Terms of Use

1About these terms

TheShopCritics.com is run by TheShopCritics LLC ("TheShopCritics", "we", "us"). These terms apply to anyone who uses the website, writes a review, or receives a review invitation from us. By using the site, you agree to them. If you don't agree, please don't use the site.

Our Privacy Policy explains what information we collect and how we use it. It forms part of these terms.

2What "verified" means

Every review on the site carries one of two labels:

Verified Service Visit

The shop's own system recorded a visit by the customer, we sent that customer an invitation by email or text, and the review was written through the link in it. It's our assurance that the review came from someone the shop actually served.

Posted on the website

Written by someone who came to the site directly, without an invitation. We can't confirm the visit, so we label it that way and let readers weigh it.

Verified means we confirmed who wrote the review, not that what it says is accurate. Every review is the opinion of the person who wrote it.

3Writing a review

When you post a review, you confirm that:

• it's about your own experience as a customer of that business;
• it's honest, and you believe what you say in it is true;
• you don't own, work for or compete with the business, and you weren't paid or rewarded to write it;
• the name, email address and ZIP code you give us are your own.

Please post one review per visit. If your experience changes, you're welcome to write about a later visit.

4Review policy

A review site is only useful if you can believe it, so our rules are short and apply to every shop the same way.

What we publish

• Positive and negative reviews alike. A low rating is not a reason to remove a review.
• Four- and five-star reviews appear as soon as they're submitted. One- to three-star reviews appear seven days later, which gives the shop a chance to contact the customer and respond.

What we remove

• Duplicates: the same review submitted more than once.
• Abuse: threats, hate speech, harassment, obscenity, or personal attacks.
• Private information, such as someone's phone number, address or account details.
• Reviews that aren't about being a customer, such as an employment dispute, or a review of a different business.
• Advertising, spam, and reviews we believe are fake or written by someone connected to the business.

What shops can and can't do

• Shops can post a public reply under any review. Replies follow the same rules as reviews.
• Shops can't edit, hide or delete reviews, and can't pay us to do it.

Think a review breaks these rules? Email customerservice@theshopcritics.com with a link to the shop's page and tell us which review. We'll look at it, and only remove it for one of the reasons above.

5Your content

You own the reviews you write. By posting one, you give TheShopCritics a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to publish, display, reproduce and distribute it, in any format, on the site and elsewhere. You also allow the business you reviewed to show it, for example on its own website.

With your review we show your first name, your last initial and the city from your ZIP code. We never show your email address.

6Invitations, emails and texts

Review invitations are sent on behalf of a shop you visited, using contact details the shop provided. Each invitation is for one visit, and its link stops working after a while. Every email includes a link to unsubscribe.

7Shop owners and accounts

Accounts are for businesses that use TheShopCritics and the people they authorize. You're responsible for keeping your login details private and for everything done under your account. Tell us straight away at customerservice@theshopcritics.com if you think someone else has used it.

Services for businesses, including invitations and pricing, are covered by a separate agreement between the business and TheShopCritics. If that agreement conflicts with these terms, the agreement wins.

8Using the site

Please don't:

• copy reviews or other content in bulk, or collect it with automated tools, without our written permission;
• interfere with the site, test its security, or try to get into parts of it you aren't authorized to use;
• pretend to be someone else, or misrepresent your connection to a business;
• use the site for anything unlawful.

We may block access, or remove content, when these terms are broken.

9Our content and names

The site's design, text, graphics and software belong to TheShopCritics or its licensors. "TheShopCritics" and our logo are our trademarks. Business names and logos belong to their owners and appear only to identify those businesses.

10Other websites

The site links to other websites, such as a shop's own site, maps, and Google. We don't control them and aren't responsible for their content. A link isn't an endorsement.

11Disclaimers

Reviews are the opinions of the people who wrote them, not of TheShopCritics. Shop details such as hours, phone numbers and addresses can change, so please check with the shop before you go.

The site is provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent the law allows, we make no warranties of any kind about it, including that it will be accurate, complete, uninterrupted or error-free.

12Limits on our liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, TheShopCritics is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss arising from your use of the site or from any review or reply on it, including decisions you make based on a review.

13Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless TheShopCritics, and its owners, employees, contractors and partners, from any third-party claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, that arises from content you post, your breach of these terms, or your violation of any law or anyone else's rights.

14Governing law

These terms, and any dispute about the site, are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules.

15Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. When we do, we'll change the date at the top of this page. Using the site after an update means you accept the new terms.

16Contact us