The lost art of a good review.

AutopiaAdmin

AutopiaAdmin

Autopia Forums
Staff member
What has happened to reviews lately?

Lately I have seen people attempt to do a review but something like this just doesn't count:

"The product rocks! I love this product! I will love and enjoy this product for the rest of my life."

Sorry, this isn't a review this is an excited customer that enjoys using a product but this doesn't pass for a review in my book.

A review should paint an accurate picture of a product that is both descriptive of the product's physical characteristics and the product's performance.

You should review a product based on the attributes and traits of the product at hand.

Keep in mind that a side by side product comparison is not neccessarily the same as a product review.

Here is an example of what I mean:

In my oppinion, the Honda Accord EX is a very high quality car. Honda Accord's are known for reliability and the 4 cylinder models tend to be very good on gas. Honda's are an excellent buy because they retain much of their resale value.

You cannot compare the hauling capacity of a Honda Accord to a pickup truck! It would not be fair to put it next to a truck and declare that the truck is a superior vehicle.

The Honda was designed to be a smooth and reliable passenger car while the truck was designed for towing and hauling.

I hope this analogy helps those that desire to review products at Detail City.

Here are points that should be addressed when reviewing a given product:

1. Packaging & Labeling. Is it well packaged? Are the labels durable?

2. Helpful instructions on label?

3. Does product do what the manufacturer claims it does?

4. Value. Is the product a good buy? If a liquid product, how much per ounce? Does a little go a long way?

5. Easy to use? Hard to use? Did you read the directions and use as directed?

6. If known, what is the pH of the product? Is it safe for enthusiasts or should it be for professional use only?

7. Describe the product smell, viscosity and other physical traits if any.

By providing this information in your reviews you will help others to make more educated choices when it comes to auto detailing product purchases.

Thanks for helping to make Detail City a valid source of detailing product information. :bigups

Dwayne
 
Dwayne,

These are useful points and guidelines. I highly suggest you write these steps straight and easy for the Reviews function. On that note, I think every products brings a different feel and touch. Its either leave it out of my bins or use it in a combo.

Use what you like and test what you want for your enjoyment! Thats the joy of detailing.
 
I think it was marj who did these reviews, one for the new Poorboy's car wash shampoo and one for the wheel cleaner product, and she pretty much provided everyone with a template for a review format.

She included pertinent facts in her dialog & the pics were a nice added bonus.

Basically told me everything I needed to know about these products except the price 'cause they were still in beta release.
 
Reviews Where?

Dwayne:
Would you prefer reviews be posted in this forum or in the "Reviews" section of the city?

Charles
 
after talking with Dwayne about it Charles, I believe this forum is for discussion of what you thought about it and a general review including pictures if you want and the Review forum is more for a formal and very descriptive review where you nit pick a bit more on every aspect of a product from bottling to instructions:dunno
 
This thread rocks Dwayne! Sorry for the sarcasm, couldn't reisit and I agree with your post completely.
 
Thanks Dwayne

I bite at reviews so I think from onw on I will just list my phone number and you can all call me and I will tell you about it.....LOL

Really thanks good stuff to know if I decided to do another one day
 
Right on the money. If you want to send me some product, I would be happy to use it and review it properly for ya :naughty :lmfao
Seriously, a solid review or product comparison has been hard to come by lately. Big ups to marj for her high quality reviews!
 
Dwayne,
It would be nice if all the reviews were outlined as you described.

Is there some type of form that could be layed out where people fill in blanks? (After things settle down of course)
 
Those are some good point thank you. i liked the basic outline. I hate to ask this but would you please post some links to what you think are good posts so that we have a general idea(somtimes its nice to see an example versus and outline) Thank you very much
 
JaredPointer said:
Okay.... All I get with that link is "sorry - no matches found." Am I missing the sarcasm or is the link just really not working for me? :D
Click to expand...

It was working earlier but I guess it expired so I deleted my post. It WAS a link to the search results that showed MY last 500 posts....
 
I agree, it would be nice if someone could do a review like Car and Driver does a group comparison. But in this case you would need ..what, 8-10 cars of the same make, model and age and try to duplicate as best as possible each step with each product. Boy, that would be something. I read in another detailing web site that there was supposed to be a big comparison but the products were used by different people on different cars in different locations. How can you compare fairly with all those varibles? I'm just getting my hands dirty and I've already decided what to start with first and what I want to try next, just based on the insight I've read here. BTW, I haven't put any faith in Consumer Distorts in years!
 
This is an interesting thread to rise from the ashes. I'm seeing the same trend reappear. When someone asks for a process, don't just tell them what you used. All I want to say is that a list of the products used is not the same thing as a list of the processes performed. I'm seeing that happen a lot lately.
 
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