This has been an issue for several years. In 2006, our local (Charleston SC) newspaper was struggling and trying to take advantage of online business. They created a review website for businesses in the Charleston area.
Almost immediately our competition down the road flooded this site with 10-12 very negative reviews of our dealership while writing glowing reviews of their own. All on the same day, within minutes. To top it off, the newspaper was unwilling to "review the reviews" and remove them because they were hellbent on populating that website.
The reasons for this were evident. For several years, that dealership enjoyed being the big dog on the block while the store we were "rebuilding" languished. Once our management team was in place, things began to change. Every single customer of that dealership received followup calls from their salesperson assuring not only that the particular customer was happy with every aspect of the process but their vehicle as well. The salesperson then discussed CSI survey they would be receiving and the importance of selecting "very satisfied".
In addition to the salesperson following up, a customer service representative hired strictly for that purpose called the customer with a few days of the sale with a multitude of questions designed to gauge any dissatisfaction at all and then that representative went overboard to assure the customer became "very satisfied" and filled out the CSI accordingly.
When review sites started popping up, we started making those very satisfied customers aware of them and encouraging them to post positive reviews. As some on here know, the company I was with at that time goes above and beyond to assure happy customers that will return for their next vehicle.
If the management of a dealership is committed to running their store the right way, there's no need at all for a company under the heading of reputation management to run all over the net posting fraudulent reviews. I've had countless calls from companies willing to do that very thing the last several years.
Companies like DealerRater recognize the problems associated with review sites and have tools in place to assure their platform is legitimate and "fraud-free".
There will always be dealers that want to take shortcuts to sell vehicles. Everyone of us in the car business knows many of them if you've been around very long. As long as those dealers are around, there will be companies willing to commit fraud to make a buck off of these dealers. As we've moved forward, technology has allowed those like DealerRater to keep the frauds at bay. Things will only get better in that regard.
Good job Ryan calling them out on here.
