My review for the “Meuse et Sambre” shipyard in Andenne ( https://goo.gl/maps/DccxQNHfSikH8C8t7 ) is not showing up after a week.
I don’t believe I have broken any rules when writing this review, though I would be happy to edit it if necessary.
A link to the review is as follow: https://goo.gl/maps/6SSRc248RLqnRoV99
Because the review is only visible to me, I am pasting it below for anyone to review:
1*
My houseboat has been in the hands of Meuse et Sambre since September 2020 (fourteen months so far) and they have never seemed to care. I can get virtually no communication from them and the work they do is non-existent to excruciatingly slow.
They promise everything and seem very positive about the timeline and the work that will be done, then it’s virtually impossible to get a hold of them.
I have been nothing but polite with them this entire time and I thank them for every little bit of work they achieve, and I pay my invoices the day I receive them (40% of 15k+ euros so far), but that still gives them no desire to provide any form of communication. They consistently ignore my calls and emails and it takes a tremendous amount of effort and stress to get any information from them. When I am not trying to reach out to them every day to no avail for weeks on end, they don’t seem to perform any work at all. (Sadly this work ethic creates a stressful environment for all parties involved.)
The work I asked of them is not extravagant. I had them take the boat out for an inspection, replace a leaking joint, install a used water system, and repair the engine. Only the first two points have been done so far. I don’t know very much about engines but surely it shouldn’t take more than a few weeks to fix or even replace an engine, and without it I am stuck there without a home.
I thought I would have saved time or effort going to Meuse et Sambre (near where I plan on living) rather than a different shipyard in Brussels or Maastricht, I had heard complaints about them but I underestimated them and thought I could live with a somewhat slow month or two of work. Never would I have expected this level of service (or lack thereof) to be within the realms of possibility. Meuse et Sambre has caused me endless stress and frustration, trampled on my life plans, and overall greatly decreased my quality of life. I would not recommend their service.
I posted about this issue on https://support.google.com/maps/thread/137001183/review-not-public-after-a-week?hl=en and I was directed here.
5 Likes
Hi @trougnouf
I read your text and I think it is pretty much a rant/revenge review.
Read about typical review guideline violations here. Including revenge reviews.
Think of it this way: Reviews need to be helpful and respectful. Your review is more a let steam out-text because you are frustrated.
I’m not judging whether your frustration is fair and justified, but if your intention is to inspire the business to do better this is probably not the way to go. And letting other Maps users know about the problem can be done in one, two, or max three short sentences.
I don’t know about you but reading very long reviews is not something many people do. I just skip them. So if you want to inform a lot of Maps users a much shorter review will be more effective. Short, objective, and to the point is better.
I hope some of my input seems relevant to your situation.
Best of luck
Morten
1 Like
Thank you for your feedback Morten!
It is in no way a revenge review. My goal is to describe the experience I’ve had with them factually (and warn other people of the type of service they are likely to encounter). I think details are important so that it’s not a vague and exaggerated-sounding.
I did plan on updating the review to describe any form of progress on their part.
I will try to rewrite it somewhat more briefly and objectively.
All the best,
Benoit
2 Likes
@trougnouf
By the way there is no need to wait and see you your review will go public after a week or so. The spam filter runs always immediately after you submit or resubmit the text. You can utilize this to continously edit your text until it goes public. This way you can also learn what words or aspect (could be the length) that caused it to be hidden.
No need to wait, keep going until it goes public.
Cheers
Morten
1 Like
That is great to know, thank you @MortenCopenhagen !
1 Like
@trougnouf
Maybe your country man @JanVanHaver has some better tips for you.
Cheers
Morten
1 Like
I rewrote and shortened the review a lot but it’s still not public. Would it maybe help to delete and repost it?
Below is the current rewritten text:
"Exceptionally slow service and complete lack of communication. My houseboat has been in the hands of Meuse et Sambre for 14 months so far and they have given no indication that work will ever be done.
They are always happy to sell anything in person then it is impossible to get a hold of them for months on end. I highly recommend going to a different shipyard, in Maastricht or Brussels since Meuse et Sambre sadly has a monopoly in Wallonia."
“Exceptionally slow service and lack of communication. My houseboat has been in the hands of Meuse et Sambre for 14 months so far and they have given no indication that work will be done. I cannot get a hold of them for months on end.”
edit: I deleted and reposted the review to no avail.
1 Like
Imho, when Google hide your review, it must be you’ve made mistake, eventhough you feel you’ve comply with all rules. No doubt.
But, what kind of mistake?
That’s the mistery. That’s where the guessing game started.
Review-share-forget-repeat.
Good luck next time.
@trougnouf
Clearly you are still very upset. And why would you want to share a negative review before you got your boat or your money back. Don’t you increase the likelihood that they will view helping you more negatively? Such negative reviews can have a huge impact on a business, so I think you need to wait or at least tone the emotions down by a lot.
Are you able to get reviews at other places to go public?
Cheers
Morten
Yes it’s a very upsetting situation, but is my updated review not concise and accurate? I have nothing nice to say about them because they have been treating me so poorly, and I feel the updated one is as emotionless as it can get.
I don’t think I will get my money back, in fact I only paid a 40% deposit so I am still expected to pay them nearly 10k euros once they finish. I would think that’s an incentive to get the work done. That and a potentially updated review (or at least their ability to respond “It took us a while because of but we got it done”).
I put off posting a review for a very long time, but nothing is moving and I can’t get a word from them, and I can’t phantom someone else getting into this trap. I have now given up on my dream to live in this houseboat and I am investing in an alternative living situation, it is huge loss for me but I can’t wait around and live in this situation without a home indefinitely. I don’t believe I have anything to lose by posting a negative review now, and I believe they have everything to gain from doing their job.
Are you able to get reviews at other places to go public?
Yes I just posted a review somewhere else and it is publicly accessible.
I tried making the Meuse et Sambre review just 3 words long as a sanity-check and it’s not going through, modify-check is not working here for some reason.
@MortenCopenhagen why u hiding the truth?
Google has a mega massiv bug in there system, that need to be solved… for over a YEAR!
Reviews should be honest all the way no matter what!
If everyone gives 5 stars, this program should not exist anymore, nonsense what u tell
@De_Rouck_Sidney
Please share your insights in more details with references to make your reply helpful to @trougnouf
Thanks
Morten
1 Like