How to Fight Back Against RipOffReport.com.
Filed under: Reputation Management on Friday, January 18th, 2008 by Jacob WolfsheimerIn June, I warned an industry colleague not to purchase a compact digital camera at a deep discount because of the reviews and reputation of the online store he was considering. I found the reviews from ripoffreport.com, which is one of the largest “consumer advocate” sites on the Internet. The issues of bait and switch that caught my attention at Ripoff Report were well documented on other sites as well.
I am no stranger to Ripoff Report. In 2005, I took my chances with, and completed offers to receive a “free ipod” through Incentive Reward Center, even after reviewing scam alerts and poor customer service rants. As I completed offers, I took screenshots of each step, screenshots of the terms and services, the privacy policy, and collected any contact information I came across. I figured when all was said and done, if I did not receive an ipod, I would have spent $50, mostly on useless products and free trials, and then I’d go out and buy a new ipod at retail. Depending on how wronged I felt, I was going to report them to the Better Business Bureau, their local Chamber of Commerce, and anyone else who might remotely listen. A couple of minor hiccups and decent contact with customer service, and I received my top of the line ipod.
But what is it like to be on the receiving end of a complaint on Ripoff Report? One SEO agency (NOT US!), who also offers reputation management services, received a complaint on the Ripoff Report. And they handled it by blogging on their own site about Google’s love of certain sites, including Ripoff Report and Wikipedia. It has been picked up by other blogs, positively, and they’ve handled it nicely. Though they’ve brought additional attention to the issue, they have also effectively put it to rest. It is a calculated risk that companies have to take when responding to user-generated content, that bringing greater attention to the issue will in fact mitigate it.
