I actually read about the Dongle story in USA Today before I caught it on Mark's blog. I've made jokes about it before - you're in a room w/ smartphones, sure as hell better think about what you do and say b/c you never know who's quoting you. I've got mixed thoughts on the whole thing but in a small way, it ties a little into what I'm posting tomorrow - the assumptions we make. Just b/c I make one off-color remark, that means I'm no longer follow-worthy or have been 'influenced' in some way? WTH? One tweet, one bad joke really? Is that really the end of a career, a brand?Depends on what it is I suppose but often I think overreaction seems to be the rule of the day - w/ the media then piling on for ratings.

As to the review - you could always change what you wrote: "Good sticker, bad case - what I get for not reading the fine print. But they want a better review so here goes: if you think their stuff sucks, tell them and get your money back." :) IDK It's tough and while I don't care for the psychobabble blackmail (h/t @New England Multimedia ) I do like the fact they listen, they try for service. Plenty of places still do the 'duck and cover' or 'delete and ignore' - this is at least a step towards engagement? FWIW.

Wow. Jayme, now what? I mean, now what do we do? I am so troubled, by @MarkWSchaefer 's post and your own.. I have to think on this, hard. Today I am going out with the Alaska Chick-let on her first real Adventure. I can promise this will be circling in my mind as I ride, imagining what we, the people, are going to do to reign in and put a stop to the direction that some are trying to herd us at.

I will not be caged by fear.

That is all for now.

Using psychology to make the buyer feel guilty if he or she doesn't write a positive review or change a negative one smacks of the kind of manipulation that turns me off to a brand immediately, Jayme. It's encouraging dishonesty in return for a dollar, and that's my exit door. I hope your post gets shared like crazy so brands will know we think this is wrong!

I read @MarkWSchaefer 's article yesterday and clicked through the links to get the whole story. I was so troubled by all the implications for our world, I couldn't shake the sense of foreboding. We're becoming a vindictive, graceless, unforgiving world filled with people who think their opinions are right, and if you disagree, they'll punish you and take you down by whatever means they can. I know many, many people who are afraid to speak up even in the face of injustice because they fear the repercussions. When fear rules over us, we can say good-bye to truth and freedom. 

The thing is that your experience would have been TOTALLY different if they apologized for the misinformation and then asked you for ways they could improve the product description. They refunded your money, which was the right start, but they shouldn't have asked you to change your review. If they did the right things, you might have done that anyway without the prompt. Too bad!

Common sense is growing more uncommon.

@3HatsComm @New England Multimedia I could've handled that so differently. I don't know whether I think the engagement factor is genuine. They paid me to reverse my truthful experience; I even made fun of myself as a "dumb mom." No matter. I gave 2 stars; they want 5. I wonder if I gave 5 stars and still blasted them if they would've still refunded my money.

You got this down pat; I should've come seeking counsel!@3HatsComm @New England Multimedia @3HatsComm @New England Multimedia

@AlaskaChickBlog @MarkWSchaefer "I will not be caged by fear." Well said; exactly. But, look what I did? I caved. Did you ever think I would back away from such a challenge. I should've rubbed it in their faces and called them bullies; I didn't. Why?

I did not want the hassle; I didn't want the chance for a cyber attack on my website or spam on my blog. I don't have the $$ or time to manage that. It upsets me when I think that I allowed this. My deleting my comment totally, they didn't win all the way. 

Go on your adventure; think on this and come back. I don't know; troublesome

@New England Multimedia  @MarkWSchaefer So well said, Michelle. I feel like there is an underground spy network of whistleblowers ready to take away someone's reputation for a single human error. I feel badly for the kids up and coming; this is the world they'll be raised in. Fear, mistrust and senseless injustice. 

You can bet I won't ever buy from SkinIt again.

@lauraclick Because they automatically refunded the money, that was where the guilt trip started. And, I didn't want to change my review, but now I didn't pay for it. Darn it. 

Agree. Some sort of engagement to start would've been grand; but, maybe they think the quickest way to tick an item off the list is to push money in their face. Thanks, Laura.

@Joshua Wilner/A Writer Writes Agree, Josh.  And, that dongle thing? Not sure how true that is, but Mark would not have taken real estate to write it up if there wasn't some semblance of truth to it? 

All this stuff is making me barf.

@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @Joshua Wilner/A Writer Writes Amen. And well said.