For Consumers and Reviewers
1-1) What is the purpose of this site?
This site was created to help consumers find the best funeral homes by sharing information and ratings, and to give businesses a
"scorecard" on how they are doing. It's part of the Ratingz Network, which is dedicated to helping consumers make smart choices.
1-2) What is the Ratingz network?
FuneralHomeRatingz.com is part of the Ratingz Network,
a family of websites dedicated to helping consumers find the best
businesses, places, services, and products by sharing ratings and
reviews.
This free website lets users anonymously rate funeral homes. Users
can also post comments, and see the public comments posted by others.
This site is also a useful scorecard, to find out what
consumers are really thinking!
1-3) Who can rate funeral homes?
We prefer that you only rate funeral homes you have first-hand
knowledge of. However, it is not possible for us to verify which raters
have knowledge of which funeral homes, so always take the ratings with a grain
of salt. Remember, we have no way of knowing who is doing the rating -
customers, people in the industry, regular people, dogs, cats,
etc.
1-4) How soon are my ratings posted?
Immediately!
1-5) Don't people use this site just to flame? Aren't most of the ratings negative?
Absolutely not. You might be surprised to learn over 65% of the ratings on the Ratingz Network are positive.
1-6) What do people associated with funeral homes think of this site?
Well, that depends on the funeral home! We get a lot of emails
from people telling us they like the site, and we've even had some
telling us how the site has helped them. We also get some pretty hateful
emails telling us how inappropriate the site is, how they are going to
shut us down, etc.
1-7) How do I rate a funeral home?
We've tried to make this site as easy to use as possible.
You can select funeral homes by picking your main category from the drop-down
list on the front page. You'll then see a list of cities; just click on
your city name to bring up the list of funeral homes. If your funeral home is
already listed, click on the name and rate them. If your funeral home is not
yet listed, you can add a listing and rating.
1-8) Why was my rating removed?
We end up having to remove about 5% of submitted ratings.
Ratings are sometimes removed due to improper comments, but more
commonly they are removed after having been identified as originating
from the same source (spamming of ratings, also called "astroturfing"). Remember, rate each funeral home only once!
1-9) Some of my comments got deleted. What comments are OK?
Comments should be objective and specific. Every new rating
is reviewed, and we reserve the right to delete comments OR an entire
rating. Please do not include insults or name-calling.
Any
allegation of illegal activity must be substantiated by including a link
to a newspaper article or court case.
1-10) How do the scores work?
All categories are based on a 5 point rating system, with 5
being the best. The overall rating determines the type of "smiley face" that the funeral home receives.
1-11) Are the rating scores statistically valid?
Probably not. They are a listing of opinions and should be
judged as such. However, we often receive emails stating that the
ratings are uncannily accurate, especially for funeral homes with over 10
ratings.
We urge consumers to get information from many sources, and to consider the reviews posted here just one source of information.
1-12) I tried rating a funeral home and the system said it was restricted. What does that mean?
When we detect any strange rating activity for a funeral home, we
restrict that funeral home's ratings for some period of time. While
restricted, the funeral home can only be rated by logged-in users, so just
create a free account (see Member Accounts, below) and login to submit a rating.
1-13) I want to delete a rating I wrote; what do I do?
If you were logged into your account (see Member Accounts, below) when you submitted the rating, you can delete your rating in the member area.
If you do not have an account, or you were not logged into your account when you submitted the rating, you might still be able to delete it here.
1-14) What if I see a rating that I think should
be reviewed again? I know you said you review all ratings, but what if
you miss one that is not OK?
You are right - every now and then a bad rating gets by us.
You will see a red flag associated with each rating. When you click on
that flag, the rating is sent back to us to review again. If it should
not have been accepted, we will handle it. If the rating is OK, we just
approve it again.
If you don't see a flag, that means we've already reviewed and approved the ratng a second time, and we have determined that the rating should not be removed.
1-15) I'm being accused of libel because of the rating I posted; what should I do?
The good people at The Electronic Frontier Foundation have some resources that may help you, here:
https://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/index
1-16) What if I see an error with a funeral home, like if the name is spelled wrong or even if it isn't a real funeral home?
After you click on a funeral home, you will see 'Report error with
this listing' at the top of the page. Just click on that link and tell
us what is wrong or what needs to be changed.
1-17) How much does this website cost me?
Nothing! The site is free to use.
