This week we released our new ratings and review system. But before we got this far, we thought long and hard about our values. What principles guide our economy? What character traits do we want to reward within our community? What do our fellow members have to say?
The first part of our new system consists of an open-ended Review, which appears publicly on the other member’s profile and services. Reviews help us make important decisions—they reaffirm that the exchange will be worthwhile and symbiotic. They help members gauge the quality of the service, making Simbi ever so community-driven and trust-based. Reviews should honestly describe your experience and provide any relevant details of the deal.
The next step is designed to allow feedback on three critical aspects of any deal:
• Friendliness
• Reliability
• Service Quality
We chose these three aspects very deliberately, after talking to many of you. We asked what you value most in the community, and what makes for the best Simbi experiences; which traits deserve to be celebrated, and which are most frustrating. With your help, we developed a system that allows our symbiotic ethos to shine through.
Now, instead of a single star rating at the end of a deal, you’ll see the following:
Ratings are private, and other members will not know what you rated them. Having private ratings separate from your review is meant to encourage honest feedback without hurting anyone’s feelings. Ratings are not displayed on the other member’s profile until they have at least 3 different sets of ratings from different deals, thus remaining anonymous.
Ratings help us identify and reward our best members, while reviews help you choose the right match. Our goal is to encourage increasingly honest, helpful, and accurate reviews and ratings.
That in mind, we also released a new feature allowing you to rate your experiences with other members even before the deal is complete. At the bottom of every conversation, you’ll see this feedback form:
Please use it for any experience, the good and the bad – because it’s only through honesty that we can seek to build trust.
Symbiotically,
The Simbi Team
Reminder: While reviews are public and appear on members’ profiles and services, ratings are private and members cannot to see what you rated them.
Working with Ruby was helpful and beneficial, she guided me through each step letting me know what was expected and how I could get the most out of the session. She was insightful and supportive. I did value and appreciated our time together.