What does the number next to a listing mean? The number you see next to every listing is its rating, a figure that combines three essential advisor attributes:
Quality—how many stars (on a 1-to-5 scale)
customers give this advisor after each live conversation
(note: Quality ratings can only be given for live conversations or Mails that cost $2.00 or more, unless it is the customer's first contact with a given advisor. Customers may only rate up to 3 live conversations or Mails per day with any given advisor);
Reliability—the number of live conversations this advisor has missed;
Service—how often customers choose to have
extended conversations with this advisor.
The listings you see when you visit a topic appear in order
of their overall rating, from highest to lowest. This makes it easier for customers
to find our most popular and successful advisors -- and for advisors to be
rewarded for their hard work and success with more prominent placement on the
site!
How does the rating system work? Customers can give a rating for each live conversation or Mail on which
they've spent $2.00 or more (note: customers can always give a rating for their first live conversation to any given advisor. Customers may rate up to 3 live conversations or Mails per day with any given advisor). Customers have up to 90 days to give a rating. Each listing's rating rises or falls according to the
following formula:
Event
Rating Result
Each missed live conversation*:
minus 2 points
Each 15 minutes**:
plus 2 points
Each 5-star rating:
plus 2 points
Each 4-star rating:
plus 1 point
Each 3-star rating:
0 points
Each 2-star rating:
minus 1 point
Each 1-star rating:
minus 2 points
Each customer acquired***:
plus 3 points
* While an advisor is listed as Available. Note: If
you press "2" to not accept a call, that call is regarded as a missed
call and receives a minus 2 point rating. Similarly, if you decline a chat session, that is regarded as a missed chat and receives a minus 2 point rating.
** Applicable to live conversations costing at least $.25 per minute
more than the basic connection rate.
Note: "Free minutes" do not count toward 15-minute rating bonuses.
***Each member who enters a valid payment method and puts money into his
or her account for the first time during a live conversation to this listing.
Your rating appears next to the listing itself and on your personal
home page. All listings are rated as "New" for the first three months
they're on the site, or until they receive their first live conversation (a listing that
goes three months without receiving a live conversation will be given a "0" rating).
What about Mail? A Paid Mail must be worth at least $2.00 to be eligible to be rated.
What about Recorded Listings? Your Recorded Listings are available 24 hours a day
to anyone who want to listen to them. Their overall rating
will consist of the points they gain or lose, according to the above formula,
when customers rate them after the call.
Stars
The number of stars you see by an advisor's listing
indicates the average rating (on the 1-to-5 scale described above) that
he or she has received from customers who have contacted this listing in the
past.
Stars help customers choose which advisor to contact
for advice -- and reward advisors for their number of satisfied customers.
Comments
In addition to a star rating, customers may also leave written feedback of their experience with the advisor. This review of their experience, also helps customers choose which advisor to contact for advice. Written comments will be displayed with the listing for 18 months.
