TeaChat

I just placed my first order with Adagio and received a sample of Aquarius as a gift from your site. While I couldn't drink it myself, as it was not decaf like the rest of my order, I have been sharing it with my coworkers who loved it very much. I thought when I did my reviews I'd include their raving impressions of it but it doesn't show up on the form since it was a gift from your company and not part of my order.

My suggestion would be to perhaps find a way to include that first gift you give new customers in the review process.

Thanks!

My understanding is that one cannot review samples regardless of the source, but I could be wrong.

Everything I bought was a sample. It's why I was so excited to find this site because I could try so many different flavors. I was given the ability to review the 5 sample sized teas I picked out myself, as well as the mug and infuser, just not the one sample sized Aquarius that Adagio was kind enough to add to my first order.

You may review samples you purchased, but not free samples.

I bought a ton of samples as well and I feel the same as the OP. I was actually taken aback when I saw I could only post reviews for the teas I purchased as I was thinking, 'What if I tried this tea at a friend's house or something?' Usually a person only bothers to post a review if they have a tremendously positive or negative experience and well, if it's the latter you certainly aren't going to be buying it just to write a review.

Though I'm not too bothered by this either as I do see it as a safeguard as you could have someone who tried Chamomile from another vendor and types a review based on that impression which wouldn't be dishonest but not entirely relevant.

One issue I do have though is that it appears to me (Correct me if I'm wrong) that you only get the discount from writing a review when your cart is full and you intend on ordering during that same session. Is that right? I'm thrilled we even get an incentive to write a review and applaud the site for that (I never buy any unknown product without checking reviews online for anything) but would like to be able to write my review when inspired to do so as opposed to holding off until my next order. I may be wrong, I don't know, but if not, yeah.

I would like to say that agree with kkthxby3.

I agree with kkthxby3 too, we should be able to write reviews when it's convenient for us, customers I like to review teas when I'm drinking them...

The only other way I can think of offering an incentive is to offer frequent cup points rather than an immediate coupon. That way you can bank the points until you are ready to make a purchase. What are your thoughts on that option?

A small sample isn't really much to base a tea review on, is it?

I would rather read a review that I knew was based on repeating testing over days, under different conditions (time of day, vessels, variations in making the tea).

Couple cups ain't enough (unless you really dislike the tea).

ilya wrote:The only other way I can think of offering an incentive is to offer frequent cup points rather than an immediate coupon. That way you can bank the points until you are ready to make a purchase. What are your thoughts on that option?

+1

Yeah I like that idea better.

Yes Ilya I would agree with that to.

That is awesome idea. For some teas, I try them, finish off the tin, and by the time I make another Adagio order a few months down the road, I draw a complete blank as to what to say about the teas I have available to review. It would be much easier to review them as I finish off what I have instead of waiting and forgetting my impressions.

Great idea!

Agree. It is really annoying to have to wait until your next order to review.

Maybe they could also offer a feature where you can click a "Was this review helpful to you? Yes/No" button (like on amazon or itunes) so that the higher rated reviews would be shown at the top of the page. Maybe then people who wrote the reviews got a point or two for every positive click. That would encourage people to write better reviews of products, and that the most helpful would be at the top.

There's a big difference for reviews when someone says "OMG I LOVE THIS TEA!!!" versus "This tea is great for green tea lovers because of its light flavor. The citrus notes are not too overpowering, but they do seem to refresh the palate nonetheless. I drink this tea every morning, hot, but it doesn't seem to cool well because the citrus tends to feel a bit stale or bitter when iced."