[blueash]

I received an email today I thought I'd share just FYI. A company is offering to place several new five star reviews per month of my services on multiple websites. Seeing as I don't practice medicine this would be of little use to me. But it is nice to see what kind of deceitful marketing is available. Buyer beware. I wrote back asking if they'd share the names of their satisfied clients with me. I don't expect a reply.

Hello Dr. [blueash],

Your reputation is as good as your patient reviews!

We improve your online reputation and patient reviews like no other company does. We guarantee ‘five star’ reviews (at least 8-10 reviews per month) published for you on review websites like Google, Healthgrades, Vitals, RealSelf, RateMDs and many more. In a matter of few months you can see a quantifiable change.

For our selected subscribers, we have dropped our reputation management solution prices from $349 to $249 for a very limited period. We will manage and improve your overall online reputation for just $249 per month and there is NO CONTRACT! Accounts created under this offer will remain at $249/month for their lifetime.

Our Reputation Management Solution helps you:

1) Get guaranteed reviews published (8-10 reviews per month) on websites like Google, Yelp, BBB, Medical review sites like Healthgrades, Vitals, RateMDs and many more.

2) Improve reviews, ratings and SEO of your practice and increase number of patients/revenue for your practice as a result.

If you are interested in this limited period offer, simply reply to this email with your contact details and one of our representative will reach out to you and provide more details.

Note: This is a limited period offer that ends on Feb 25, 2020 at 6pm PST. Requests received after the due date will not be considered for the discounted pricing.

Thanks,
Julia Cohen
Senior Reputation Specialist
347.983.0454

[Two Bills]

My daughter and son in law own and run a small independant hotel and have had similar offers.
They have also had guests who say unless they get a discount, they will leave a bad review.
Many review sites are meaningless because of this.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by blueash

I received an email today I thought I'd share just FYI. A company is offering to place several new five star reviews per month of my services on multiple websites. Seeing as I don't practice medicine this would be of little use to me. But it is nice to see what kind of deceitful marketing is available. Buyer beware. I wrote back asking if they'd share the names of their satisfied clients with me. I don't expect a reply.

I wouldn't put too much faith in any of these doctor review sites. About 15 years ago, one site listed a particular physician as the top ophthalmologist in our town, but no one ever heard of him. We finally found a 90 year old retired doctor who knew him, until he passed away in 1967!!!. Another site had listed a doctor as top family physician. Unfortunately, he had left the state 5 years earlier after being prosecuted for Medicaid fraud and losing his license

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

I wouldn't put too much faith in any of these doctor review sites. About 15 years ago, one site listed a particular physician as the top ophthalmologist in our town, but no one ever heard of him. We finally found a 90 year old retired doctor who knew him, until he passed away in 1967!!!. Another site had listed a doctor as top family physician. Unfortunately, he had left the state 5 years earlier after being prosecuted for Medicaid fraud and losing his license

Are you telling me the Doctor I picked off the list, Dr. Vinnie Boombatz, isn't one of the top 3 Weight Management Doctors?Rodney Dangerfield’s Top 10 Doctor Jokes - YouTube

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Nucky

Are you telling me the Doctor I picked off the list, Dr. Vinnie Boombatz, isn't one of the top 3 Weight Management Doctors?Rodney Dangerfield’s Top 10 Doctor Jokes - YouTube

No, Dr. Vinnie Boombatz is a gynecologist

[retiredguy123]

I recently bought a pair of bluetooth ear buds on Amazon from a company in China. The company sent me an email and offered to send me a free wireless charger. They also "asked" me to go to Amazon and give them a 5 star review. I told them it would be fine for them to send the charger, but I never gave them an Amazon review. I never got the charger.

I always check doctor reviews on Vitals or Healthgrades, but I usually only pay attention to the negative ones. I think that, if the doctor is proud of their work, they should reply to the negative reviews. Some do and some don't.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I participate in product marketing research. I do surveys, and I get chosen to be a "lab rat" for various stuff. Facial moisturizer, toothbrushes, coffeemakers, snacks, etc. In exchange for the products which I get to keep (and sometimes get coupons for more if they're consumables), I agree to post a review on Amazon or Facebook or submit it blind and if it's good it gets put on the manufacturer's website. The difference between the example in the posts above, and my experience, is that the companies I work with require an HONEST opinion - whether good or bad. And in great detail. If I have problems with a product, they need to know so they can improve it before releasing it to the public. If enough people have bad experiences with it, they'll scrap the product entirely and it won't get released at all.

But of course if it's all good, and they're able to make any necessary tweaks to the product based on feedback, they will use our positive reviews to promote the product.

I also do mystery shops, which gets me free food or groceries, -and- a modest payment for my troubles. I could do a tax preparation mystery shop for $400 (which would be applied to fees for the tax preparation, or any payment owed to the IRS) but we do our taxes ourselves.

In the internet world, this is known as being an "influenster." I would never sell 5-star reviews. But I do sell my opinion, for better or for worse. I'm an "official" Google Reviewer, Amazon Reviewer, and I've had reviews published by HP, Keurig, OralB, Febreze, and a bunch of others over the years.

[golfing eagles]

Just for chuckles, I checked myself on a few sites. The good news is that I still have my 5/5 star rating. The bad news is that even though I retired in June of 2015, the site states I'm accepting new patients

[blueash]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I always check doctor reviews on Vitals or Healthgrades, but I usually only pay attention to the negative ones. I think that, if the doctor is proud of their work, they should reply to the negative reviews. Some do and some don't.

Well it is not that simple. I only had one negative review that I saw. Patient was furious that I was not listening to their complaint and risked their life, didn't know what I was doing. Nasty review. But the true story was they had a viral illness but were sure that an antibiotic was needed to cure viruses. Everybody apparently knows that but me. We had discussed why an antibiotic was not needed and in fact potentially harmful. But you can't always get through to everyone.

However, for me to reply to this review would have required me to violate HIPPA. It is a violation for a person to give out medical information without a release. Their posting an online review, with their name, is not a release. So no reply was made. And that didn't make the review accurate.

I had hoped all those other positive reviews would counterbalance the negative one. But apparently some consumers only read the negative ones. They do make better reading.

[toeser]

This would explain how I got the worst doctor on the planet with all five star ratings. Fake ratings make it hard to find a good one.

[toeser]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I recently bought a pair of bluetooth ear buds on Amazon from a company in China. The company sent me an email and offered to send me a free wireless charger. They also "asked" me to go to Amazon and give them a 5 star review. I told them it would be fine for them to send the charger, but I never gave them an Amazon review. I never got the charger.

I always check doctor reviews on Vitals or Healthgrades, but I usually only pay attention to the negative ones. I think that, if the doctor is proud of their work, they should reply to the negative reviews. Some do and some don't.

Suspicious reviews tend to stand out. They are usually written like an ad. However, if I am suspicious about a product's reviews, I usually check out a handful of the reviewers. If all they give are 5-stars, I ignore them. If they have given only 1-2 reviews, I ignore them. If they have a mixture of reviews between 1-5 stars, and they have been shown to purchase the product through Amazon, then I will consider them valid.

[Dlbonivich]

That is awful, I work hard for my reviews!

[greenflash245]

how brash. give me a discount or I'll trash you in a review. people are unbelievable these days!

[prntxpresn]

Anyone seeking doctor or dentist should go on healthgrades.com

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by prntxpresn

Anyone seeking doctor or dentist should go on healthgrades.com

No better than any of the others