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General
What is
ConsumerRaters?
ConsumerRaters is an online community
where consumers share their experiences
about local businesses. The goal of
ConsumerRaters is to help people find
quality, local businesses based on the
experiences of their neighbors.
Is there a fee for
consumers to use this site?
No. All uses of the site, including
searches and registration, are free for
consumers
Is there a fee for
businesses to use the
site?
Yes. There is a fee for businesses to
add a full page listing to
ConsumerRaters.com. The annual fee is
currently $99/yr for a Basic Listing and
$299/yr for a Professional Listing.
Listing details and benefits are
here.
How do I
know I can trust the ratings on this
site?
First, there are no anonymous
ratings. To submit a review, you must be
a registered member with a valid email
address.
Second, we have a backend system
that a) prevents multiple ratings from
the same person and b) monitors for
suspicious activity by reviewers and
businesses.
Third, we conduct Proof of
Patronage checks randomly and under
other special circumstances, where we
ask reviewers to submit a receipt or
proof of payment from the business that
they have reviewed. If they do not
submit proof to us within 30 days, their
review is removed.
What is
your privacy policy?
You can view our privacy policy
here.
Does
ConsumerRaters offier incentives for
rating businesses?
Yes. Occasionally, we have promotions
where we offer monetary incentives for
rating a certain number of businesses,
businesses in a particular category or
businesses in a certain geographic
region. Members receive notifications of
these offers via email.
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Ratings
Who can
rate a business?
First, only registered members of
ConsumerRaters.com can rate businesses.
Second, you can only rate a business
that you have patronized within the past
12 months.
Finally, business owners, their family
members, and their staff
cannot submit reviews on their own
company or on any businesses in the
same category. They can, however, rate
businesses outside their category.
How do I
rate a business on ConsumerRaters?
Step1: Login or register if you are not
a member
Step 2: Click on Business Search above
to find the business you want to
rate
Step 3: Once you find the business you
want to rate, click on Submit Review to
the right of the business name and then
proceed to rate the business
I don't
see the business I want to rate, can I
add it?
Yes. After you add the business, you can
then submit your rating. After you
login, following the steps below.
Step 1: After clicking on Business
Search at the top of the page, click on
the appropriate business category link
associated with the business you want to
add
Step 2: Next, click on "Add Business" at
the top left hand corner of the category
page
Step 3: Then, click "Proceed" at the
bottom of the page
Step 4: On the Add Business page, only
complete the fields in the Business
Information section that contain an
asterisk. That’s it.
What
makes a good review?
The best reviews include details about why you liked
or disliked a given business. Generally,
the more detail you provide the more
useful your review will be to others.
What is
the review system?
Businesses are rated on a scale of 1
star to 5 stars, where 1 star is
terrible and 5 stars is excellent.
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Businesses
Why should I list my business on
ConsumerRaters?
The ConsumerRaters Marketing System is a
powerful marketing tool that gives
quality businesses the ability to
leverage one of their most valuable and
underutilized assets - satisfied
customers. ConsumerRaters gives your
businesses the ability to collect, store
and share their customer testimonials
with potentially thousands of consumers.
Since consumers trust other consumers
more than they trust ads, customer
testimonials provide a powerful
marketing advantage over the
competition. Our Business Welcome Kit
gives your step-by-step instructions on
how to leverage your customer
testimonials online and offline.
Learn more about the benefits of the ConsumerRaters Marketing System
here.
How do I list my business?
Follow these steps to list your
business. Once you’ve registered your
business, we will send you a Business
Welcome Kit that provides detailed
instructions on getting the maximum
benefit from your business listing.
Step 1: Become a registered member of
ConsumerRaters and select either the
Basic or
Professional listing option.
Step 2: Once registration is complete,
click on the Business Search link at the
top of the page.
Step 3: Next, click on the appropriate
Business Category link for your business.
Step 4: Once on the category page, click
on "Add Business" at the top left corner
of the page.
Step 5: On the next page click "Proceed"
at the bottom of the page.
Step 6: On the Add Business page, add
your business information and click
submit. That’s it.
My business is already listed by
someone,
now what should I do?
Congratulations! Half your work is done.
To take ownership of the listing, here
is what you do.
Step 1: Register as a member of
ConsumerRaters and make payment for
either
a Basic or Professional Listing
Step 2: After you have registered, go to
the Contact Us page and send us your
member username, business name,
address and phone number. We will then
transfer the business to your user name. Once the transfer has taken
place (usually within 48 hours), we will
send you an email confirming the
transfer. You can then update your
business listing.
How do I edit my business listing?
Step 1: After logging in, go to the
Business Search page and search for your
business.
Step 2: Once you find your business,
click on your business link. It will
take you to your full-page business
listing
Step 3: At the top of your business
page, click Edit Profile. You can now
edit your business listing
How do I get my customers to rate my
business?
When you purchase a Basic or
Professional listing, you receive a
Business Welcome Kit that contains 25
rating instruction cards to give to your
customers. You also receive an email
template that you can use to request
ratings from your customers via email.
The Business Welcome Kit contains
detailed information on how to best use
these tools to get the most out of the ConsumerRaters
Marketing System.
If my business receives a bad
rating, can I have it removed?
Businesses with a paid listing have two
options. First, you can challenge the
rating under our Proof of Patronage
Program, where we ask the reviewer for
proof of patronage. If the reviewer does
not supply proof within 30 days the
review is removed. Second, if the
reviewer does provide Proof of
Patronage, you can add your side of the
story by leaving a comment attached to
the review.
How do I get the most out of my business
listing?
After you purchase a business listing,
you receive a Business Welcome Kit that
contains detailed information on a) ways
to improve your listing, b) getting customer
ratings quickly and c) promoting your
ratings on and off the Internet.
How do I add video to my business
listing?
1) Start with your business video that
you’ve downloaded to your computer’s
hard drive in any of the following
formats: .asf, .avi, .dv, .mov, .mp4,
.mpeg, .wmv. The less compressed your
video file (.avi), the better the flash
compression quality
2) Convert your video to flash 7 or 8
medium or high quality video (.flv).
Either the Sorenson Spark or the On2 VP6
codec will do.
3) Login to ConsumerRaters.com, go to
your business listing page and click
Edit Profile. You can now load your
flash video on to your business profile
page. The maximum size of the video is
5MB (5120kb).
How do I add
images/photos to my business
listing?
Login to ConsumerRaters.com, go to
your business listing page and click
Edit Profile. You can now load your
photos on to your business profile
page. Below are the photo specs.
Member Photos: 360x360 (max)
Member Avatars: 80x80, 64kb (max)
Business Logo: 240x160, 120kb (max)
Business Photo: 360x360 (max)
Business Photo Gallery: 500x500 (max)
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