any issues
2. checked what was said during the final approval
3. checked the tracking

We have seen an uptick on 4 star reviews, even when the approval response is something like:

• "OMG, I LOVE IT!"
• "This is perfect!"
• "I am tearing up. I love it!"

So with those types of responses, and with tracking showing that it arrived quickly, we wanted to see if there was something we were missing. We want to make sure the artwork was not at all damaged and address any concerns. In every case, the customer responded that they meant to leave a 5 star review.

[PristinityJewelry]

Etsy needs to put a "poison pill" in the site's coding, so that shoppers using an older app (only four star review available) are denied access, or are forced to upgrade the app.  Etsy will never be able to legitimately add the "star seller" ratings to the search algorithm otherwise.

[HotOffHerHook]

I also think that when one goes to hit a star on their cell phone, it's easy to hit the one right. next to that end one, you know?   Fat fingers notwithstanding.  Even for one review leaver who realized oh, I hit the 4 instead of the 5, they can figure, especially if they are in a hurry, oh, that's good enough!

[NancyQstudio]

It may just be a typo too?  I accidentally entered 2 start rather than 5 the other day when I was leaving a review.  Thankfully, I was able to go back and correct it before saving.  It happens. 

[NancyQstudio]

Meant to write stars rather than start....Another typo!  Lol.  I need to go get some coffee.  Wishing everyone a happy week!

[JustArtinAround]

You can edit it after you save it. I'm not sure how long a customer has to edit it, but I believe it is a while.

[Mommykimstyle]

Some customer believes 4 star is good as much as 5 star, no matter how much they love it. It's just different mindset. I guess, generally they are not enjoying their life at the fullest.  

[JustArtinAround]

That's the odd part. All the customers I asked said they meant to leave 5 stars. I never ask them to change their review or that it was 4 stars. We've never ran into this before until recently.