In an announcement to the Stock Exchange, Purplebricks today unveils a new partnership with customer review site Feefo, which will go live in the New Year.
Purplebricks currently has over 32,000 reviews on Trustpilot, scoring an average 9.5 out of ten.
The move to a second review site comes after controversy: Purplebricks has constantly underlined its excellent reviews on Trustpilot but has simultaneously faced challenges. For example, some critics have been vocal about the stage at which some reviews are posted, seemingly at a very early stage in the customer relationship.
Feefo has a business model by which customers are invited by Feefo itself to post up reviews after they have purchased, with the supplier having no control over these reviews, whether good, bad or indifferent.
Purplebricks has also been at loggerheads with industry reviews site allAgents, which it accuses of having hosted both fake reviews and some that cannot be authenticated.
Purplebricks also closed down the ability to post reviews via Facebook, with a spokesperson saying this was done because the facility was being abused.
Today, Purplebricks says its new Feefo partnership will “provide customers with even more opportunities to review the Purplebricks’ service” and that it will give customers choice as to how they feed back.
Its statement goes on: “Feefo is widely regarded as being transparent, independent and secure, and is trusted by consumers as a vocal advocate of honesty in the reviews industry. It is only available to genuine customers, who are provided with a unique review link, ensuring only authentic reviews.
“Feefo works with over 4,000 corporate customers internationally, including many leading online and high street consumer brands, and helps consumers to make more informed decisions about what to buy and who to do business with.
“Purplebricks is currently working on implementation and integration with the Feefo service and will launch early in 2018.
“It will remain in partnership with Trustpilot and the information gleaned from both review websites will give Purplebricks invaluable customer insight and build on the excellent service its people deliver for customers on a day by day basis.”
Michael Bruce, group CEO of Purplebricks, said: “Purplebricks takes customer feedback seriously and we are constantly looking for ways to improve our customer experience. Since our launch we have always embraced the independence and integrity of customer reviews to assist customers in their decision making.
“Partnering with Feefo demonstrates our commitment to growing customer trust and it is another step towards greater transparency in estate agency. Customers and brands alike trust Feefo because they know Feefo reviews are the real deal.”
Andrew Mabbutt, managing director of Feefo, said: “Our innovation is critical to the success of any business that values its relationships with customers and wants to expand.
“We look forward to working with Purplebricks, providing trustworthy customer insights to help it increase traffic, enhance transparency and help it grow.”
Comments (54)
I just want a level playing field Don
Receipt is NOT for, in this case Purplebricks, it is for the Independent Review Company to have a level of proof that a real interaction took place. The company reviewed should have no direct interaction with reviewers
I’m not interested in Fake Reviews from either side
I had a Review Website looking for proof which I provided. I had left a Negative Review and the company concerned had queried it. I had no issue in providing proof, standing by my comment and telling the company concerned to sod off as I was entitled to my view based on the service which I had actually received. I emphasised that the whole point of the site was feedback, not the deletion of negative in favour of positive
In my view Purplebricks are misleading in much of what they promote including the inference that they are comparable to a Full Service Estate Agent.
In my view Purplebricks are Grossly Overcharging Property Listers. On that assessment they are extremely poor value for money, in essence their clients pay regardless, for failure!
What is glaringly consistent is their failure to ever provide independently verifiable evidence of their actual sales success – which in my opinion reinforces that they are failing to deliver anywhere near the level of success that a Full Service Agent does. They are in effect charging circa £1000 for £1 cheeseburgers!
Agreed ‘AnotherPlanet’ – and I expect Trustpilot came to take the same view as you do (aided and abetted by its powerful outside shareholders, no doubt). These events don’t reflect well on any of the parties concerned – Purplebricks, Trustpilot or Feefo.
Where do I start
Trust?
In my view
Purplebricks – No Trust in them
Trustpilot – No Trust in them
FeeFiFoFum – most likely more of the same
For any review/review site to warrant Trust it needs to freely accept reviews generated by the User, not channelled or manipulated by the Company concerned
All I want verified to post any review is a copy of a receipt from the user/reviewer for services paid – thereafter the reviewer is free to post whatever their comments/experience are
The moment the subject company interferes or manipulates then the review system is pretty much worthless
It should also be absolutely clear that a review is either of the Full Service (ie to Sold/purchase price paid, if Purplebricks in this case) or whichever part of the process
Purplebricks behaviour has in my view absolutely undermined trust in review websites.