1-18) What is your privacy policy?
You can view our Privacy Policy here.
Member Accounts
2-1) I've seen 'Want to login or Create an account?'. What's that all about?
NO ONE has to have an account to use the site, but creating
an account will allow you to track and edit your ratings. After your
account is created, you can login to it before posting.
We get quite a few emails from
people who made a mistake in rating a funeral home and want us to change them.
(We don't change someone's rating. We can delete the entire rating or
delete the comment, but we won't change them.) A member accountgives the user
a way to make sure their ratings are correct. We have a lot of changes
planned. Some of them will be for members only, so if you want to use
the site to its fullest, be sure and create an account.
2-2) Do I have to give you my name or email address?
For most listings, you are not required to log in or enter your name or email address. We do require registration in order to rate some specific funeral homes where we have seen suspicious rating activity. Creating a member account also gives you the ability to modify or delete reviews you have posted.
2-3) I'm having trouble logging into my member's page and/or adding ratings. What should I do?
FuneralHomeRatingz.com uses cookies for its login process, so
please make sure your browser has cookies enabled, then restart
your browser. Unfortunately we can't help debug individual browser problems.
For Funeral Homes
3-1) How do I get a listing removed from your site?
The short answer is, you don't. The longer answer is that
this site is for consumers and they are rating you every day, whether or
not you are listed on this site. Think of this site as an opportunity
to hear what your customers normally keep secret from you.
3-2) I don't have many ratings. How can I get more people to enter ratings?
The best thing you can do is to tell people about this site! You can post links to us on your website, and email your customer list about the site.
3-3) Can I display your ratings on my own website?
Probably yes. Please go to your listing page and click the
"Add these ratings to your website" link, below the ratings.
3-4) The ratings don't accurately reflect what my clients think of me.
If you believe the ratings are not fair and representative, ask clients to visit this website and rate you. You are also free to post a public response to any review on this site.
3-5) I'm planning to pose as a client and rate myself to increase my overall rating.
You may want to think twice about that. We use automated algorithms and human moderators to detect and remove phoney reviews.
Also, posing as a client- or hiring a firm to post positve ratings - is a practice known as "astroturfing", and it is illegal. If you are caught, you may end up paying $300,000 like this doctor.
3-6) Why were some of my ratings removed?
As mentioned above, we use automated algorithms and human moderators to combat "astroturfing." We end up having to remove about 5% of submitted ratings.
3-7) I'm going to sue your website!
Before making threats, understand the strong body of law that protects public rating and review sites.
The Communications Decency Act (CDA) states, "No
provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as
the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another
information content provider." The ratings on this site are written
by our users, not by our company, and so we cannot be legally regarded
as the "publisher or speaker" of the ratings, and therefore are not
liable for the ratings even if they contain false information.
Further, consider this information we received from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
It sounds as though you're familiar with 47 USC Section
230, the federal law that permits many entities to "host" other people's
content without being liable for defamation/libel etc. "By its plain
language, Section 230 creates a federal immunity to any cause of action
that would make service providers liable for information originating
with a third-party user of the service." Zeran v. AOL, 129 F.3d 327, 330 (4th Cir. 1997).
Does this change when we delete inappropriate comments?
NO. You are still protected as long as you do so in good faith. Under 230(c)(2)(A),
"(2) Civil liability.--No provider or user of an
interactive computer service shall be held liable on account of-- (A)
any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or
availability of material that the provider or user considers to be
obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or
otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is
constitutionally protected;
Further: The Supreme Court of the United States has held
that anonymity of speech is protected under the First Amendment to the
Constitution (see McIntyre v. Ohio, 514 U.S. at 337; Talley v. State of
California, 362 U.S. 60). United States courts also have consistently
recognized that the right to speak anonymously extends to speech on the
Internet.
Another site you should probably check out before trying to sue:
Anti-SLAPP Law
And finally, read the summary of legal protections for rating and review sites, and the organizations that assist in defending against baseless lawsuits, at:
RARPA Legal Information
3-8) I'm not in the United States, and I'm going to sue your website in my country!
The United States congress has passed strong laws to protect US companies from lawsuits brought under foreign legal systems. Even if you win a judgement under your local laws, it will not be enforceable in the United States:
SPEECH Act of 2010
More Questions?
Please use the Contact Form. Note that we do read every question and comment submitted, but we do not guarantee a response. |
