Customers giving low ratings instead of contacting support

[LJ]

Customers are flooding the reviews section with negative reviews that should have been an email or call. "I've never received" "It's not working" "It arrived damaged" "Colors are off" "I've received less than I paid for" type of reviews should not be left there forever, but handled by support. Dear Zazzle, please check low star ratings, because most of those issues can be solved by customer service. If customers are so... (I can't find an appropriate word, I don't want to call them lame), you have to take action. Those reviews are unnecessarily causing a bad reputation for Z - not just the designers - in the long term.

[SORS]

I completely agree with the concern being raised here. It’s become increasingly common to see product reviews that reflect shipping delays, damage in transit, or order fulfillment issues…things that Zazzle’s customer service team is equipped to fix.

Since Zazzle stands behind a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, it would make sense for these kinds of concerns to be directed to support rather than left as public reviews. When unresolved issues like that show up as permanent low ratings, it creates a misleading impression about both the product and the platform.

I hope Zazzle will consider taking a closer look at these kinds of reviews and intervening where appropriate. Helping customers go through the proper support channels would protect the credibility of the marketplace and the designers who work hard to create quality work.

[Windy]

Actually Zazzle does already do this. I have left bad reviews twice, and both times on my own products, because they did not print correctly and it was not designer fault. Zazzle contacted me both times offering to make it right. I can't really be bothered with following up on stuff like this to "make it right" so I do not know what happened after that.

[SORS]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I just wanted to mention that if a product arrives damaged, misprinted, or not as expected, it’s always better to contact Zazzle’s Customer Support first instead of leaving a review, especially if the issue isn’t the designer’s fault.

You can reach out by emailing support@zazzle.com, using the Help Center on their website, or calling Zazzle directly at 1.408.983.2800.

Zazzle does stand by their 100% satisfaction guarantee, and going this route usually results in a quick resolution. It also helps avoid hurting a designer’s store (even your own) with a low rating that could have been fixed behind the scenes.

A quick message to support can go a long way for both you and the person who created the design. 😊

[Windy]

You are right. Had it been another designer, I would definitely have contacted support rather than leaving a bad review. But I had been reading a great deal in the forums about quality control problems at Zazzle at that particular time. I  did actually think that by leaving a bad review on my own product, I might get Zazzle's  attention in a way others had not been able to. It might be a lost cause though, considering the  fact that others are still seeing these problems. 

[CrazyMermaid]

I never bother with any customer support now. It all seems to be AI bot driven and I can't stand that. So I just leave bad reviews and move on. If the company wants to get back to me, they can. Although AI bots often respond to a complaint as well. 

[LJ]

Thanks for the info! I’m looking forward to have those issues solved and ratings deleted. There are more and more complaints lately, and they make a really bad impression. No wonder sales are down.

[Cat]

I can't help but think that this issue is exacerbated by the fact that customers don't understand the whole POD model. So many seem to assume that Zazzle is a storefront app like Etsy and that each of us is handling fulfillment on our own. When there's a problem, they don't know who to contact for help.

[jophb]

It's definitely a bummer that they appear on our accounts. My most recent negative reviews were items not printed correctly and another with apparently not enough sent. 😞 

[Anne]

@LJ  Yes. Another option would be to not attach the design in the review at all, but just allow reviews for the product and the handling. It would also remove the positive comments about the design, but I would assume (correctly or not) that customers who take reviews into consideration would first and foremost check the quality and professionalism of the product itself.
Then I still have several really nice comments by customers that Zazzle chose not to post under the product, even after reporting.

[whimsywhim]

For years, I have said that Zazzle needs to change its review policy.  We don't do shipping, printing or mailing so why should we endure poor reviews about them?  Further, if a customer blows up the product to the point of no return, how is that our fault?  It's crazy.  Either Zazzle should give us the means to respond to these reviews or they need to be way more responsive on deleting unfair reviews.

[wheresthekarma]

I totally agree. And why have there been so many bad reveiws lately? I have one customer who just wrote a bad review on a "Will You Marry Me" banner I made and they say they never got it and customer service won't write them back. Now that is on my shop and makes me look bad and there is no way to contact the customer to let them know I can't handle the problem, Zazzle has to. Although they did say that Zazzle's customer service hasn't written back.

