While only twenty-five per cent ever check reviews when hiring home contractors.
We recently surveyed Canadians nationally and found that even though online reviews were influencing purchasing decisions in general, they were not always being consulted when hiring home service professionals.
Despite the fact that home improvement can cost thousands of dollars and is also an on-going investment in the largest single asset of most Canadians, a staggering seventy-five per cent admitted to never checking online reviews before hiring home improvement professionals.
Surprisingly, only four per cent of Canadians always use reviews when hiring a contractor.
People are influenced by online reviews – in fact, 68 per cent had changed their mind on buying a product or service based on a review they had read. Regarding trust, two-thirds feel online reviews are either “somewhat” or “very” trustworthy, but there is lingering doubt among the remaining one-third of Canadians about whether reviews are real.
Beware fraudulent reviews
So, here are some tips on how to detect a fraudulent review:
- Look for details about the work done and their experience with the company. Names, photos and detailed descriptions are indicative of an authentic review.
- Do an online search of the contractor’s name to learn more about them.
- Some websites flag reviews that seem suspicious. Check recent reviews for flags or reasons why a review was removed.
- If several reviews are written too similarly, it may be the same person with different usernames.
- If the writer has reviewed more than one company, it usually signals an authentic reviewer writing about different jobs done in their home.
Editor’s Note: Survey was conducted using Google Consumer Surveys in April 2015, with responses from 1,004 Canadian adults.
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