Verify Claims of Superiority Before Hiring Service Companies
"The best...," " #1...," "99.9% Satisfaction" and other claims of superiority by service companies can be found all over the United States
. It can be a bit overwhelming to consumers looking for a service provider. For example, in my home town there are currenlty four locksmith companies claiming to be "#1," and my company is one of them. There are numerous more claiming to be "the best", "the fastest", etc.... So how do you know when you are being given true information or when someone is misleading you? After all, if a company is deceiving in their advertising, how will they do when it comes to service and billing?
Luckily, there are many methods you can use to check on various service companies. For starters, it is recommended that you always ask a company making a claim how they arrived at it. When a superiority claim is valid, the company will be able to site the source of that claim. Perhaps it's an award given by a service-based Internet site or the results of a reader's poll. Perhaps it's based on the result of non-selective and verifiable data. Either way, when you call a service company, they should have the evidence for said claim at their fingertips and be able to point you to it.
The basis for my company's claim, ACME Locksmith, of being the "#1 Rated Phoenix Locksmith" comes from the number of 5-star-rated customer reviews found on service company review sites.Today we have over 430 5-star-rated customer reviews, nearly 4X that of the nearest competitor. What's more, we can tie over 90% of these reviews to the customer we serviced.
If you've seen our advertising you probably already understand that this is the source of our claim. Companies that focus on "truth in advertising" state the basis of their claim in the same advertising making it. For example, if you see a company stating "99.9% Satisfaction" you should also see something like, "As based on XYZ's reader pole." Doing so provides transparency for the consumer.
Interestingly enough, most companies that make false claims don't think them through. Locally, there was one company claiming that they were "Voted the best Locksmith since1979." We called them, mentioned the claim, and asked what it was all about. The person on the phone said, "I don't know." Now if you owned a company that was voted the best of anything since 1979 (over thirty years in a row) wouldn't you want all of your employees to know about it? We then called the owner and asked him what he based his claim on. He told us bluntly, "I made it up."
He has since stopped making this claim, but recently we found him now claiming to be the "#1 Locksmith" in Phoenix. We asked about this too and he said,"Because a few customers have told us we're the best." While I'm certain this company has had customers tell them they are great, it is not evidence of being #1 since the claim cannot be substantiated and verified by any real data. This company is violating the Better Business Bureau's (BBB) and the Associated Locksmiths of America advertising policies.
Another way to verify claims is to check with the BBB or the trade organization for a particular trade. These types of organizations routinely require members to follow strict advertising policies. If a company making a superiority claim has a negative rating with the BBB, then they are suspect. If they are not members of their given trade organization or the BBB, you are better off going with another company. Not being a member doesn't necessarily mean you'll get bad service, but if you do, you won't have any recourse.
Lastly, check various service based websites for reviews of the company you are considering hiring. Companies that make false claims often have negative reviews that will provide insight as to how they do business. Unfortunately, companies making false claims have also been known to write false reviews of their business, so careful examination is required. One easy method of determining a review in Google and on several service sites is to click the name of the user writing the review. This takes you to all of the reviews they have written. If one user has written scores of reviews for several of the same type of service company, it's suspect. A detailed article on checking reviews, and determining the validity of those reviews, can be found in the Lock Knowledge Center on our website.
If in your research you discover a company making a claim that they can't offer evidence for, and they are members of the BBB or their given trade organization, report them to these organizations. The companies will give them the chance to support their claim or ask them to stop making it. Either way, the consumer wins. Another local locksmith using the "#1 Rated" claim told us when we called that they were number one because, "We think we are." By following the above guidelines, you will have quickly realized that this was a false claim.
Coincidentally, this company was not a member of the Better Business Bureau or their associated trade organization. From simply asking, to just a bit of Internet research, you can always be sure that when you hire someone making a superiority claim you are getting a company that has a valid reason to make such a claim. Doing so protects you and helps ensure that the service you receive meets your expectations.
Verify Claims of Superiority Before Hiring Service Companies
By: Robert Vallelunga
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