Is this review fair?

[Rya Nitely]

Should I have used my thesaurus to find another word that means mossy? I've flagged this review with my comments, but would like to know what people think

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/TUFF-Stepping-Stones-Mossy-Complete-Pack/3661049

and the stone steps referred to in the review are here 

The review states that the textures on the two  items should have been the same, and therefore matching since I use the word "Mossy' in the title for both items.

[VanillaSunsets]

Maybe change the texture name to slightly or light mossy? I think they look mossy but... I would maybe also assume they match another product named mossy, if you buy it from the same merchant. That doesn't mean you named it wrong, it just means most creators do use the same name for one line of products. And customers tend to generalize us :-). 
Maybe you could just send the customer a more "mossy" version and ask in return to edit their review/comment? 
That's how I would try to solve this. Just my humble oppinion ;-) 
Your products are amazing ( I own some) and I love your textures, so, yea, your products deserve to get more then 1 star for sure!

[Rayne Keynes]

In my opinion, the buyer may have been HOPING for matching "Mossyness" since both items came from the same maker,... however, one would not necessarily EXPECT matching moss from the pictures. Last I checked, there were multiple kinds, textures, consistancies etc, etc of moss. Though it's been years since I had to know one moss from another,.. lol

Sounds as though the buyer was reading something into the title of the item entries that wasn't intended. Maybe take some more time to name a little more clearly if at all possible? Maybe put something in the description stating that the pieces do not belong to a set of any kind. Just a suggestion.

As to the questionat hand, I dont know about "fair" but, it's his opinion and therefore just as valid as any other,... he isn't syaing it's bad, just that the mossy types don't match and didn't meet his, possibly, unrealistic expectations.

[Rya Nitely]

I really try to avoid having long titles for my items.

Stepping Stones - Light Mossy - Complete Pack.

I guess I could do that

 

thank you for responding

[Rya Nitely]

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VanillaSunsets wrote:

Your products are amazing ( I own some) and I love your textures, so, yea, your products deserve to get more then 1 star for sure!

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Thank you, that's very encouraging. And I guess people will still buy it despite the review.

[Rayne Keynes]

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Rya Nitely wrote:

I really try to avoid having long titles for my items.

Stepping Stones

- Light Mossy - 

Complete Pack.

I guess I could do that

 

thank you for responding

---

Rather than extending titles, maybe make a section at the top of the description for more detailed info. So the name would be something like "Stepping Stones - Complete Pack" and then in the description, "These stones are covered in light moss, and have a jagged, realistically carved shape." ADVISORY: THESE STONES ARE NOT PART OF A SET AND MAY NOT MATCH ANY OTHER MOSS ITEMS SOLD BY US.

Not necessarily in caps of course,.. but you get the idea. When I did sell on XStreet before LL bought them out, I made heavy use of the description and notes areas,... giving my items a very specific title/name, and then filling in any other important info in the description.

Just a thought.

[Rya Nitely]

I already have another item called Stepping Stones - Complete Pack, which is why I called this one mossy. I've changed the title now and also added your note.

thanks for the advice.

I  might send buyer an inworld IM. If this person had IMed me inworld and told me the problem I would have made him/her matching stone steps free of charge. I've done this so often when customers IM me about something they'd like changed.

[Rya Nitely]

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VanillaSunsets wrote:

Maybe you could just send the customer a more "mossy" version and ask in return to edit their review/comment? 

That's how I would try to solve this. Just my humble oppinion ;-) 

---

Well, I IMed the customer two hours ago. I sent a very polite IM. Customer was online at the time and I got no response, still waiting......2 hours... maybe afk...we'll see.

This getting in touch with a customer who has left a bad review never seems to work for me.

[VanillaSunsets]

Oh, yes, I am always very confused/ disapointed/ a tiny bit passed off ( pick your choice ) when I react very prompt and correct to a customer having an issue with a product,  and then never receiving any reaction or feedback. Luckily this is only a very small part of the customers.

Guess it's just all about pride and honor. I rather do the right thing and know at the end of the day, that I am a good, service oriented, merchant, then to let that small group drive up my blood pressure. Of course, like in this case, when a customer leaves a bad review without having tried to fix the "problem" in-world trough IM... Then it's very hard to give some decent customer service. A very clear case of "You get what you ask for". *grin*

[Zanara Zenovka]

That's ridiculous. The picture already shows what they look like, which provides far more info than words in the title. You don't need to do anything IMO.

[Pamela Galli]

A bad review is the last resort after all other avenues of redress have been tried -- such as contacting the seller about the problem.

 

To me, when a buyer leaves a negative review without contacting me, I assume that for whatever reason, he/she was not interested in getting the problem solved but only in leaving a bad review. 

