Foreign Language Reviews

[Ela Talaj]

I've recently received a 1-star review for one of my products. The products has been in the Marketplace for a long time, has many sales and no complaints. Further I have a demo of this product in my in-world store and it has been working in there just fine for years.

Prior to posting the bad review the customer did contact me by IM but it was in a foreign language (I think it is Portuguese but not sure). I responded in English that I didn't understand the question/problem and asked to repeat it in English. There was no reply. The bad review is also in a foreign language  (Portuguese ?). The product will not work without filling out a configuration notecard. The product box contains a User Manual which describes each configuration parameter in detail.

It is apparent that the customer cannot read the User Manual because doesn't understand English. Why the merchant should be blamed for that is not clear to me. I don't have resources to translate my user manuals or provide support in different languages. I flagged the review and wrote a comment relaying about the same as I've written above. A few weeks passed but the review is still there. I opened a ticket with the Lab and (very promptly) received an email response that I should flag the review in question. But it is already flagged.

I have dealt with many foreign customers and not all of them spoke perfect English but everyone would make an effort to convey their problem and if they could not they would bring someone who could. Personally I think that reviews in languages other than English should not be allowed in those Marketplace pages that are written in English, while pages in other languages should allow reviews in that language and/or in English.  What do you think?

 

[Pamela Galli]

8 minutes ago, Ela Talaj said:

I opened a ticket with the Lab and (very promptly) received an email response that I should flag the review in question. But it is already flagged.

That exact process happens pretty much every time I flag. Flag, wait, file a ticket, am told to flag, explain I already flagged, explain, argue, get snippy, get my hand slapped, review removed.

[Callum Meriman]

On 11/1/2018 at 12:48 PM, Ela Talaj said:

Personally I think that reviews in languages other than English should not be allowed in those Marketplace pages that are written in English, while pages in other languages should allow reviews in that language and/or in English.  What do you think?

Are you saying English should have special treatment?

Why should a creator who only speaks German or Japanese be forced to accept a bad review in English, while you - who can only speak English - are protected from a bad review written in German or Japanese?

On 11/1/2018 at 12:48 PM, Ela Talaj said:

Prior to posting the bad review the customer did contact me by IM but it was in a foreign language (I think it is Portuguese but not sure). I responded in English that I didn't understand the question/problem and asked to repeat it in English.

Now put this shoe on the other foot. If you bought something from a German creator who had no English, would you try to speak to them in German? If the German creator only replied: Sprechen Sie bitte Deutsch. what would you have done?

So, why didn't you copy paste the Portuguese question into Google Translate?

[Candice LittleBoots]

How dare somebody have the audacity to give a poor review. 

Sad to see zero effort being made, it reeks of self-entitlement.

English-only speakers probably account for the vast majority of language snobs in the world.

You have numerous poor and mediocre reviews and your response in most cases is snippy.  You do not do yourself any favours.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Candice LittleBoots

[Callum Meriman]

1 hour ago, Candice LittleBoots said:

You have numerous poor and mediocre reviews and your response in most cases is snippy.  You do not do yourself any favours.

I'd certainly agree, I just went and looked and the comments were quite an eye opener.

Personally I find this one an interesting juxtaposition. The shop banner suggests that not only does she carry a Linden Lab stamp of approval, but by displaying the French Flag, there is an implied suggestion that she might speak French.

and yet, when a French comment is made

 

[Ethan Paslong]

On 11/1/2018 at 2:48 AM, Ela Talaj said:

  What do you think?

i think it's only a minute more work to provide a manual in a few other main languages.
Doesn't have to be the best translation as long it's usable for your customers.

Being on a international platform asks for that, SL/MP isn't a english site.
Also creating a user group could be of help, often you'll see other people give pretty good advices... but be sure to keep it spamfree.

[Tari Landar]

As a merchant, I have helped countless customers in a language other than English. While few of my products need any kind of instructions, if someone has difficulty with it, I help them with that too. I suspect that a lot of non-English speaking customers take it upon themselves to translate, but *I* have NO problem whatsoever doing so for them, if need be. Even a rough translation is much better than blowing people off with "speak English or you don't deserve to be here". That kind of attitude towards people is going to get you blacklisted faster than you think. I'm not convinced that putting it here on a public forum is going to bode well for you either, lol. 

Outside of being a merchant, I have helped countless people with language barriers as well. This whole "you don't speak my language, you're not worth my time and effort" attitude I have seen in so many people (even aside from sl) is so....hmm...I'll just go with wrong. Sl is a GLOBAL virtual environment. I'll never understand the approach some people take with others  

Like someone else said, switch that shoe, put yourself in the other person's position...and then tell us how awesome it is, and how RIGHT the merchant/person that doesn't want to deal with your obvious language barriers actually is. 

The thing about pedestals is that they're easily broken, mind your step should you choose to step up on one. 

[Syo Emerald]

On 11/8/2018 at 7:19 AM, Ethan Paslong said:

i think it's only a minute more work to provide a manual in a few other main languages.
Doesn't have to be the best translation as long it's usable for your customers.

You are talking to someone, that (indirectly) already admitted its too much hassle to copy/paste a customers message into Google translate to even know what language is spoken and what that person wants.  ?