User Reviews

1 What should I review on Business Rater?

Any local business, service or place with a physical presence is fair game. Think: car dealerships for sales or service transactions, real estate brokers and or agents, speciality doctors like plastic surgeons, insurance companies, restaurants, shops, bars, salons, spas, dentists, mechanics, parks, museums, etc. Make sure you take a look at our Content Guidelines before you start writing.

2 What if I had a bad experience? Can I say something negative?

We like to hear about the good, the bad, and everything in between. Be sure to include all the relevant facts and details, and don't embellish your story for effect. We are big believers in freedom of speech, but beware the legal consequences if you post false information.

3 Does Business Rater mind if I get a incentive in exchange for my review?

Please don't write a five-star review if the business did not earn it and you're not truly satisfied, but with that being said, if the business offers incentive to capture their businesses daily transactions through process and incentive to capture the masses opinion of their workplace then we don't discourage this. We feel that you don't know what you can't measure! Business Rater would rather see a business capture more reviews than not so the public can form their opinion from a full spectrum of their daily operation rather than just a few opinionated people that may spoil that business's reputation that took a life time to develop. We want the whole story, not just one side.

4 Can business owners publicly comment on my reviews?

We've created a feature that allows business owners to publicly comment on a review. You are able to message them back if they post a public comment on your review.

5 My review doesn't show on the business's profile page unless I'm logged in. Why not?

Your review may have been filtered (see below). Don't worry: it's still in our system, and in many cases, it will find its way back onto the business profile page after the business investigates your review, this may require speaking with the business to resolve any issues that may have filtered this review originally.

6 How do I publish my reviews to Facebook, Twitter and other social sites?

Each review can be syndicated to all your social media accounts by visiting the specific review you would like to share and choosing your desired network to share your review.

7 Are reviews displayed in any particular order?

Users can decide for themselves how best to order reviews by clicking one of the links just above the reviews (e.g., date, rating, voting, etc.). Business Rater's default sort order takes a number of factors into account and reflects our own attempt to present reviews in a meaningful order. For example, we'll favor reviews from your friends and the users you follow. The sort algorithm does not take into account whether the business is an advertiser or not.

8 Do reviews ever get removed?

Sometimes. Our Support team may remove a review if it violates our Terms of Service or Content Guidelines, and a reviewer may remove her own review of her own account. We also downgrade less reliable reviews to a "filtered review" page (viewable by clicking on the link at the bottom of any business profile page). These filtered reviews may find their way back onto a business's main profile page after the business investigates your review, this may require speaking with the business to resolve any issues that may have filtered this review originally.

Review Filter

1 What are filtered reviews?

We try to feature the most helpful and reliable reviews among all that are submitted to the site. Not all reviews make the cut, and those that don't are posted to a separate "Filtered Review" page. Filtered reviews don't factor into a business's overall star rating, but users can still read them by clicking on the link at the bottom of the business's profile page.

2 How do you decide which reviews to filter?

We use filtering software to determine which reviews should be filtered on any given day among all that are submitted to the site. The business determines if your review has appropriate content and may even contact you to resolve any issues that may have filtered this review originally, this allows the business to strive for five star level customer satisfaction. For additional information on posting reviews, please see Content Guidelines.

3 Why was this particular review filtered?

We intentionally developed the filter business friendly to avoid inappropriate content reaching the web. These filtered reviews may find their way back onto a business's main profile page after the business investigates your review, this may require speaking with the business to resolve any issues that may have filtered this review originally.

4 Does the filter favor Business Rater advertisers or punish the others?

No. Businesses does not pay for favorable treatment. You'll find plenty of Business Rater advertisers with negative reviews, and any number of non-advertisers with five-star ratings across the board. The filter doesn't punish non-advertisers, either. Feel free to check out the many highly rated businesses on Business Rater that choose not to advertise on Business Rater.

5 Why don't you just scrap the filter altogether and let every review count on its own merits?

We realized early on that some reviews were going to be better — and more reliable — than others. The filter establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured. Even though it inevitably affects legitimate reviews from time to time and misses some fake ones, too, it helps protect the integrity of the site both for consumers (who will be less likely to be led astray by bogus reviews) and business owners (who will spend less time worrying about whether their competitors are writing negative reviews about them). We'd rather people think of Business Rater as a source for reliable information from passionate and opinionated consumers than a platform for every single rant and rave.

Business Listing Information

1 How did my business information end up on Business Rater?

We license basic business information from third party data providers who gather this type of information from public records and other sources. We also get business information from our users, who are helpful enough to correct the info we have, or let us know about a new spot that just opened down the street. Please feel free to let us know if our information is out of date!

Advertising

1 What are "Business Rater Ads"?

You may see "Business Rater Ads" when you search for a business or land on a business profile page. These are advertisements that are paid for by local businesses. For more information, please visit the Business Support Center.

2 Will Business Rater remove or reorder bad reviews if a business pays for sponsorship?

No. You can't pay us to remove or reorder your bad reviews — it's just that simple. It's worth pointing out some additional checks and balances that we build into the system: among other things, we separate the revenue side of our business from the content side of our business, just as a newspaper might put a firewall between their advertising and reporting functions.

Search

1 How is the ranking of search results determined?

Business Rater's search results are based on an algorithm that is designed to provide the best results based on a number of different factors including review text, ratings, and number of reviews. We are constantly working on improving our search results so that we can deliver the most relevant local results to our users.

Profile

1 How do I verify my Business Rater account?

When you've completed the registration process, you will receive an email with a special link. Click it to verify your account. When the verification message arrives in your email in-box, click the verification link, or copy and paste it into your browser. Your account will be verified at this point. If it doesn't work please let us know.

2 How do I change my basic account information?

To edit your profile or to change your account preferences, log in and click your user name that appears at the top of any page (next to "Friends' Activity") and then choose "Account Settings". You will be able to edit your account preferences here.

3 How do I change my email address?

Your email addresses and password are found under "Account Settings" which appears when you click on your user name in the upper right section of any page. Click that link and you will be taken to your Account Settings page, or click here to go directly to your email addresses.

4 Who can find me and my reviews on Business Rater?

Everyone can read your reviews and take a look at your account profile, photos, links, and other content that you've contributed to the site. Your public profile will be tied to your first name and last initial (e.g., "Jeremy S."). Other than just stumbling upon you and your great reviews by browsing the site, other people can find you using the "Member Search" feature, Facebook's "Instant Personalization" feature, and the various features that allow users to add their friends on Business Rater. You can manage your privacy settings here.

5 How do I close my account on Business Rater?

To close your user account, please click here. If you don't mind telling us, we'd love to hear why you want to leave. While Business Rater continues to evolve your feedback makes a big difference. If there's something you found unsatisfying about Business Rater, tell us about it and we'll do our best to try to do better.

Privacy

1 What does Business Rater do with my personal information?

We take privacy very seriously and we hate spam even more than you do. Please take the time to review our privacy policy so you can see exactly what we do with your personal information. If you receive spammy messages from another Business Rater member, or if you receive a message that is harassing, abusive, or contains a violation of our Terms of Service, please report it here.

2 Who can contact me on Business Rater?

Other users can contact you on Business Rater, including the businesses you review. If you'd prefer not to be contacted by business owners, you may change your settings here. You can also block future messages from specific users by selecting "Block User" under their account name when viewing a message from them.