Can you trust online auto transport reviews?

When you start your search for a reliable auto transport company, you’ll may want to start by gravitating toward review websites to get previous customer experiences. That’s a good idea – and a bad idea.

You should be aware that many auto transport companies will hire people, or use their own employees, to submit falsely positive reviews about their company, or to offer untrue negative comments about another, on their own websites or on “forums” online (sometimes they even create the “forum” page!). There’s nothing illegal about it on our wide-open internet, but it’s misleading and in a way it’s fraud. Nevertheless,false reviews are everywhere, and it takes a knowledgeable eye to spot them. Discover here.

So we’re offering a quick guide to help you spot fake auto transport reviews on any website. Check for these giveaways:

• Does the website require identification of the poster?

If you’re unfamiliar with the site, one way to determine how easy it would be to submit a fake review is to try it yourself. If you only have to submit a star rating or a couple of sentences, that’s a website that’s susceptible to false reviews. If you are required to verify your identity, such as a customer order, you can assume it’s a reliable review site.

 

• Did a large number of reviews get posted in a short period of time?

Look at the date of the reviews: If most of the positive ones (or the negative ones, in the case of an “attack” website)  all came in around the same time, use caution. Reviews will usually be submitted at a steady pace over a longer period of time. If a company’s review history shows a varied number of reviews over a lengthy period of time – and they include both positive and “iffy” — they’re more likely to be genuine.

 

• Are most of the reviews attributed to “anonymous?”

If the website allows you to set up a profile to “join,” yet you see that most of the reviews are submitted anonymously, don’t trust it. Most people who submit reviews under their own names are genuine.

 

• Is the reviewer brimming over with praise and exclamation points?

Don’t trust reviews with an overly positive tone, or those that use words like “great” and “awesome.” Sincere reviewers are usually objective and reserved, even with their positive remarks. If you are seeing nothing but praise, you may be dealing with fake reviews. Look for reviews that list pros and cons, use varied words, and seem to evaluate the company from a neutral stance.

 

• Do they contain broad statements rather than focused details?

Fake reviews are likely to contain generalized information, such as how happy they were with the service, rather than specifics regarding the transport of their car. It usually means they didn’t actually use that company, and they’re trying to sound authentic without going into detail. Genuine reviews usually mention actual experiences: “The driver was fifteen minutes late but was friendly and communicated often with me” sounds much more authentic than “They were on time and everything went great!”.

A company’s customers are a great reference point when you’re researching an auto transport company, but they shouldn’t be the only set of data that influences your decision. And now that you know what to look for, we hope you’ll feel much more confident when reading reviews for transport companies online. DIY Transport also carries actual customer reviews on our website!