Saturday, October 6, 2012

Wedding Wire Caves in to Mounting Pressure from Outspoken Planner and Critics

Wedding Wire Caves in to Mounting Pressure from Outspoken Planner and Critics

By Paul Pannone
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned or a wedding planner named Samantha Goldberg getting a bad review on Wedding Wire. Samantha Goldberg keeps banging the drum against Wedding Wire and their system of ratings and reviews, rallying a growing number of discontented wedding vendors that feel her frustration.


Samantha Goldberg evened the score after being dismissed by Wedding Wire last year. Goldberg gets Sonny Ganguly to issue a statement in response to growing pressure she’s inflicting with her relentless exposure of flaws in the Wedding Wire system.

Her latest battle that began in 2011 has forced a statement from Sonny Ganguly who has continually skirted requests to say something– anything– about the matter. Ganguly replied to the mounting pressure surrounding a scammed customer that used a vendor on Wedding Wire.

“Thanks for sharing your concerns about this particular vendor. Let me address a couple points:
First, I want to be 100% clear on WeddingWire’s reviews policy: WeddingWire pulls down a review only if it violates our Review Policy, which can be found here www.weddingwire.com/shared/TermsOfUse in Section 13 and 14. Whether a vendor is paying or not has zero impact on this policy. Period.
Second, WeddingWire was created to help engaged couples make better, more informed decisions. That is why we have the reviews system itself, and why both positive and negative reviews are essential to helping engaged couples. And that is why we have left this account up on our site, so that these negative experiences can inform future brides and grooms.
Third, with regard to details on this particular vendor, she had a total of 10 reviews on our site. Eight reviews were flagged due to them being fraudulent; two were automatically removed by our system, and the other six were removed over 2 months ago as they were written from her computer (based on tracking IP address). There are currently 2 negative reviews remaining in the account, which are both from real newlyweds: EW Corp Reviews
It is our goal to provide a neutral platform for newlyweds to share their experiences. We take fraudulent behavior very seriously and have the algorithms and mechanisms in place to react quickly. I hope this addresses your questions.
Best,
Sonny
Ganguly issued the statement after Goldberg went public with the story after months of back and forth pleading with Ganguly to consider revising the way Wedding Wire treats its vendors. Goldberg accuses the website of giving preferential treatment to paid listings and ignoring free ones.
But the statement did little more than piqué the interest of other Wedding Water Cooler members also included in the exchanges between Goldberg and Ganguly, raising more questions.
David Fuhrer, who blew the whistle on all wedding websites in 2010, questions Ganguly about the Wedding Wire practices:
“Out of curiosity & in the absolute interest of WW’s integrity & your assumed goal of transparency, allow me to pose the following inquiries for the enlightenment of all. In the interest of “your time” the most suitable means of response would most probably be to directly respond to each point (e.g. A, B, C). This will also allow for any vagueness to be alleviated as you will be responding to a direct inquiry of “how” WW performs these aspects for engaging the vendors who populate WW directories.
A) Does WW inform every vendor appearing upon the WW family of websites that they are indeed “listed” & are thus subject to reviews, be them positive or negative? These vendors are also subject to WW’s terms & conditions & the 100% litmus that WW must apply to all polices including the reviews, correct? By what means can a vendor “opt out”?
B) How does this communication with the Vendor occur? It isn’t a sales call, correct? You understand that a vendor could ignore a sales call. I’m certain given your “100% policies” that some form of e-mail confirmation that a vendor is being displayed is sent to a vendor, correct? The vendor then responds “okay” & that is their means of “opting in”, correct? Please provide a copy of that WW vendor verification email to this group.
C) Utilizing the “02420″ zip code & selecting Wedding Venues “near” that zip-code the WW “results” equate to 37 pages. The 1st page inclusive of the 2 “spotlight” listings possess an additional 22 “featured” listings for a total of 24 listings. The 2nd & 3rd pages include the 2 “spotlight” listings & have an additional 20 listings inclusive of photos, but not a “featured” connotation. The 4th page has the 2 “spotlight” listings and 7 more listings inclusive of photos. Thus in the first 4 pages of this specific search criteria 71 listings appear inclusive of photos (2 spotlight + 22 featured + 47 just photos). I assume these are all paying clients who have “opted in”, yes or no or “maybe”?
D) Picking up from page 4, an additional 13 listings appear inclusive of no photos, the name of the vendor, the town the vendor is located, a pinpoint for the vendor upon the Google map, and stars & reviews for that vendor. Pages 5-37 are inclusive of vendors denoted in the same format as referenced above & each page has 20 listed with page 37 having 3 listings. Thus the “non-photo” reviewed/ vendors for this specific search criteria equate to 143. The total non-photo reviewed vendors equals 156. The total vendors listed for this search criteria are 224.
E) Are all of the 156 non-photo reviewed/vendors aware they are on WW and subject to WW’s policies for reviews? Have these 156 vendors agreed to “opt in” to WW’s terms & conditions? Are these 156 vendors paying WW clients? If they are non-paying, how do they “opt out” of WW. I am assuming your 100% clarity on WW policies comment, that all of these 156 vendors have received a written notification that they are listed upon WW & subject to WW’s review policy, correct? (i.e. the email that I referenced which WW sends and requested that you copy this group upon…lets term it the “universal” WW opt-in subject to WW reviews & policies email…The group looks forward to your sharing it with us).
F) Just as an aside, how does WW’s radius search work? Some of the listings were for locations just short of 200 miles from the preferred “02420″ search criteria?
Thanks in advance for the copy of the WW email to vendors who have not “opted in”, and your responses to the above inquiries.”
-David

