This might be the coolest thing I've ever seen a website do

Sean Murphy, aka "The T-Shirt Guy" and Customer Relationship Development Director at CustomInk.com GETS it. We became friends a few weeks ago during The Dana Carvey Incident.

Go to his site. And you, just like me, will be instantly magnetized to this bar on the right side of the page. When I first saw it I thought to myself, that's the most brilliant thing I've ever seen.

It's honest. Open. Approachable. Transparent. Credible. And the thing is, customers rarely (if ever) see online retailers doing stuff like this.

Why not?

Because they're scared? Because they don't care? Who knows. So I asked Sean about his Instantly Updated, Always Uncensored Customer Satisfaction Bar, and here's what he had to say:

"After our customers receive their order, they are asked to complete a survey which includes a question asking them to give us feedback that they'd like to share with others. I've never seen other websites do it the way we do it. It's continuously updated and completely uncensored -- typos and all!"

"Our uncensored customer reviews are very much like an introduction to someone by your friend. If there is a person you want to meet at a social gathering, it's more comfortable for most of us to be introduced to them rather than walking up to them cold. Or another way to look at it, is that our uncensored customer reviews are like the conversations you hear when you walk into a neighborhood store."

"At my neighborhood dry cleaners, for example, as I walk in I hear a customer thanking the owner for their great service and quick turnaround while another may be upset about a stain they weren't able to get out. It's difficult to recreate this very natural, and in my opinion comforting, experience in the online shopping world, but our uncensored customer reviews come close."

"New visitors to CustomInk.com see the comments, both the good and the bad ones, that were posted moments before they visited the site -- just as if they'd walked into their neighborhood store. Of course, 99% of what our customers say about us is positive but the public nature of this feedback motivates us to aim for 100%."

"I wouldn't call it a marketing tool, but in my personal life, honesty and transparency are two essential factors in my relationships with both people and companies. I guess it all comes back to the golden rule, treat others as you would want to be treated."

LET ME ASK YA THIS...

How does your website maintain transparency and honesty?

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Scott Ginsberg
Author/Speaker/That guy with the nametag
www.hellomynameisscott.com