So, Trust, Purplebricks? No chance!
Agreed – all except ‘All I want verified to post any review is a copy of a receipt from the user/reviewer for services paid – thereafter the reviewer is free to post whatever their comments/experience are.’
Beware of insisting on ‘evidence’ – that is the basis on which Trustpilot suspends negative reviews. Leaving the customer no place to write their review except Google (who won’t require any ‘evidence of purchase’).
You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig !
TBH – Trustpilot is a better reviews site than Feefo, at least it has the credibility of being open. But if you want credibility you need to get reviews to Google and forget the reviews sites. Has anyone, for instance, googled ‘Purplebricks London’ lately? You should – and so should any prospective customers!
As for ‘Feefo…the supplier having no control over these reviews’ – not true, Feefo rely on the ‘supplier’ (Purplebricks in this case) supplying their customer’s email address. That’s the flaw in the system where estate agency is concerned.
Blimey. Hardly glowing.
You make a very good point. TP could well be struggling with PB now, im sure their constant manipulation of the reviews must be time consuming and could well affect the public’s trust in them as you say.
My vote for PeeBee too, well worth following on Twitter @Agent_PeeBee
Trustpilot are simply guilty of naievety – they are used to online retail where their system is not ‘gamed’ – the same goes for Feefo – great for shirts and socks, but the minute an estate agent gets hold of it??!!
I wonder whether trustpilot wish to end their agreement with PB as total management of reviews is becoming too newsworthy which could severely dent peoples trust in any of their business reviews?
Imagine if a regulator asked trustpilot how many reviews had been ‘nuked’ – I believe that this excellent expression was conceived by PeeBee who is doing a brilliant job tracking those reviews that are removed.
Thank you PeeBee.
If I see a company promoting their excellent reputation/number of reviews on Trustpilot the first thing I now think is what have this company got to hide.
Quite – this saga has ‘outed’ all the review sites. They cannot compete with Google reviews unless they offer businesses ‘advantages’. And the only ‘advantage’ businesses want? To be ‘selective’ about who they invite to write reviews. The only credible (and visible) vehicle is Google.
So I am an agent in central London and when selling my property in Kent choose to try Purple Bricks; lets say it was a test to see just how effective the service was and wither the customer service was poor…..as we all like to think it must be with all low cost/online only agents:).
The results are mixed….. and perhaps If you are interested I’ll offer a much more detailed analysis.
However when it comes to the review process it has raised a few questions.
So when did i get asked for a review, within a week of instructing them, and constantly until approximately 2 weeks after accepting an offer. Ironically it was at this point I stopped getting the request for reviews, the phase where the LPE disappears from all contact or assistance to help progress the sale, and the PB conveyancors get involved – it certainly seems like they knew it was going to be form that point onwards that the service level was going to drop and there was a high chance the sale would collapse….best not ask for a review after that point then.
What became really obvious is that you can only leave a review if you instruct them; i.e. I have to pay them money to be entitled to offer an opinion. You might say that is fair, but if someone offers you a “Free valuation” should you not be allowed to give your feedback on wither the service you received at that point was of any good – or because you didn’t give them any money you have lost all right to have an opinion?
Any way who wouldn’t want to have control over their customer reviews, and screen the ones that are less than perfect and trying to get them changed before releasing them to the public.
Did you manage to sell David?
Yeah, because that’s the one question we all immediately spring to.
“Did you manage to sell?” – Thats an interesting question ; probably a question that simplifies the process of selling a property, something that it is in the interests of Low Fee / Online / Do It Yourself companies to promote.
I’ll break it down
Market Appraisal :
PB Val : £300k (to achieve £290-£300k) Agreed marketing Price : £320k (to Achieve £310-£320)
Photos:
PB – Poor Quality / Not dressing rooms Changed to my photos with rooms dressed
Viewings:
PB – Additional Charge for doing viewings (not taken up) Conducted viewings myself – albeit at inconvenient times
Offers:
PB – Advised to accept first offer at £300k Negotiated offer to £315k where it was accepted
Conveyancing/Chain Chasing
PB – we leave this to the solicitors, “if it collapses don’t worry we will put it back on the market and there is no other fee to pay as long as it completes within 6 months from now”
I chase several times – turns out buyer didn’t have 10% deposit to exchange despite assurance from LPE they had checked. Had to top up deposit myself to get exchanged. PB recommended conveyance went on holiday for 2 weeks and case was not handed over and onward purchase would have walked away if I had not maintained direct contact with their solicitor.