[AnnaMarie Ragu]

I agree that if the customer "thought" it might match it is kind of up to them to contact the creator and ask first otherwise they are running on an assumption which never ends well.  They should not have given a 1 star review based on their assumption of what the product was or was not.  And, yes you could contact them and offer them a different item for them to change their review, but sometimes that backfires as well and ticks them off more.  It's kind of a risk either way unfortunately. But I love your creations personally, I use them on my main account a lot when decorating sims.

[Alicia Sautereau]

or a competitor trying to annoy you

[Paul Hexem]

Buyer was a moron. There's a picture that shows that it's different.

[Rya Nitely]

The review has been removed. YAY :smileyhappy:

Thanks for responding everyone, and to those who said encouraging things about my items, I really appreciate it

[Madeliefste Oh]

I had a nice one as well today for a mesh item.

I was a 2 star review, saying that the item looks beautiful, but very disappointing that it doesn't come with a mesh map, thus their is no way to give the mesh your own name as creator.

I flagged it, and two hours laters it was gone.  

[Pamela Galli]

One thing LL has consisently done well is remove ignorant, pointless, or malicious reviews.

 

[frantically knocks on wood]

[Maeve Balfour]

It never ceases to amaze me how STUPID people can be when they leave MP reviews. Much of the time, I think they just find the page, and click BUY NOW without even trying to read the information presented or look a little closer at the images (or heaven forbid, consider checking the items out inworld if they are picky). Hence, when purchased items don't meet their exact demanding preferences, they throw a sad and leave a scathing review.

Pfft...! Small wonder I have never bothered becoming a merchant, despite creating many dozens of mesh items for my own personal building and landscaping requirements, clothing as well. I know I could sell them easily (I have had requests many times to sell), but I can't be bothered dealing with the idiot customer element. This MP review example, and a review "bullying threat" thread I read a few minutes ago, just confirms my reasons.

I know there are many GOOD customers out there (hopefully in the majority, surely?), but it's the nasty, idiotic and downright spiteful customer element that puts me off even bothering.

I admire the people who work hard to be good merchants - the tides working against you constantly would just wear me out in no time.

[Rya Nitely]

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Maeve Balfour wrote:

Pfft...! Small wonder I have never bothered becoming a merchant, despite creating many dozens of mesh items for my own personal building and landscaping requirements, clothing as well. I know I could sell them easily (I have had requests many times to sell), but I can't be bothered dealing with the idiot customer element. This MP review example, and a review "bullying threat" thread I read a few minutes ago, just confirms my reasons.

I know there are many GOOD customers out there (hopefully in the majority, surely?), but it's the nasty, idiotic and downright spiteful customer element that puts me off even bothering.

I admire the people who work hard to be good merchants - the tides working against you constantly would just wear me out in no time.

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I have wondered about that. I often read the threads in the Creation Forum, and sometimes ask advice. There are so many talented people there, like yourself, and no MP store....and I've often wondered why.

It's made me wonder how I get by at all with the minimum skills I have, especially in mesh. But I get there, stumbling around in the dark trying to put it all together.... somehow I get there...with no technical knowledge, just determination and time. Which has made me wonder why the most talented and technically skiiled people in SL are usually not merchants.

[Maeve Balfour]

Rya: I guess in my case, I am just happy enough to create purely for the sake of it. It's what drew me into SL in the first place, the ability to build and experience it inworld (originally with prims when I first arrived, and now mesh). With mesh, instead of just creating something and rendering it as an image, with SL I can actually interact WITH it in a realtime environment - which is pretty awesome in my opinion. That alone is enough reason for me to push my creativity abilities.

Financially, I have never really had any urge to sell. I guess some income to cover my inworld costs and tier would be handy, but I already budget for that with my RL income, so it's not a major priority. Plus lack of time to dedicate to the running of a store and customer service is also a factor. The headache type of customer you mentioned earlier in this thread just emphasises my reasons for not becoming a merchant as well.

Hence I admire the dedicated SL merchants such as yourself and many others - the ones who are passionate about what they create (and not doing it with the minimal work / fast-buck cashcow mentality). The energy required to maintain quality builds AND quality customer service is something that would drain me... I am happier just to create for personal usage (less headaches).

And you mustn't sell yourself so short (in regards to your reference of your skillsets). You are obviously enjoying what you are doing, enjoying being creative, and willing to learn and improve. THAT is admirable. Sheer skills alone mean nothing without passion behind them. Hence me being more than happy to share my knowledge with others on the Creation Forum when relevant, if it helps them improve on their passion for creating. I would guess that other regulars there would have a similar mindset.

:matte-motes-smile: