I made a mistake this weekend.  I ignored my usual policy of heeding bad reviews and bought something anyway.  Oh I’d read the reviews, seen the complaints, noted them.  And I ignored them all.  I wanted to believe that perhaps people were wrong; maybe they got part of a bad shipment or put it together wrong.  Maybe they didn’t pay attention to the directions.

The reviews I ignored were on the Big Wheel Princess Bike and the red version of the same, the Red Big Wheel.  I had one as a child, and fondly remember spinning out around corners, the asphalt driveway just a few inches from my heels (I’m not alone in my apparent love for the toy).  And so I let nostalgia, impulse shopping and stupidity get the best of me when I turned a blind eye to comments that read:

• “The very first time they got on and began to pedal, 3 of the 4 pedals came off because the washers are too weak to keep the “blue” pedal in place.”
• “…assembly was not easy, one pedal would not stay on.”
• “I had to put rubber on the tires just so she could get some traction. The stickers have fallen off already, I wasted my money.”

While there were good reviews on the product, (in fact plenty of people had no trouble) the bad reviews were specific:  it’s made poorly.   Unlike reviews that are somewhat subjective like:  I didn’t like the color, or my son wasn’t really interested in riding it, these reviews were all around the same issue of quality.  And still I believed they were wrong.

They were right.  The red Big Wheel was missing parts right out of the box, so was never even put together.  The Pink Big Wheel, once put together, felt not only flimsy but a washer provided was not enough to keep the pedal on.  Not only that but the contruction is such that when you make a turn the pedal scrapes the ground.  Both the Big Wheels are currently around the side of the house, with their boxes, awaiting my efforts to return them.  Lesson learned.  Oh, and one more knock against it, no hand break for doing spin outs like the old one. Now, who doesn’t want to do spin outs?

We sat at our desk pounding away at our keyboards and managing the online content for Buzzillions. Somehow the Content Team ended up talking about Axe. Yes, Axe shower gels, the deodorants, the body shots. While comparing the smells of these Axe products, my colleague Pete revealed his dismay for Old Spice, because it gives him rashes.

Perplexed, we hopped on to Buzzillions and we researched the product to see if anyone else has that issue. Pete found the product and we read the reviews. Someone else actually had the same issue. Bingo Neat-o! Buzzillions really does empower[s] consumers by providing the purchasers’ experience with legitimate data.

This experience led me to think, “What does empowering the consumer mean?” Empower, (in street terms), means to give an edge to. Empowering consumers, from a sociological perspective, means providing legitimate data for consumers to make educated purchases. Data needs to be managed to ensure quality. Buzzillions now has over 2.3 million reviews. These reviews are managed by the 30+ member Moderation Team led by our fearless leader Lily. They scan the reviews to ensure that the data is coming from legitimate sources, and they follow strict guidelines that ensure useful comments.

In the end process, consumers can draw data from the reviews and make their own conclusion on whether the product is worth their hard earned money. The clean data can help answer many questions that a common consumer has. What type of person is this product made fore? What are some of the cool features? Are there common issues with the product? Should I get a warranty for the item? How good is the quality of the material? Is there a possibility that Old Spice might cause a rash on me? (It did for Pete.)

So Buzzillions is in some way a database for people to research and buy their product in a streamlined process. It offers a way for a community to get useful data to buy products that they will be satisfied with. Since I’ve been informed of the possibility of Old Spice causing rashes, I think I will stick with Axe. It smells really good. Trust me, check it out here.

Bert