So did I manage to sell it?? Yes “I” did……..Did PB sell it??? I’ll let you decide..
*But on the positive note, once i paid the PB fees and the PB solicitors fee, and the fee for the board, and the premium listing on Rightmove… i saved £980 compared to the local high street agent.
You are an agent David and therefore presumably au fait with the techniques and technicalities of handling viewings/negotiation/sales progression etc.
In the particular circumstances of your sale do you think you would have had a similar overall outcome if you had been a layman?
I suspect if I hadn’t the Particular sale would likely have collapsed; in addition I suspect the price I would have achieved on the proeprty would likely have been £10k+ less.
So overall the outcome would not have been the same.
The irony is I do beleive there were a number of aspects in the process that were positive and I am currently working on integrating some of these into our business.
But on the basis of reviews PB know where they don’t get it right and so they ask for reviews at the right point for their purposes and to the right people.
How many people would be asked for confirmation they stand by their original review if asked 6 months later?
David, given all PB do is list the property, which is evidenced by your experience, why didn’t you just list it yourself via your own agency and not pay any fee at all?
Surely that would be the most obvious thing to do.
Because then he wouldn’t have been able to experience (and learn from) the PB processes?
Obvious yes, but going through the PB process was an investment.
How can someone really comment or offer constructive criticism if they haven’t use them before.
If the process had been as smooth as they portray then I would have learned and changed the way our business works (which we are on some levels).
Frankly though it was the single best investment to being able to demonstrate to prospective clients the problems they will face should they go the Low Fee / Online / Do It Yourself route.
The industry we currently working will not be the same in the next 5 -10 years, and like all species Property Professionals that fail to adapt will become extinct.
David M
You sound like a great person to have on board with our Ideas Network. Why not join us at in@agentv.co.uk
The Allagents dispute and Trustpilot criticism must be getting to them big time . Now they have opted for a review website that doesn’t accept reviews from customers unless Purplebricks OK’s it in advance . Let’s hope Allagents bounces back here. There needs to be a platform for their unhappy customers to voice their opinions
I’m amazed Purplebricks took so long to find a reviews site where they could control who gets invited to write a review!!!
If you want to know the truth about PB and their approach towards customer reviews, just follow PeeBee on Twitter.
It really is quite shocking
What that the truth is he just retweets endlessly the 2% of negative reviews that they receive, hardly investigative journalism is it.
He’s just trying to compete with you blowing smoke up their @$$ all the time Dom.
PeeBee highlights endless examples of reviews that have either been manipulated, deleted or clearly manufactured.
Nonsense there is absolutely no proof of that.
So why have PB taken on Feefo? Surely not because the Feefo system allows them to select which clients to invite (because that’s the only difference between Trustpilot and Feefo)?
“…hardly investigative journalism is it.”
That’s ‘cos I’m not an investigative journalist, dom-boy.
Joined-up thinking ain’t your strong point today. Hope your swing doesn’t let you down as much as your posting has.
Oh – forgive my rudeness, dom-boy – but in all the recent excitement I’ve completely forgotten to heap upon you the thanks due to you from the Traditional Estate Agency community for your considerable personal contribution – which we firmly believe is going a long way toward waking the world up to the reality of ongoing events.
We really couldn’t manage anywhere near as well as we do without your valued input!
Thanks, buddy! ;o)
So where can genuine customers who receive poor service leave a review?
How about others that deal with PB and need to warn others?
On rare occasions we leave poor reviews for solicitors or estate agents if they have a negative effect on a chain.
This is a manipulation of service levels.
You sound genuinely surprised?!
So where can genuine customers who receive poor service leave a review?
I’d suggest Twitter. They can’t get those removed. And plenty of people willing to re-tweet them.
Google – why anywhere else? It’s the biggest, it’s the most visible – and apart from anything else, why would a client trust ANY of the reviews sites when they invariably incorporate a mechanism that – wittingly of not – favours the business?
I suugest a quick google of ‘Purplebricks London’.
I personally don’t trust any company that has removed the ability to leave both Google reviews and Facebook reviews.