Fuhrer and others in the Wedding Water Cooler say the Wedding Wire system is flawed; some even say that in an extreme case like this, where there is financial loss, Wedding Wire acts as a conduit between the customer and listed vendor, becoming culpable in the act of allowing the theft to happen. As a result, some are calling for Wedding Wire to compensate the bride (s) for any incurred losses.
Vendors reading the coverage give their opinions of why the give no relevance to wedding websites and rating systems. In various eWedNewz channels followers of the story are starting to speak out, including Justin Willison
“This is why I take no stock in review sites. 1 of 1000 happy customers leave a good review. 900 out of a 1000 unhappy people leave a review. Google local bridal shops. 90% of them have 2.5 stars out of 5 or less. All bridal shops are bad? I think not. I get 2-3 bad reviews a year. And 2-3 good ones a year. Out of 500+ wedding parties per year.
I know from the hundreds of thank you cards and gifts (even wedding invites) we get that 99.8% are happy. But google rates us about 80-85%.. if one in 5 people were unhappy we’d be bankrupt years ago. These sites are a joke and most offer paying vendors the abilty to remove bad ones. Most of the bad ones are lies anyway. Unreasonable people with unreasonable expectations. Im not saying this person wasnt scammed. Im juat saying what service does a review site provide?
It’s not an accurate portrayal of customer opinions because it is such a small group and people that are happy have no reason to review.
We have a pretty good rep… but we work hard for it.. we go the extra mile. when we make mistakes we lose money. we lose future customers, we lose referrals. believe me referrals are key. almost 50% of our business (200+ wedding parties of 425) this year is prior customers or referrals coming back. but if you google bridal shops near us.. most have bad reviews 1 star or 2 star out of 5. I know a lot of these shops owners personally. they are nice people and have well trained staff but people don’t care about others livelihood.
A lot of reviews come from buyers remorse, they feel bad from the money they spent, and want to take it out on someone after the fact. It seems as if the ones spending the least are expecting the most. A lot of times they want FREE alterations or to return things after the wedding. I’ve even got a bad review from a person mad I wouldn’t buy back her $800 dress for $500 (I could buy a new one for $400) Look on google at bridal shops near you. what do you see?
I often wonder how much stock do you take in reviews Paul Pannone? Google your favorite place, restaurant, theatre, store, Etc. look at the bad review… does it seem like something that would happen there? or does it seem like a person being petty? then look at a place you’ve never been to… skip the good ones and read that place’s bad review.. now how do you feel? If you feel different about the place you have been to than you do about the one you’ve never been to.. you’ll see my point. REVIEW SITES OFFER NOTHING to the business. do they offer a disservice to the customers? I THINK SO.”
I responded to Justin’s question saying, “Like all information reviews are a guide on the way to making a decision. They should be taken as such if they come from total strangers. Family, friend referrals or caution not to use a particular vendor rates higher than some website. Common sense applies.”
eWedNewz continues our coverage of this story and investigates how some market leaders pay no attention to Wedding Wire, Websites, rating systems or anything beyond simply giving customers the best consumer experience at a fair price to grow their business.


