RatePoint Review Guidelines

RatePoint takes very seriously the integrity of our systems and reviews, and we take every effort to ensure that all reviews are factual and legitimate.

Reviews may not contain any profanity, threats, prejudiced comments, hate speech or other derogatory content. Reviews may not contain ALL CAPS, HTML tags, excessive typographic symbols or slang. No personal attacks on a business' employees or mention of specific employee names or other personal identifying information will be permitted.

Unlike other review and ratings services, RatePoint reviews are posted directly on a businesses website and by doing so, we require that all reviews meet our standards. In the event of a negative review or complaint, the business is given the opportunity to complete our dispute resolution process to try to fairly resolve any issues before a review is posted.

How do I review?

Reviewing is simple and easy. Just give your honest opinion about the personal experience that you had with this particular business.

How can I write a great review

1. Be personal. This is about your experience and no one else's. If your friend or relative had a good or bad experience, they should be the one writing the review. Important information tends to get lost in the mix as one person tells another. This also allows the business to reach out to the person who actually had the experience, so they can learn more.
2. Be detailed. What did you eat? Who helped you at the counter? When did you go? All of this information can make your review more authentic and useful. If your review is less than two sentences, your review is probably not providing enough information to be helpful to your fellow consumers and the business owner.
3. Be honest and fair. The only way a business can improve is if they know what they're doing right or wrong. Making up information, or making broad generalizations that you have no evidence of helps no one. Be sure to give everyone the entire context of your interaction. Was the location busy? Was the place empty? Help us to understand the big picture.

What can I review?

Any business that you have interacted with either online or offline is fair game. This can be the pizza shop on the corner, or the online store you purchased your camera from.

Can I review anonymously?

No, we require all reviews to be submitted with a valid email address. Your email address is kept completely confidential, will not be shared with anyone (including the business) and is only used to ensure that the feedback submitted is authentic. Your email will not be shown in the review, you have the option to provide a display name.

RatePoint may also send emails directly to you to mediate a dispute - should you submit a negative review.

Can I review a friend's business, or one that I have a professional relationship with?

Of course you can, just be sure to mention your relationship in your review. This is key in helping your fellow reviewers understand where you're coming from. It also makes your review more credible.

What if I had a bad experience?

We all have bad experiences. You are free to write a negative review, these reviews will hopefully help businesses improve themselves and allow consumers to make better purchasing decisions

RatePoint actually takes things one step further. We'll actually notify them about your review, and they'll have the opportunity to make it right for you through RatePoint, and maybe they can even change your mind about their business.

Will RatePoint ever remove my review?

On rare occasions the RatePoint team may remove a review. Generally these instances are because a review may feature inappropriate language or personal attacks on an individual, business or other reviewer.

Reviews may also be removed if they're focused on second-hand experience or contain statements that claim to be fact, but aren't actually proven. RatePoint also takes steps to combat spamming of reviews to ensure the integrity of our community.

Is it true that a business can remove my review?

RatePoint Business Members, are required to participate in an interaction process with any negative review that is submitted about their business. A business cannot choose to hide a negative review created by a registered RatePoint Reviewer that authenticates their review. The only way a negative review can be changed or removed is if they can satisfy you, the consumer, and convince you to make the change.

A RatePoint Business Member may choose to not display a positive review on their page. Why a business would not want to display your positive review, we're not really sure.