What online reviews really say, and why we still read every single one
We run a business that sells outdoor building kits, patios, carports, decks, not miracle cures or crypto dreams. And yet, we cop reviews like we’re running Pfizer out of a tin shed.
Let me say this clearly, we love feedback. We actually read it. All of it. The five-star love letters, the two-paragraph rants, the one-star dramas that mysteriously leave out half the story. We’re not allergic to criticism, in fact, we actively hunt it down.
Why?
Because when you’re building something for yourself, with your own two hands, on your own patch of dirt, the experience has to be right. It’s not a dinner out or a dodgy phone case that didn’t arrive. It’s a structure you’re going to live under, show off, maybe even cry under during a Queensland summer storm.
And if we stuff it up, we want to know.
That said, let’s be honest, not all reviews are created equal.
The Good
When we see someone post a photo of their flyover roof with a BBQ under it and a golden retriever asleep on the deck, we get a little misty. That’s the dream. That’s why we started SmartKits. Not for the invoices or the ABN registrations, for that moment.
And when customers say things like
“I built it myself and now I feel like a king,”
we believe them. Because we’ve seen it happen thousands of times. Building something with your own hands is still one of the few things that can’t be faked.
The Bad
Now, sometimes things don’t go perfectly. A flashing gets left off. A courier sends a beam to Cairns instead of Camden. Or a customer decides to install their kit “intuitively,” then rings us when the whole thing looks like a Salvador Dali carport.
We’ll own what’s ours. Always. But let’s not pretend the bloke who refused to read the instructions is the voice of reason in the review section.
The Ugly
Then you’ve got the special few who wouldn’t be happy if Bunnings installed it, cooked them lunch, and gave them a puppy. They get on the phone, talk to three different people, take zero notes, then post a one-star scorcher with lines like:
“No one helped me, I had to figure out how to use a drill myself.”
(Yes. That’s literally the point of a DIY kit.)
We see you, Darryl. We really do.
The Truth?
We’re not perfect. No one in construction is. But we are accountable. We log everything. We build our own CRM tools. We even built a bloody AI bot named Micko to answer your install questions at midnight because we know half of you wait until the kids are in bed to start building.
So when someone leaves us feedback, we don’t roll our eyes. We lean in. Sometimes we change our designs. Sometimes we update our guides. And sometimes, yeah, we laugh about it in the office group chat because it’s just that ridiculous.
But through it all, we’re listening.
Because we don’t just want to sell you steel. We want you to feel proud of what you’ve built. Nothing is more important to us.
And if you’ve got feedback for us, we want to hear it. The good, the bad, and the beautifully unhinged.
Scott Challen
CEO, The QHI Group
SmartKits Australia | QHI National Builders | EzyBlox Sheds & Steel Buildings
Email: scott@qhi.net.au
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/
Website: https://www.qhigroup.
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