Purplebricks has won, for the second year running, an award for its five-star customer reviews.
The Feefo Gold Trusted Service award, described as an independent seal of excellence that recognises businesses for delivering exceptional experiences as rated by real customers, says that Purplebricks received over 5,000 Feefo reviews with an average rating of 4.1.
Over 3,000 were five-star reviews.
The announcement says: “As all Feefo reviews are verified as genuine, the accreditation is a true reflection of Purplebricks’ commitment to outstanding service.”
Purplebricks CEO Vic Darvey said: “We’re delighted to win the Feefo Gold Trusted Service award for the second year running. This is a great achievement for the whole team and demonstrates our commitment and relentless focus on delivering great customer service.
“Feefo’s model is based on the feedback of real customers, ensuring the integrity and honesty of their online reviews, and allowing us to learn and consistently improve. We look forward to another successful year.”
Congratulating Purplebricks on winning this year’s award, Steph Heasman, director of Customer Success at Feefo, said: “The Trusted Service award has always been about recognising companies that go way beyond the norm in customer experience and generate great feedback from happy customers.
“This year we’ve been delighted to see so many companies using Feefo to provide outstandingly high levels of all-round service – it’s what Feefo is all about.
“We help our clients give their customers the best experiences possible. I’m confident we’ll see more success from businesses partnering with us throughout 2020.”
Feefo Gold Trusted Service awards are given to businesses who have collected at least 50 reviews between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, with a Feefo service rating of between 4.5 and 4.9.
Feefo says that it ensures that all feedback is authentic, by matching it to a legitimate transaction, in order to increase consumer confidence and enable businesses to make smarter business decisions.
Comments (22)
Can’t wait to see this “review” appear on FoFum:
“I fell asleep, when l awoke my home was sold.” (Mrs Barbara Cavaliere And Mr Gerald Cavaliere: TrustPilot – 18:11 today)
Jackanory would be a more suitable platform.
Do FEEFO have any idea just how much this is hurting their own brand? Best stick to online retail.
The issue here is one of control – both Feefo and Trustpilot are probably adequate for online retail – with low-value volume transactions – but when it comes to complex high-value low-turnover businesses and the professions they rely far too heavily on software and simply don’t have the controls – or staffing – in place to ensure that the client business is not manipulating the process.
The two main areas of manipulation? Only inviting selected customers to write reviews (illegal) and gating (the practice of pre-qualifying customers to ensure a high likelihood of a 5* review (also illegal and against Google’s T&Cs).
Time for the CMA to take action against a high profile business to discourage others.
I must be getting old; never heard of Feefo.
Course you have, TOZ4 – you just don’t recognise them without Fi and Fum!
Don’t worry – nor do potential clients!
Why is this headline news, selecting out and promoting Purplebricks yet again for an award many estate agents have also achieved? A number of firms, like mine, have also been awarded Gold Feefo status again this year.
Rather than just regurgitating press statements, shouldn’t the journalistic conscience have considered this subject a little more laterally, and looked to celebrate the fact that there are a number of UK estate agents delivering excellent service across the country, according to the ratings of its clients and customers?
Ms Hytch
First and foremost. EYE is a news reporting channel for our industry. 90% of ‘news’ comes in the way of Press Releases. Frau Renshaw and her team simply disseminate the information provided.
That being said, they very rarely copy’n’paste a piece as it was written. Articles on EYE are presented in their own inimitable style, which thankfully promotes lively debate into the various themes.
Your own company’s ‘achievement’ with this review company is every bit as ‘newsworthy’ as that of Bricks – but would no doubt attract completely different response from the audience. But if you don’t shout about it – then no-one will hear about it.
And don’t moan that they have centre stage when you haven’t even bothered to audition for the part.
It’s the old ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’ thing, I’m afraid.
To be honest, if my achievement was to be ranked the same as Bricks by anyone… anywhere… I’d be keeping schtumm about it.
And I’d be questioning the life out of whoever ranked me and them equally. And without doubt I’d be demanding the height of the bar to be raised in order to to distance the real quality players from the chaff that currently share what should be the ‘honours’.
But that’s your call, not mine.
Peebee
I’m not sure that the journalists at PIE would regard themselves as purely disseminators of information provided, as you state. A good deal of excellent journalism goes on within these pages as well, which is why I questioned the nature of this narrow angle of reporting.
