I have been dealing with "Monoprice.com" (in the US) for a while now for inexpensive cables ect.
Recently, I submitted a couple of reviews. One was 100% favorable and they published it promptly.
The other was not 100% favorable, pointing out a known product flaw and it seems they will not publish it.
I Googled the issue and it appears that they have a history of not publishing unfavorable reviews
So, beware of any product reviews on "Monoprice"
Recently, I submitted a couple of reviews. One was 100% favorable and they published it promptly.
The other was not 100% favorable, pointing out a known product flaw and it seems they will not publish it.
I Googled the issue and it appears that they have a history of not publishing unfavorable reviews
So, beware of any product reviews on "Monoprice"
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Review of a product anyone sells are bound to be either edited or (perhaps more accurately) just not printed. Normal, and to be expected.
Same with the usual review sites (Retrevo, etc) that come up on page 1 of a Google search. In that case they're not necessarily edited or dropped, but the sites are salted with positive reviews of vendors. Some make a full time job of it.
I find the Amazon reviews somewhat relevant, you still need to read between the lines a bit; the rest, I ignore.
Same with the usual review sites (Retrevo, etc) that come up on page 1 of a Google search. In that case they're not necessarily edited or dropped, but the sites are salted with positive reviews of vendors. Some make a full time job of it.
I find the Amazon reviews somewhat relevant, you still need to read between the lines a bit; the rest, I ignore.
I haven't been aware of any other site that routinely censors their reviews, except for maby some juvinile, blatently false slatements.
The sites I usually deal with publish the bad along with the good and hide nothing.
I just got a phone call from Monoprice customer service and they claimed a "misunderstanding" and admitted to the very flaw I pointed out.
As far as my review, it was admitted that they were waiting to see a final outcome as I might change my review as some others do. In other words, they attempt to sort of con people into giving a favorable review. Keep in mind that this review is for a product not their service.
They did say they were now going to publish my review. They had no answer why my e-mails were not answered.
However they volunteered that bad reviews are last in queue with is a bit dishonest IMO as it gives the impression that all reviews are favorable unlees one reads all reviews to the end.... sometimes there are hundreds. They do not publish reviews acording to the date submitterd.
BTW, in I case I gave the wrong impression, I will stiil order odds and ends from Monoprice. I just will not give credence to their reviews.
The sites I usually deal with publish the bad along with the good and hide nothing.
I just got a phone call from Monoprice customer service and they claimed a "misunderstanding" and admitted to the very flaw I pointed out.
As far as my review, it was admitted that they were waiting to see a final outcome as I might change my review as some others do. In other words, they attempt to sort of con people into giving a favorable review. Keep in mind that this review is for a product not their service.
They did say they were now going to publish my review. They had no answer why my e-mails were not answered.
However they volunteered that bad reviews are last in queue with is a bit dishonest IMO as it gives the impression that all reviews are favorable unlees one reads all reviews to the end.... sometimes there are hundreds. They do not publish reviews acording to the date submitterd.
BTW, in I case I gave the wrong impression, I will stiil order odds and ends from Monoprice. I just will not give credence to their reviews.
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Maybe someone from Monoprice reads DIYaudio? Or perhaps they routinely Google themselves to find out what people are saying and so saw your comments here.
Placing reviews in 'score order' is a neat way to be scrupulously honest and seriously misleading all at the same time. Sounds like a lawyer's trick.
Placing reviews in 'score order' is a neat way to be scrupulously honest and seriously misleading all at the same time. Sounds like a lawyer's trick.
Hi DIYAudio Forum Members,
I wanted to take a moment to provide some clarity to the situation with regards to JoeDJ’s product review and our product review procedures in general.
As we have been trying to explain to JoeDJ directly, the purpose of reviewing product reviews posted on our site is not to censor them, but to look for opportunities to resolve issues and document feedback that will help us further improve our products. If our customers are having difficulties, sometimes, rather than reaching out to us directly, they will write a review. We screen the reviews and try to troubleshoot the issue just as if they were to report the issue to us directly through our normal technical support channels.
In the case of JoeDJ’s issue, he received a defective product as evidenced by the ease in which the prongs on the connector broke off. We immediately logged the issue into our complaint management system which is used by our product managers to identify issues and work with suppliers to improve product performance.
During this communication process, the review is put on hold until the issue is resolved. However, once everything is documented and the process is finished, the review is posted unless the customer says he/she no longer wants it posted. This process usually only takes a couple of days at most. If you look up PID# 2869, you will see that his review is now posted since the documentation was concluded and a refund for the defective item was issued.
With regard to responding to his emails, we did respond to each of his correspondences. His receipt is evidenced by the fact that he would write back each time we would respond. There were some extra correspondences he sent separately, but rather than opening additional cases on the same subject, they were forwarded to me since I was the rep handling the original issue.
With regard to how the reviews are ordered on our website, they are indeed ordered by score from highest to lowest. The Technical Support department has submitted requests to add a function to resort the order based on customer choice. The project is in queue but I can’t say at this point when this feature will be implemented.
As to why the default sort order was arranged like this I can’t say for sure. However, it is likely that when the review feature was first built, Monoprice was still pretty small and there weren’t a lot of reviews. It was probably considered okay at the time since each product didn’t have more than three to five reviews. We have grown rapidly since and a few of our website features need to be updated. It is actually a result rapid growth rather than a sinister conspiracy. We apologize if it seems otherwise.
We are sincerely regretful to JoeDJ regarding the inconvenience caused by our cable. As he stated, our Technical Service Manager reached out to him personally to clarify the situation. If we really didn’t care what our customers thought, we wouldn’t be reaching out to them. For that matter, it would be easier for us as a company to just blindly post all reviews and keep selling products until people no longer showed interest and just move on to the next thing. However, it is a part of our company culture to listen to our customer through all channels and do everything we can, not only to try to make things right with the customer, but to try to enhance our products as well.
