No Stupid Questions

you want to know some history, companies went after glassdoor and some users for factual critical reviews, hence thats why they are doing this, trying to do a NDA on people. they are well aware of these review sites could hurt thier chances of potentially exploiting employees.

its also why indeed forums shutdown, where you can get some information based on your indsutry, or some career discussion. most of them were about thier unethical hiring practicies; includes salary baiting, or pretending to hiring when they arnt,,,etc. some niche grad program/school can be found.(probably the only place that discussing the CLS program, for example).

now glassdoor allows astroturfing with fake positive reviews, and requires datamining your account to(you can bypass this with using a fake email/temp email to look at reviews)

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-review-fairness-act-what-businesses-need-know

The Consumer Review Fairness Act makes it illegal for companies to include standardized provisions that threaten or penalize people for posting honest reviews. For example, in an online transaction, it would be illegal for a company to include a provision in its terms and conditions that prohibits or punishes negative reviews by customers.

Yeah... that's a huge nope. I'd have walked the moment I saw that even if it's not enforceable, since they're not confident enough to stand by their own quality.

lmao

I would be giving them a negative review just for having that bullshit in their contract.

It's weird how terms/conditions in some places can be clearly illegal but still count.

bad reviews are how i evaluate the quality of stuff. Positive reviews cant be trusted most of the time but bad reviews might be more trustworthy. Any company that does this gives clear message that whatever they are selling is scam level quality.

Depends. For a $20 gift card? No.

Buy me a fully paid off house with homeowner insurance for the rest of my life? Maybe.

A billion dollars, tax-free? Hmmm yea I'd be very tempted, very likely to take the deal. I mean my voice wasn't that loud anyways, I mean like... my one 1-star review weren't ever gonna hurt them, might as well take the deal, I'd make sure to read through all the fine prints in the agreement.

In Japan, a person can get sued for leaving an honest, negative review. One has to be careful with wording to avoid that completely (i.e. making sure that it's clearly stated that the content is a personal opinion (as opposed to an accusation, I guess?)). Some people still do write them and some get scary take-down notices (which may or may not be real or enforceable). As far as I know, someone could leave a low rating on like a star-based system or whatever and be fine, but I am not a lawyer.

I prevent my customers from leaving a bad reviews by trying to do a good job. I'd never sign a form like that, it's a huge red flag and I doubt it's even enforceable.

It should be an illegal clause

Sketch AF, so, no.

I got something like a 70% discount on new triple paned windows for my whole house simply to be a neighborhood "demo" house. They still told me straight up if I didn't like the work, to leave an honest review to that effect.

I had 2 sliders, 11 windows, 7 skylights replaced for under $10k and it made a night and day difference in heating, cooling, and noise. And because of my HOA at the time, I couldn't abide by the "lawn signs" agreement so they waived it. And then COVID hit so I was excused from ever having to talk to anyone about the service.

I lucked out, yes, but all that to say they still said I should be honest in all interactions. If a company is enforcing not being honest, that seems suspect.

I would never hire a company that had a clause like this. Just find someone else. There's a reason they felt it necessary to include that.

It would take very little incentive to make me agree not to publicly criticize some small business. But it would take more than that.

That's just the company expecting to deliver you bad services/products before they even know who you are. Absolute clown behavior.

I wouldn't do business with them further. Even if they edited it out of the contract, shows how you cannot trust the existing reviews

You ever see a dump truck that says "not responsible for broken windshields"? Guess what. EVERY truck — this is US law anyway — is responsible for securing its load. So why do they have the sticker? So you don't bug them about it. Or at least so most people don't bug them about it. They also say stay back 200 feet. That's not a law. It's just a bumper sticker and is equally as enforceable. If they crack your windshield because they didn't secure your load, you (or rather your insurance company) can go after them. But the truth is, most insurance companies just write off so many broken windshields per however long anyway, they won't go after the company even if you have proof. But they could — and so could you.

Post the review anyway. Or at the very least post a review that says "the terms say I can't post a negative review so believe me when I say the service was acceptable." It's not a negative review. It's not a positive review either. It's a neutral review and it calls out the clause. It is heavily implied to be opposite of what you said. You said the work was acceptable, implying it's unacceptable. If you used the same tactic and said the work was great, the opposite would appear true, that it was not great. But acceptable is not great. So say it was acceptable and imply you were forced to say that. Thusly, an intelligent person will see your message for what it is.

Agreements like that are not enforceable, and yeh they’re a red flag for sure.

A key to free speech is the freedom to make comment, outside of libel / hate speech etc., and the right to be called out for any comments made. I treat all feedback like I would making clinical records. I must be able to defend and explain what is recorded.

As the other commenters said, it is illegal. The most important thing is to be informed about your rights so that people and companies do not take advantage of you.

Have a friend write "I had a friend who had an awful experience ..."

No, there should be a law to stop stupid things in agreements like forced arbitration, no bad reviews etc

https://www.reddit.com/r/NYCapartments/comments/1fdqcjj/warning_about_toscano_floor_designs_nyc_apartment/

This is getting good.

In my book no review is as bad as a bad review, in the company had no reviews as they would all be bad I would look else where

That keeps me from doing business with someone, for sure.

They can stick that contract where the sun doesn’t shine. There is zero chance I’d sign it. They can remove that clause or they can remove themselves… their choice.