We and many other firms work hard to provide the best service we can to our clients, and their public reviews – good and bad – helps us to improve our service and assists the public in making decisions about which agents to use, and of course we all disseminate this information in our own marketing.
It was the celebration of one single firm in the article, rather than the acknowledgement of the many new and repeat gold standard winning Feefo agents that was the point of my comment.
Its the customer, not us, that decides and rates us on the value of what we offer. As for ‘keeping schtumm’ about sharing the same gold standard as PB, why would that be a problem? A brief glance at Trip Advisor reveals that Wagamamas scores higher than The Ivy, clearly because their customers rate them on the food and service they received based on VFM and experience v expectations. I’m sure the review reading public can figure out that this does not mean that diners have directly compared both establishments to each other and rated them accordingly.
Ms Hytch
“I’m not sure that the journalists at PIE would regard themselves as purely disseminators of information provided, as you state.”
Actually – I didn’t state that. I suggest you read my post again.
I am invariably one of the first to recognise and congratulate Frau Renshaw on her investigative journalism pieces. But this is not one of them. – this is a simple dissemination, which as I often need to point out is of huge importance to the EYE audience who no doubt see EYE as the first place to go to in order to find out what’s happening in and around our industry – and who is saying or claiming what.
“It was the celebration of one single firm in the article…”
The only people celebrating are the company that issued to press release. The article was completely unbiased in its’ reporting.
“…rather than the acknowledgement of the many new and repeat gold standard winning Feefo agents that was the point of my comment.”
I wouldn’t imagine Purplebricks wished to share their stage with anyone – so highly suspect that wouldn’t have been in the press release.
Of course, you could always ask them to be included in their next one…
“As for ‘keeping schtumm’ about sharing the same gold standard as PB, why would that be a problem?”
If you are happy being seen by the public as on a similar level as that of Bricks, then so be it. Crack on, as the saying goes.
“I’m sure the review reading public can figure out that this does not mean that diners have directly compared both establishments to each other and rated them accordingly.”
I would respectfully suggest that potential diners at The Ivy won’t be persuaded to book their table for two at Wagamamas based upon the say-so of TripAdvisor’s contributors. However, when it comes to picking out an Estate Agent – well… it’s all online, innit? (credit: Jonnie)
You’ll be judged accordingly by some. Thankfully, probably the ones you’d prefer not to do business with in the first place – but only you can be the judge of that call.
Hi Jan
The problem word here is journalist – sensation rather than fact – always has been, always will be!!
Nothing like entering someone’s front room and treading mud all over the carpet…
A serious question – why is your firm using Feefo?
Makes me not take these review sites seriously on other products and services to be honest. I don’t know much about FEEFO but Trustpilot was so easy to manipulate at PB so cant see this being very different. They use to employ just two ladies that dealt with all reviews and as mentioned before if was negative they would suspend it while they did an investigation and 5/10 customers never respond so gets removed and the others by time query is dealt with it goes back where originally was left in date order which conveniently is weeks back….
Lets not forget the fact they had LPE’s giving vouchers for reviews, competitions such as rugby shirts and eat out vouchers for reviews which led to people getting reviews for anything and everything!
Don’t know how it stops or what the answer is to be honest but the good news is they are sinking slowly…
They have managed to tarnish both Feefo and Trustpilot beyond repair.
Why any decent review site/company would want to be associated with a company that has been proven to buy fake reviews, and offer staff paid holidays for making up false reviews amazes me! Credibility is gone now Feefo.
“Feefo fi fum
I smell the lies of the Purple one
We’ll sell your house, so they said
Actually it was all in their head”
Why would anyone pay Feefo (or Trustpilot) when Google is free? Serious question – let’s have some answers.
How much did it cost to ‘win’ the award? Purplebricks, keeping click farm’s busy as ever.
The reviews should be investigated.
And it’s a shame about Andy Harris being sacked, he was better than Vickerstaff but there again my dog could do a better job than him.
“Relentless Jiggery Pokery”
Yet, when you type purplebricks solihull , 124 people have rated them 1.3 stars…
Which as an industry we know to be more accurate.
Feffo do foe your as bad as trust pilotoe
And ‘Purplebricks London?’ 1.7 from 35 reviews. BIG lesson for all agents there.