When booking through uShip, one of the most useful tools for shipping customers is the carrier ratings and reviews feature found on each profile. These reviews are indispensable for shippers who want insight from real past customers to help them decide on a carrier.
A Smarter System for uShip Reviews
With this in mind, we’ve recently improved the carrier ratings and reviews section of carrier profiles, in an effort to make them more fair, accurate and useful for all. To better reflect a carrier’s reliability, cancellations will now be factored into your overall star rating. Previously, the star rating was calculated only based on positive, negative and neutral feedback. Now, shipping customers will be able to evaluate a carrier based on these ratings, plus reviews from repeat customers, which were previously hidden.
Additionally, a traditional five-star rating model is being added – think Amazon or Uber – to simplify overall carrier ratings. These scores are calculated on each of the factors above, and will help customers get a quick, accurate view of each carrier.
The first change you might notice is a small drop (.25-.5 of a star on average) in your overall ratings, due to cancellations being factored in. We expect this change to affect all providers. However, the change should be minor, and your service history will remain intact, along with all your previous carrier ratings and reviews.
Using uShip Ratings and Reviews to Improve Your Business
Want to increase your star ratings? Start with a few key tips for providing the kind of service your customers will want to write home about:
- Communication is key – Keep the lines of communication open with each customer. Shippers always want peace of mind when their item is in transit. The most successful carriers on uShip are the ones who build relationships with customers via outstanding, proactive communication.
- Avoid cancellations – Of course some cancellations are inevitable, but keeping them to a minimum is key. Now that cancellations affect your overall score, it’s even more important to avoid them to maximize your carrier rating. Additionally, you may need to pay an excessive cancellation fee if too many cancellations appear on your account.
- Provide outstanding service – Simple steps like providing extra blankets and straps, being prepared with the right equipment, turning on tracking within the uShip app, and keeping up with communication can help earn you more shining carrier ratings.
IMPORTANT: Your service history that makes up your current rating WILL remain intact. You don’t need to start from scratch. However, with cancellations now factored in, we anticipate a slight drop — on average, .25-.50 of a star — in ALL providers’ overall star ratings across the board.
We trust these changes will be beneficial to both our shipping customers and carriers, giving those who go above and beyond a chance to stand out in the crowd.
