When it comes to reviewing their teas, not all tea companies can take the “knocks” along with the “praise.” They don’t understand the value of tea reviews, even the ones that say “Yuck!” instead of “Yum!” Other companies, however, know that they learn from these reviews to help make their teas better, that the people doing them have no ax to grind but sincerely want to give a fair and objective assessment of the tea, and that customers also appreciate the honesty and openness of such reviews.
Some companies who really appreciate the value of honest reviews of their teas:
The English Tea Store
The Boston Tea Company
Obubu Tea
Thunderbolt Tea
thepuriTea.com
Shui Tea
Chicago Tea Garden
Tipu’s Chai
Adagio
California Tea House
Kalahari Teas
TeaGschwendner in Raleigh, NC (now Tin Roof Teas)
The Royal Tea Company
Two Leaves and a Bud
Zhi Tea
In short, just about everyone I’ve dealt with so far. Kalahari Teas was not even upset when I gave one of their items the lowest rating of any review to date. (Of course, I rated some of their other items quite a bit higher.) Some companies don’t even mind if I decide against reviewing something they have sent. They know it’s all part of the process (actually, I’ve only done this once so far) and that sometimes I don’t think my personal peccadilloes (e.g., dislike of Rooibos in general and a desire to steer clear of such oddities as guayusa and maté) should count against a product.
They all get a rating of:
I started wondering about other companies, ones that can’t stand a bad review, that feel compelled to post a reply countering it or to hound the reviewer or, in the case of one of those multiple reviewer sites, the site owner until the offensive post is removed. Why would anyone do this? It doesn’t make good business sense. As a supporter of businesses big and small out there, I see myself as part of their marketing team, but a totally objective (and unpaid) part. Sometimes people need to hear the bad stuff, from “Hey, that underarm deodorant is letting you down” to “This tea is an over-hyped, overpriced disappointment” (maybe worded a bit more tactfully).
Tea reviewers out there don’t take what they do lightly. We may not all be tea sommeliers, but often that is an advantage. We approach each tea as many customers would, that is, from a somewhat knowledgeable but not necessarily expert standpoint — in other words, realistically. We know that our assessments are often used by buyers to sort of “balance out” the sometimes overblown descriptions on the tea company sites. I think these companies don’t always realize that overselling something can be bad in the long run. Initially, buyers go for it, but they quickly learn. And then, they get scared off of trying more teas from that company since they can’t trust the descriptions. Considering some of the prices I’m seeing on some of the teas out there, these reviews are going to be even MORE important. Buyers will be asking, “Is this tea really worth that much per ounce?” A good reviewer can answer that question truthfully. Often, for me, the answer has been “Yes!”
Another value to these reviews is when we show that a tea really can be infused multiple times (thus making that pricey tea not so pricey on a per cup basis) or that it makes a great masala chai or even that it’s great tried a totally new way, such as my Mocha Pu-erh.
Lastly, there is a famous saying: “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” That bad review will still bring people to the tea company’s site, where they’ll see other teas they are willing to take a chance on. Plus, one reviewer may not like a tea, but another one will. Buyers will often read multiple reviews of a tea to get a full picture.
By the way, all of this goes for reviews of tea rooms, too. If you have a tea room and a reviewer says that your prices are a bit out of line or not justified simply by calling your tea time by a fancy name, and if you’re a real “retail whiz,” you’ll take that comment to heart. Your customers aren’t all suckers, unless they’re all so image conscious that every step they take is done with the constant thought of who will see them doing it. Aside from politicians and people in the entertainment industry, most of us don’t think that way.
While I encourage those tea companies out there who can’t take the “knocks” to consider all that’s been said here, I also encourage all of you who write about tea never to let yourself be intimidated or bullied into taking down a review that is your honest opinion. The real “retail whizzes” out there will understand.
Posts
