Call For Design Help: CPAP.com Was This Helpful

johnnygoodman · Post by **johnnygoodman** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:15 am

Howdy,

We're trying to add a "was this review helpful" element to the CPAP.com reviews. There's some internal debate as to the usability of our new feature as it currently functions.

If you've got a few minutes, I'd appreciate it if you could test it out and let me know what we should change about it. I don't want to explain how it works because visitors to the website who want to use it should "just get it".

If they don't, its bad design and we need to change it based on your feedback.

Here's the page:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage-testRe ... ?PNum=1815

Its cool that I can just ask the community this stuff and get enthusiastic and helpful answers. Thank you in advance to all who care enough about what CPAP.com is and means to help us out!

Johnny

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:00 am

Hi Johnny, I really like the idea of adding this new feature. As far as the usability and the way it functions, it works great for me.

I think that most people like myself look for the pros and cons of a mask or other equipment that they are going to purchase. Looking for the side affects so to speak, as well as the good points. And in separating the two, it makes it easier to find what we want to see.
A great idea to add this to the cpap.com site.

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:03 am

Johnny, I've appreciated the reviews simply because I look to see if any problems the reviewers may have had w/a product may or may not be a common problem or problems for me w/a similar product. If several reviewers have the a problem w/that product as I have had w/a similar product then I tend to try something else first instead.

andy88488 · Post by **andy88488** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:19 am

One thing it would be great for is that I've noticed a lot of reviews recently that don't really review the product - they review CPAP.com instead.

They'll give a mask five stars, then say something like "The mask didn't fit, but the folks at Cpap.com were so helpful..."

So while it's great that people have the warm-and-fuzzies about Cpap.com, that five star rating isn't all that useful.

Andy

mindy · Post by **mindy** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:24 am

Johnny,

To be totally honest, I've never really used the rating system on amazon.com or any other website in terms of updating it. I'm lazy I guess. I do occasionally refer to it but not often.

However, I do think that with this specialized community it would be more likely to be useful to me. It is very clear and easy to use, IMHO.

Many thanks to you and your staff for your innovative thinking and efforts to help us all with this treatment!

Mindy

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:11 pm

I like the most helpful rating (similar to Amazon) since it will generally lead to reviews with the most useful information.

Thanks.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:44 pm

I love the fact that people can review a product whether they like it or not and that is what I read and care about. To be truthful even though I read the reviews I seldom put feedback as to whether the review helped me make my decision or not. I don't know why that is but that is just me.

wolftracker · Post by **wolftracker** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:30 pm

hi,

i might read some of the reviews but i would never say if it was
helpful or not.

Why rate ppl ... some would like it ... some dont
rate the product yes... rate ppls reviews NO

my .02
wolf

mbrown · Post by **mbrown** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:58 pm

I think it works fine. It is easy to understand and straight forward for anyone who would want to do this type of review and voting. I think it is a good idea and I like being able to sort the reviews. That is very helpful as well.

Hawthorne · Post by **Hawthorne** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:32 pm

This addition to the reviews on cpap.com looks very helpful.

IndyJudy · Post by **IndyJudy** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:00 pm

As a newbie to CPAP, I did read the reviews before placing my order. I do agree with Andy about the review comments focusing on the web site vs. the product. Would it be possible to add some metric "measures" per each product to rate? For example, a mask could be rated on: comfort, ease of use, actual size vs. mask guide, vent noise, overall satisfaction, etc. Customers could rate each characteristic with 1 to 5. And keep the space for additional comments. Rating different qualities of a product would show - did this product meet my expectations with respect to comfort, fit, etc. You could also have a rating for cpap.com customer service.

I do like the section "people who bought this product also bought". This is new also, right?

Judy

SleepGuy · Post by **SleepGuy** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:22 am

Johnny, the reviews are generally very helpful.

The specific question you asked--a rating system on the reviews like on Amazon--is of almost NO value. Who cares whether 2, 4, 5, 7, or 9 out of 12 people found any given review to be helpful or not helpful? They can read the review themselves and make up their own mind.

I would strongly recommend, however, adding a feature where the cpap.com people or the product manufacturer can respond to specific comments, questions, or negative reviews. This is helpful--it tells a consumer how the issue has been addressed or, perhaps, that the reviewer made a simple error.

I also like the "people who bought this item also looked at / purchased X and Y products."

But a feature where people rate a review is lame. I can read it myself and decide if the review makes any difference or not.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap.com

sleepie · Post by **sleepie** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:41 am

johnny--i always look for the negative reviews and read them no matter what product i'm buying-on whatever website-i want to see what people thought on the negative side--since if i'm looking at the product someone told me it was good and i'm in the market for it,,i have found negative comments very helpfull, as sometimes people point something out about the product i never gave a thought to---have a great day and thanks for the site------pat

ColinP · Post by **ColinP** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:15 am

I'm another that doesn't often rate the reviews. I do like the way that you can sort the reviews based on a usefulness, negativity etc.

The feature works, is easy to understand, and I give it a thumbs up.

Colin

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:43 am

I find reviews VERY helpful. Unfortunately you always run the risk of a shill infiltrating but if there are 10 bad reviews and 2 good ones you know. I also think that the 'x' amount of people found this useful is also a great idea. In general I appreciate the ability to review the product and the merchant. I don't usually take the time to write a review unless I am feeling VERY strongly about it one way or another, but I will almost always click a star rating i.e. Netflix

Call For Design Help: CPAP.com Was This Helpful

Call For Design Help: CPAP.com Was This Helpful

not something i would use

Reviews

Humidifier