Then there were two more bad reviews saying baby shower paper plates and bowls were recieved smashed and damaged. So now I have three bad reviews in a row for things that are not my fault and really should be fixed for the customer.

[whimsywhim]

There is a long-standing company (I will not name - it's not a POD company) that is notorious for treating sellers horribly.  Even they - of all companies - give the seller the opportunity to respond to bad reviews.  The company is also very responsive to sellers who ask / demand that negative reviews are removed (especially ones that are clearly not the sellers' fault).  Zazzle needs to the same regarding reviews.

[jophb]

even Google lets businesses both respond and ask for removals

[whimsywhim]

I didn't know that.  Makes it even worse.

[Wollastonite]

Zazzle needs to screen and delete a lot of its reviews, for many reasons. There are random selfies being submitted unrelated to the product, seemingly irrelevant AI images, photos of minor grandchildren who probably don't know they're on Zazzle... I saw one recently that was a photo of the shipping box with the customer's address on it. Like, why are customers submitting these things, and why is Zazzle showcasing them? Stop it, ha ha!

[Cat]

Honestly, I think the only way to fix it would be to separate the reviews into product/print/production/delivery (Zazzle's end) vs. design (our end). And I think the chances of the customers understanding that would be slim at best. Plus, it's hard to even rate the design aspect since what it looks like when we design it and what it looks like after the customer gets through with it can be two very different things. 

[whimsywhim]

Sellers need to have a change to respond.  If Zazzle is completely against that, then Zazzle needs to be much more responsive and way more active in deleting patently unfair reviews.

[Cat]

The problem is that we're not "sellers" per se. All we're really doing is creating content for Zazzle's customers.

I totally agree that it is unfair for an entire collection to be down-rated for an issue that is beyond our control and has absolutely nothing to do with our design, but it is legitimate for customers to comment on their experience as a whole, and if Zazzle simply removed all negative reviews that wouldn't exactly promote a sense of trust from customers.

Maybe they should just stop attaching the reviews to our products & collections, because the review is really NOT about our design, it's about the whole customer experience and our role in that is minimal at best.  Perhaps it would be more meaningful if customers could rate the design - or maybe instead of connecting the review to our product/collection, it could show how many likes a product or collection has. 

[whimsywhim]

Then either put it in a separate area away from us like you are suggesting or a prominent note in a prominent section that we are not responsible for shipping, printing, etc.  Because, right now, it's flat-out wrong to keep these poor reviews attached to our products, our stores that we have zero control over.

[Cat]

Agreed. Honestly, I think it's a much, much bigger issue than just the reviews. Customers really do not understand the Zazzle model at all.

[Wollastonite]

Reviews used to be more detailed breakdowns, and you can still see the old review format in the image here: https://help.zazzle.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360034151714-Writing-a-good-review

Many customers would write "I didn't print anything" under "About this Print," because they didn't understand the Zazzle concept.

At some point they replaced all that with a simple paragraph review. 

[Cat]

Yup. I thought the old format was more fair to designers, but probably more confusing for customers. 

[socialitedesign]

This has happened recently to me.  The customer gave a poor rating as the pillow cases ordered had dark thread mixed in with light thread.  Very poor quality control to issue something like this to a customer when Zazzle is supposed to be very good quality with 100% satisfaction guaranteed.  What is happening, Zazzle?

[MaggieRossDogs]

I always access the Negative Reviews when I am thinking of purchasing any online product.

What would be best for the potential customer to read is Zazzle responding to state that every Negative Review is addressed and that the issue is being corrected. Be this a replacement (our products are unconditionally guaranteed) or an explanation stating why no replacement was made; thus a refund was issued.

Nuisance Reviews . . . well, everybody hates to see those, but they do happen and everybody understands that there are some people who exist simply to be disagreeable.

Productively Negative Reviews, on the other hand, offer an opportunity to win back an unsatisfied customer. A published Zazzle response would be most beneficial, utilizing those Negative Reviews as free promotional objects showing that Zazzle has investigated the problem reported and is a caring, customer-centered company, who always responds and stands behind that Guarantee!

And, of course, immediate notification should be made to the Shopkeeper when a Review points out a problem with the Design, so that we can investigate and repair!

Ann K.