{"id":2028,"date":"2019-09-11T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T23:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/?p=2028"},"modified":"2019-09-09T11:14:45","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T01:14:45","slug":"i-am-the-greatest-everyone-says-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/09\/11\/i-am-the-greatest-everyone-says-so\/","title":{"rendered":"I Am The Greatest – Everyone Says So"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Sharon Livingstone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You know how it is. You go to the interwebs to search for a\nbroccoli soup recipe* and end up reading reviews of yourself on a random\nwebsite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, this is a true story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I happened upon some website for practitioner reviews. It\nwasn\u2019t Whitecoat but it looked so similar that the site had probably skimmed\nWhitecoat\u2019s information. What the heck, that broccoli isn\u2019t going anywhere, I\nthought, and searched my own name. Wow! There were a lot of reviews. I won\u2019t\nrepeat them but I walked away with my ego polished and enormous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But should I (or any potential client) believe how fantastic\nI am as a massage therapist because of these rave reviews?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at some of the issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. These reviews were requested by either the health fund or\nan affiliate when a client made a claim or had a claim processed via HICAPS.\nThis happens quite soon after the treatment, so the bliss of the massage may\nstill be there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. There\u2019s no way of knowing if the reviews had been\ndoctored, or if negative reviews are even published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. They don\u2019t tell the whole story. For example: one reviewer said I was so great they travel from Melbourne (to Sydney) to see me. I know who that person is and I know they have a myotherapist in Melbourne they like and see regularly. They moved to Melbourne after being a regular client of mine for 3-4 years. They only come for treatment nowadays when they\u2019re in Sydney for work. At a glance, you\u2019d think I was an amazing therapist that people travel from all over the country to see. I do have several regular clients who live remote from Sydney but the truth is that they\u2019re farmers whose wives are from Sydney, and the farmer pops in for treatment when they\u2019re visiting family. Apparently driving 100km to play a rugby game is fine but travelling that distance for a massage doesn\u2019t happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testimonials<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The AMT Code of Practice clearly sets out for members that testimonials shouldn\u2019t be sought or appear<\/a> on their websites or other advertising mediums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might believe that they\u2019re a brilliant way of telling a prospective client how fab we are. However, there are a few concerns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. We don\u2019t publish the negative testimonials. We only ask\nclients who we know would give us a rave review. I think the word I\u2019m searching\nfor is \u201cbiased\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. There\u2019s no way for a client to tell if a testimonial is\nfake, i.e. written by the therapist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. We can\u2019t name the client providing the testimonial\nbecause we may find ourselves breaching the Privacy\nAct 1988<\/em>. That means verifying a review is impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Testimonials are usually undated \u2013 is it even still\nrelevant?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a client contacted me recently for a recommended\ntherapist in her new location, I called up the list of AMT members in that area\nand started searching them out via Google. More than 1 had testimonials on\ntheir website. Oops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may be an ideal opportunity to review your website and, if you have some testimonials still sitting there, bin them.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Reviews<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s where it gets murky. There\u2019s a theory that Google\nreviews will push our website up the Google search ratings, so a massage\ntherapist might ask clients if they would like to write a Google review. No\npressure but it\u2019d be appreciated and I\u2019ll give you $10 off your next massage.\nAlready we\u2019re crossing a line. Asking a client for a review when they\u2019re\nstraight out of a treatment is catching them when they\u2019re vulnerable and steps\nonto a fundamental issue \u2013 massage therapists have a position of power in the\ntherapeutic relationship and asking a client for a favour is an abuse of that\npower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, it\u2019s not easy (or even possible in most cases) to\nexert control over reviews on Facebook, Google or any of the plethora of review\nsites that exist in our online world. That means if we offend someone, there\u2019s\nnothing to stop them flooding our Facebook page or our Google page or any one of\nthose sites with terrible reviews. And there\u2019s nothing to stop them getting\ntheir friends or Twitter followers to pile on to the terrible reviews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be an ugly online world out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Terrible Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s nothing so ego deflating as a bad review. Or even a\nless than perfect one apparently. Welcome to the modern world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s one thing for a less than satisfied client to tell\ntheir friends or family or colleagues that they just had a massage that didn\u2019t\nsend them away in a fog of bliss and betterness. It\u2019s another to have that less\nthan satisfied client take to social media to tell anyone who listens\/reads\nabout their experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s a lovely rock in the corner. You\u2019ll find me\nsheltering behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love a good review site. I use them regularly for finding the right holiday accommodation, television, shoes, hiking gear or books. I usually ignore the 5 star reviews \u2013 they\u2019re either fake or not representative of the experience of everyone. I trawl through the 3 and 4 star reviews \u2013 that\u2019s generally where reality lies \u2013 before going to the 1 and 2 star reviews. OK, I admit this is usually for my own amusement. When someone has a bad experience, they really go to town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But what is even better is when the subject of the review \u2013 the hotel or business \u2013 weighs into it. Some do it well \u2013 apologise for the bad experience, advise what has been done to rectify the situation and offer a service to the disgruntled reviewer. Some crumble \u2013 they attack the reviewer, they make claims about the reviewer\u2019s bad behaviour, direct the reader to all the 5 star reviews (that are probably fake) or they simply deny that there is a problem. The business owner that opts for this hysterical response to the negative review is enough for me to rule out their business\/product. Their customer service is woeful, their after-sales service is terrible and it\u2019s likely that their product is not great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My suggestion for the bad review is to ignore it. Let the\nreader decide how genuinely it represents the service. Maybe take on board what\nthe grievance was and learn from it. If there\u2019s a compulsion to respond, don\u2019t\ndo it straight away \u2013 that initial shock\/horror\/crawl-under-a-rock reaction will\nlead to an irrational\/emotional\/cringe-worthy reply. Leave it overnight at the\nvery minimum. Then:<\/p>\n\n\n\n