All Rights Reserved
2012

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Weddingwire.com wedding ban of bridal business destroying theives.



WeddingWire.com clan of business theives. See below from the BBB on who to contact.

Additional Informationtop
BBB file opened: March 10, 2011 Business started: 11/10/2006 in MD Business incorporated: 11/10/2006 in DE
Type of Entity
Corporation
Business Management
Mr. Lee Wang, Chief Operating Officer Mr. Timothy Chi, CEO Mr. Jeff Yeh, CTO
Contact Information
Customer Contact: Mr. Lee Wang, Chief Operating Officer Principal: Mr. Timothy Chi, CEO

Weddingwire hurt my bridal business with defamatory wedding reviews



BEWARE of WEDDINGWIRE (class action lawsuit) Weddingwire Complaint
5.0 www.weddingwire.com/

Weddingwire lies to brides and defames several hundred very reputable businesses. Wedding wire uses blackmail to get vendors to pay them. If you do not pay them to be on their site they break all of the laws and try to force you to advertise with them and they do everything they can to hurt your business. Weddingwire has a less than desirable rating with the BBB Better business bureau. 10 complaints and 7 filed in the last 12 months alone. http://www.bbb.org/washington-dc-eastern-pa/business-reviews/wedding-consultants/weddingwire-inc-in-bethesda-md-235980765/

Beware of Weddingwire! It is not a site to believe when all of the reviews are either fake or competitive business owners posing as a bride to knock out the competition.
 
Written by BRIDES/VENDORS BEWARE of WEDD on August 13, 2011 from herndon, virginia, US
 
Written by WEDDINGWIRE BOGUS REVIEWS on September 12, 2011 from el monte, california, US
Weddingwire.com definitely not honest about their reviews. my clients wrote 2x of good reviews, I've got an email said I've got the reviews, It was there. The next day, the reviews is gone.
Written by ahm on February 24, 2012 from washington, district of columbia, US
I have never had an issue with WW reviews. Their policy states clearly that they allow a bride to review as long as they have a signed contract with you. I think that is fair. They have caught and removed reviews that were posted by competitors on my site. I disputed a review once, and they reached out to the bride who never responded, and the review stayed down.
 
I too have had a very bad experience with weddingwire.com It seems that they are having their very own negative reviews removed. Hmmm what is weddingwire hiding?? The BEST advice that I could give any bride/vendor to be would be to STAY AWAY from ALL review boards! They are time wasters and places for bullies! The best wedding planning comes from your local bridal shows! You can see vendors face to face and you don't have to have with all of the drama. Who needs drama when planning your wedding!!!
 
Written by Remember: BBB = 'Pay for play' on June 11, 2012 from washington, district of columbia, US
Just keep in mind that you can pay to be 'accredited' and get a good score on BBB....



They don't care about us Weddingwire Complaint
5.0 www.weddingwire.com/

Weddingwire doesn't care about their vendors. They allow anyone and everyone to post a negative response on their site even if its from a bad source or overall zealous and angry bride (they are out there). I had a bride who was difficult, rude, and just an angry person. She is what you would call a bridezille. She wrote the worst possible review even though I did everything she requested and then some. She especially wanted to attack my character; which I find disappointing in her. Weddingwire can ruin the reputation of a vendor and they don't care about the outcomes
 
When I first saw Weddingwire, I thought the site was really good. Lots of diverse vendors and seemingly lots of diverse customers, so I signed up. I went for the 80 a month package, thinking if I don't like it I'll cancel it. So a week goes by, nothing happens. A month goes by, nothing happens, so I start to look around. Signed up for a free account on WeDJ and got lots of leads instantly. After that, I decided to cancel Weddingwire.. I send the generic email a request to cancel my account, but WAIT, I CAN'T DO THAT.. Apparently I signed up for a annual contract, where NOWHERE does it say that when I signed up, so now they want almost a grand from me|. The rep kept trying to tell me that maybe it's me, in that I should get more reviews and change my logo to get more attention? As some would say NO SHE DIDN'T?.

