Increasingly online services which operate in a broker capacity are employing feedback systems to allow the users of the services to police themselves. eBay may have been the first online service to use feedback, but the concept is not new anymore.
A feedback system is a form of checks and balances that allows users to weigh in on how they rate the quality of the transactions in which they have been involved.
How Does A Feedback System Work?
With services that employ a feedback system, each user has a number in parenthesis after their user ID. For example, Usera(122)'s feedback number is 122. This means that out of all of the transactions that Usera has been involved with, 122 fellow users have opted to leave a one-line message about how they rate their satisfaction with the transaction.
Buyers or those that have contracted to have services provided leave feedback for sellers and those that provide services; and sellers on service providers leave feedback for buyers and those that have contracted to have services provided. In addition, to a one line message the user selects a radio button of either; positive, negative or neutral which is the actual rating that gets assigned to the transaction.
A positive feedback message adds one point to the number that is to the right of a user's ID. A negative feedback rating decreases the user's feedback number by one, and the neutral feedback rating neither adds to nor decreases the total.
The feedback system works so well because each party in the transaction gets a shot to rate their experience. As a seller, if the buyer pays in a timely manner and doesn't make any unreasonable requests, the seller is likely to leave positive feedback or the buyer.
If the seller ships promptly and doesn't make any claims that are not supported by the actual product, then the buyer is inclined to leave positive feedback for the seller.
The system works because each participant gets an equal opportunity to leave feedback. The buyer and seller are more inclined to leave feedback that accurately represents the transaction because they know that the other party has the same opportunity to leave feedback and can retaliate if they do not like or agree with the feedback left for them.
Under normal circumstances, once feedback is not retractable, although there are exceptions to this rule. The permanent nature of feedback makes it important to leave only feedback that accurately portrays the transaction. For this reason, feedback should not be left in anger or when one is upset with a transaction. Take time to reflect on the transaction and accurately reflect your experience.
Most services suggest that their users think twice before leaving negative feedback since this can damage the reputation of the user for whom the negative feedback is left. In most instances, users are encouraged to work out their differences before resorting to leaving bad feedback, although in some instances, it may be warranted.
Most long-term users of an online service have feedback ratings of at least 99.0%. This means that almost all of the feedback that has been left for them has been positive. It is difficult for sellers and buyers to be successful with feedback ratings of less than 99.0% because of the vast numbers of users who have 100% feedback ratings.
The higher the feedback rating, the more secure users feel about the quality and integrity of a particular user with whom they may be involved in a transaction.
A feedback system raises the perceived value of a service when compared with similar services that may not employ a feedback system. The thinking is that feedback systems take care of the users of the service by providing a way to weed out any unscrupulous users.
Feedback and comments are becoming an indispensable part of Web 2.0. In this second major evolution of the web space with rich web applications and social networking, major players are emerging with outstanding feed back systems.
New players like Digg.com, YouTube.com, and Myspace are taking social networking and feedback to another level. From the vantage point of business, a new service like Iganit.com really shines.
www.iGanit.com is like a Craig's List on steroids because it brings the power of YouTube.com and video to buying from local service businesses and to finding great deals for its users. iGanit.com employs a feedback system that allows both service providers and service users to rate the quality of the transactions in which they have been involved. Plus iGanit.com serves local areas through its web properties like www.AtlantaBestBargins.com. These properties give local communities state-of-the-art online buying and selling platforms.
As a business person, you definitely want to use websites with feedback systems as a source to buy, sell, and outsource services or find great deals. Feedback systems are an essential part of doing trade and eCommerce online.