Monoprice has built its business on its reputation and by word of mouth and will continue to do so. It is more likely a new customer will hear about us because a friend told him/her about us, or we were mentioned as the best place to get cable by a member of the tech media rather than because they saw a commercial. We will continue to guard our reputation. Even though we realize we won’t make everybody happy every time, we will still try. I’m sorry that JoeDJ was disappointed by our product and review process. We will do our best to take his feedback to make improvements.
Sincerely,
Monoprice Tech Support
I wanted to take a moment to provide some clarity to the situation with regards to JoeDJ’s product review and our product review procedures in general.
As we have been trying to explain to JoeDJ directly, the purpose of reviewing product reviews posted on our site is not to censor them, but to look for opportunities to resolve issues and document feedback that will help us further improve our products. If our customers are having difficulties, sometimes, rather than reaching out to us directly, they will write a review. We screen the reviews and try to troubleshoot the issue just as if they were to report the issue to us directly through our normal technical support channels.
In the case of JoeDJ’s issue, he received a defective product as evidenced by the ease in which the prongs on the connector broke off. We immediately logged the issue into our complaint management system which is used by our product managers to identify issues and work with suppliers to improve product performance.
During this communication process, the review is put on hold until the issue is resolved. However, once everything is documented and the process is finished, the review is posted unless the customer says he/she no longer wants it posted. This process usually only takes a couple of days at most. If you look up PID# 2869, you will see that his review is now posted since the documentation was concluded and a refund for the defective item was issued.
With regard to responding to his emails, we did respond to each of his correspondences. His receipt is evidenced by the fact that he would write back each time we would respond. There were some extra correspondences he sent separately, but rather than opening additional cases on the same subject, they were forwarded to me since I was the rep handling the original issue.
With regard to how the reviews are ordered on our website, they are indeed ordered by score from highest to lowest. The Technical Support department has submitted requests to add a function to resort the order based on customer choice. The project is in queue but I can’t say at this point when this feature will be implemented.
As to why the default sort order was arranged like this I can’t say for sure. However, it is likely that when the review feature was first built, Monoprice was still pretty small and there weren’t a lot of reviews. It was probably considered okay at the time since each product didn’t have more than three to five reviews. We have grown rapidly since and a few of our website features need to be updated. It is actually a result rapid growth rather than a sinister conspiracy. We apologize if it seems otherwise.
We are sincerely regretful to JoeDJ regarding the inconvenience caused by our cable. As he stated, our Technical Service Manager reached out to him personally to clarify the situation. If we really didn’t care what our customers thought, we wouldn’t be reaching out to them. For that matter, it would be easier for us as a company to just blindly post all reviews and keep selling products until people no longer showed interest and just move on to the next thing. However, it is a part of our company culture to listen to our customer through all channels and do everything we can, not only to try to make things right with the customer, but to try to enhance our products as well.
Monoprice has built its business on its reputation and by word of mouth and will continue to do so. It is more likely a new customer will hear about us because a friend told him/her about us, or we were mentioned as the best place to get cable by a member of the tech media rather than because they saw a commercial. We will continue to guard our reputation. Even though we realize we won’t make everybody happy every time, we will still try. I’m sorry that JoeDJ was disappointed by our product and review process. We will do our best to take his feedback to make improvements.
Sincerely,
Monoprice Tech Support
It should be pointed out that the "communications process" Monoprice spoke of were not via e-mail as they did not answerer them.
The comunications were replys back and forth within the unpublished review. By his own admission in his post, by doing so a poster often changes their review. The review that was publish does not contain any of the their replies to the review. However, I never expected them to be included and I'm fine with that.
I should also point out the the review discussed a known product flaw with the connectors also pointed out by some others. So, what was to be resolved or what was I to change??
The comunications were replys back and forth within the unpublished review. By his own admission in his post, by doing so a poster often changes their review. The review that was publish does not contain any of the their replies to the review. However, I never expected them to be included and I'm fine with that.
I should also point out the the review discussed a known product flaw with the connectors also pointed out by some others. So, what was to be resolved or what was I to change??
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I have seen negative reviews on Monoprice. I was somewhat suspect of a pair of headphones they were selling (quite low in price), since no one had anything bad to say about them. But I looked around, saw some negatives here and there, went out on the limb and ordered them. Know what? Can't find anything bad to say about them. I think it entirely possible Monoprice's response here is accurate. I have been ordering from them for four or five years now and have no complaints.
BTW, I found this thread searching for threads on the headphones (Monoprice branded) that I just bought (I'm going to post a review). They were 23 bucks, and are just flat remarkable. I'll put them up against almost anything under a $150. See my review. I also picked up a Monoprice branded 7 port USB hub for 11 dollars. So far, it beats the stuffing out of a Rosewill that started dying almost as soon as I plugged it in AND costs more. HDD throughput is quite good.
They also offer branded graphics tablets for amazing prices that are receiving very good reviews. I believe the reviews.
I'm not here to pimp Monoprice. They just seem to be a best cost supplier. Works for me.
BTW, I found this thread searching for threads on the headphones (Monoprice branded) that I just bought (I'm going to post a review). They were 23 bucks, and are just flat remarkable. I'll put them up against almost anything under a $150. See my review. I also picked up a Monoprice branded 7 port USB hub for 11 dollars. So far, it beats the stuffing out of a Rosewill that started dying almost as soon as I plugged it in AND costs more. HDD throughput is quite good.
They also offer branded graphics tablets for amazing prices that are receiving very good reviews. I believe the reviews.
I'm not here to pimp Monoprice. They just seem to be a best cost supplier. Works for me.
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