The site is geared towards vendors that have been there for ages and pay the biggest annual rates.. They highlight those vendors and throw the other ones to the 15th page, even if the paying ones are in a different state! I did a search on my own listing for the city that I lived in,. My payment guaranteed I'd be on the first page, but NO I was on the 11th page, with people in 2 states away on closer pages/. In conclusion, if you're a wedding vendor WEDDINGWIRE IS A RIPOFF,. If you're getting married, you'll find much better vendors on other sites like WeDJ, Decidio, and even Craigslist.
 
 
Written by anon on July 14, 2011 from providence, rhode island, US
Weddingwire hurt my business by refusing to remove a defamatory review from my profile. I have lost business this year and weddingwire is to blame!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

WeddingWire bogus positive review on YouTube with Tom Parker

Now here is a video of a WeddingWire tool on YouTube. This guy "Tom Parker" who owns a "wedding venue" in Frisco Texas does not state what the actual name of the venue. He seems to be a little underdressed to be representing a reputable business at what looks to be the Great Bridal Expo in Dallas. He states that he has 51 Wedding Wire reviews, and with my experience with WeddingWire, he should be a little pissed at them unless he is a pay for play business. To have that many reviews on Wedding Wire, most would be negative as with all the review sites on the internet. Tom seems to be taking it on the chin with one really bad review. He states that they were able to turn it into a positive and he is using the bad review as a spring board to talk about his services. As with most people, you do not want to be constantly defending a mistake that may have happend with a customer to potential customers. You would also not like to have to defend a bogus customer review. He is also missing the fact that he is loosing business over this "really bad review" on customers that he will never get to tell his side of the story about his service. What a dumbarse if he is actually a real business, and shame on Wedding Wire if he is a shill. Negative reviews are just that, negative and one may never know how bad WeddingWire is harming your business as long as this goes on. Do not support Wedding Wire by signing up for their services. You are doing yourself and everyone else in the bridal business harm.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Interesting that the BBB does not give the WeddingWire a rating



The Better Business Bureau seems to show alot of complaints for the WeddinWire, but does not give them an F rating and opts for a no rating. Wonder why? Looks like they may be in the middle of some negotiations to get all the complaints removed. I guess they have found a way to use vendor money to pay for a better review after all.

This Business is not BBB accredited

WeddingWire Inc
Additional Locations
Phone: (301) 231-9473 7101 Wisconsin Avenue Ste 1100, Bethesda, MD 20814 http://www.weddingwire.com! BBB Business Review on WeddingWire Inc is being Updated by BBB!

On a scale of A+ to FReason for Rating BBB Ratings System Overview

Reason for Rating

BBB rating is based on 16 factors. Get the details about the factors considered.

Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of No Rating. The reason is as follows:
This business has no rating at this time because BBB file information is being reviewed and/or updated.

Additional Locations

THIS LOCATION IS NOT BBB ACCREDITED

4733 Bethesda AvenueSuite 348

Bethesda, MD 20814


THIS LOCATION IS NOT BBB ACCREDITED

7101 Wisconsin Avenue Ste 1100

Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 231-9473
Additional Phone Numbers
(301) 231-9473(Phone)
(888) 895-6998 (Fax)


Additional Email Addresses
lwang@weddingwire.com

Complaint Detail(s)

10/17/2011

Problems with Product/Service


9/13/2011

Problems with Product/Service


8/30/2011

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7/21/2011

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6/23/2011

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4/29/2011

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3/4/2011

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3/4/2011

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10/5/2010

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9/16/2010

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9/15/2010

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5/25/2010

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4/29/2010

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7/28/2009

Advertising/Sales Issues