Every company is going to receive the occasional poor review, because people are hard to please 100% of the time, and some people are just impossible to please! I’d rather trust a company with 90% 4 or 5-star reviews, than one with no reviews available to view.
Presumably all previous 32,000 reviews will be recanvassed to check authenticity of the reviewer and the point at which the review was given….?
Feefo is the obvious choice for Purplebricks:
>> https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/feefo.com
With Feefo, you (the company) control who you send review requests to.
Can’t see how that could be manipulated 😉
How does it work?Once signed up, you upload a list of names and email addresses, and Feefo contacts your customer with a pre-set questionnaire to gather a review for your service or product.
*Applauds you*
Exactly – and that’s how it IS manipulated – agents only invite happy clients. Ever wondered why a competitor looks great on Feefo and awful on Google? Google is the only credible reviews vehicle – and clients should be asking a big question if their agent has reviews elsewhere: WHY?
Great news PB, adding another leader in the verified reviews world.
Shame the other high street agents do not have this transparency.
Dumbo.
Other agents do not threaten legal action over review sites or restrict people from posting on sites.
For that reason they are more transparent than PB.
‘Restrict people from posting on sites’
If you mean the dispute with AA, then requesting that the fake reviews be taken down is pretty damn fair
As for PB defending itself against the malicious wave of industry detractors making slanderous comments, good on them.
Also rather than hiding behind your anonymous account why don’t you say who you are and what amazing company you work for?
Facebook, Google all agents not checked but probably Yell as well.
The reason they restrict reviews is they know service and offering is flawed. They know it will get complaints.
I don’t work for a company I own one.
Why am I anonymous. Because I do not come o here to endorse my company and my ego is in check.
Why do you post here daily? Tarting up and ex-local authority apartment and a patents property hardly makes you part of an industry?
I guess you just like trolling. Best of luck.
Keep board knocking for your desperate attempts to make a profit on your failing little agency you clown.
‘I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left‘. Margaret Thatcher.
Could equally apply to you here Dom.
Dom I am a high street agent and sometimes I think you have some very valid points and some of the other guys do and often enjoy reading the debates to get an opinion from both aspects.
I also feel that certain elements PB have done have been amazing and other points not so good like most of the high street agents,
But I think you have let yourself down there with that comment which is why you will lack credibility sometimes when debating.
Just a thought.
Hi Ted
Thanks for a constructive reply which is rare.
1. I get personal attacks every time I post anything not in line with the agenda, so yes i may bite back at times.
2. Do i care when anonymous posters say i lack credibility, does it make one bit of difference to anything? Absolutely not.
3. Smile Please made a personal attack on me and i responded in kind. Smile Please has trolled through social media and is commenting on videos I have made of refurb projects.
4. Smile Please who hides his name, states openly on twitter that he board knocks which i’m pretty sure is a breach of NAEA codes.
5. One week ago one poster was telling others how to track me down!
I’m off to play golf.
Well next time I spot something they will receive a similar response 🙂
Good luck with the golf bit cold for me currently the clubs are away until spring.
“I get personal attacks every time I post anything not in line with the agenda, so yes i may bite back at times.”
So what about all the personal attacks you have made to disappointed PurpleBricks clients who have dared to post their feelings on Twitter, dom-boy? Clearly something that isn’t in line with YOUR agenda gets the same treatment. Stones and glass houses and all that; reap what you sow – and of course the perfect analogy for the situation – an EYE for an eye.
This is Big School you’ve moved up to, sunshine. You’re in the main playground here.
You’re not the biggest boy in this arena and everyone plays for keeps.
‘Ted58’ – this is as much for your info as it is a reminder to dom-boy of who cast the first stone.
On the subject of TRUST but on a slightly diffent but connected point.
Is there the same fuss and coverage when so called “independent analysts” go after PB, or anyone else for that matter. While at the same time as giving incorrect recommendations of “BUY” for shares in companies like “you know who”, which they act for on a professional fee basis.
When they issue their so called independent reports you never see a “conflict of interest” declaration.
Transparency? Moving from an open site – where anyone can post a review – to a closed site where a customer has to be invited?
Could I just ask how you knew this article was going to be on PIE? The statement was released to the Stock Exchange at precisely 7.00 am and your comment on Ros’s (D-noticed) article is date-stamped 7.05.