FAQs

1. How do I choose the right business for the job?
2. What are registered businesses on NoCowboys.co.nz?
3. What are Customer Preferred businesses on NoCowboys.co.nz?
4. How do I rate a business on NoCowboys.co.nz?
5. How do I add a business that is not already on your database?
6. My customer rating is marked "Not authenticated". How do I authenticate it?
7. What about giving you my email address? Will it be kept safe? Will I get spam?
8. Tell me more about the NoCowboys customer rating system. How do I know that customer ratings are genuine?
9. Want to know more about another issue, which we haven't included here?

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1. How do I choose the right business for the job?

It's simple and it's free! Just click on the Browse all categories link on the left bar and choose the category that you are looking for from the category list. Alternatively, you can enter it into the search box on the left pane.

Then choose the appropriate geographical area. Businesses on NoCowboys.co.nz are selected according to the areas that they service. Accordingly, for example, there may be less plumbers serving the whole of the Auckland Region than the total of those serving only the North Shore City, Auckland City, Waitakere City and other areas within the Auckland Region.

Your search on NoCowboys.co.nz will first display Customer Preferred businesses (see below) then Registered businesses and finally unregistered businesses servicing the area you have chosen.

The only exception to this rule is suburb level searches (in other words, the most refined area searches). The first group of businesses shown will be those physically located in the particular area, followed by Customer Preferred businesses (see below) then Registered businesses and finally unregistered businesses servicing that area.

Note however, that if you search on the name of a business, all businesses meeting your search criteria will be listed in alphabetical order to assist you in locating the particular business you were looking for.

Remember to tell any businesses you contact that you saw them on NoCowboys.co.nz. This will help ensure that you receive premium service.

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2. What are registered businesses on NoCowboys.co.nz?

Registered businesses are businesses which have chosen to be actively involved with NoCowboys.co.nz. They have not simply been added to our database by their customers or anyone else.

We encourage you to support registered businesses because they have embraced the principle that meeting their customers' expectations is critical to the success of their business. Registered businesses are prepared to stand behind their customer service record and their reputation and welcome your customer rating on NoCowboys.co.nz after completion of the job. These are the sort of businesses that you want carrying out your work!

Registered businesses are marked "Registered" and appear in blue in NoCowboys search lists.

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3. What are Customer Preferred businesses on NoCowboys.co.nz?

"Customer Preferred" businesses are registered businesses which have 5 or more reviews, minimum overall customer rating of 85% and the latest review less than 6 months old. Consequently, these businesses have a proven ability to meet their customers' expectations on a consistent and sustained basis. Customer Preferred businesses are marked "Customer Preferred", appear in multiple blues and always at the top of NoCowboys search lists. They are displayed in random order.

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4. How do I rate a business on NoCowboys.co.nz?

It's really easy! First, find the business that has carried out work for you. The quickest way to do this is to type the business name (or part of it) into one of the search boxes on the site. Alternatively, you can search by category and area on the home page of NoCowboys.co.nz or by clicking on the Browse all categories link on the left bar. Once you have found the right business, click on the name of the business to open its NoCowboys webpage. Then click on the "Rate us now" button and enter your rating. Thanks for helping to make NoCowboys.co.nz a better resource for everyone.

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5. How do I add a business that is not already on your database?

If you can't find the business that you want to rate in our database, please enter it here (you only have to enter the name and phone number of the business). The business will be added to the NoCowboys website right away, and you can rate it just like any other business. All businesses added in this way are subsequently verified by us to complete the necessary area and category details.

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6. My customer rating is marked "Not authenticated". How do I authenticate it?

Your rating can only be authenticated by email. Provided you enter your email address when you post a rating, we will send a confirmation email to that address which will include a link you can click on to authenticate the rating. Until you click on that link, your rating will be marked "Not authenticated" and will not be taken into account in the overall score of the particular business. Authentication is important because it establishes that a particular rating has been left by someone with a functional email address and also enables us to more effectively monitor and prevent abuse of the ratings system (see below for more information). Please rest assured that your email will be kept private. We confirm that we will not sell it, publish it on the site or provide it to the business concerned.

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7. What about giving you my email address? Will it be kept safe? Will I get spam?

We understand your concerns and hate spam as much as you do. We will only use your e-mail address to communicate with you regarding NoCowboys.co.nz. In particular, we will not publish, sell or use your email address for any other purpose. You will never receive spam from NoCowboys and your email address will not be published on the NoCowboys website or provided to the business concerned.

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8. Tell me more about the NoCowboys customer rating system. How do I know that customer ratings are genuine?

This is probably the question that we get asked most often and we agree that everyone using NoCowboys.co.nz must be able to have confidence in the rating system. We have accordingly developed a sophisticated and multi-layered system to protect against abuse of the system:

1. First, ratings have to be authenticated. To do this we generate an email link to the customer who clicks on the link to authenticate his/her email address. The email address is not published on the site but is nonetheless retained by us for the limited purposes set out below. We find that people are encouraged to be fair and responsible if they have authenticated their feedback by reference to their email address as this process removes the element of complete anonymity.
2. Second, our system constantly monitors the email addresses of people posting ratings and prevents more than one authenticated rating being left for the same business from the one email address. This prevents one individual posting multiple positive or negative comments about a particular business in the absence of a legitimate explanation (such as using the same business on more than one occasion).
3. Third, our system tracks and records the IP addresses of users to help identify those who might be opening a number of different email addresses from the same computer and leaving different ratings under them. Again, duplicate ratings are deleted in the absence of a legitimate explanation.
4. Fourth, should we have reason to believe that a rating has not been left by a genuine customer, we will send an email to the individual concerned requesting evidence that they were a customer of the business in question, such as a copy of the quote, invoice, or receipt. Pending the provision of that evidence, the rating is removed. If this material cannot be produced, the rating will not be reinstated. If it is produced, the rating will be reinstated on the basis that legitimate customers are entitled to express their opinion even though the business may not agree with it. However, the business will be advised by email that the rating has been reinstated.
5. Fifth, all businesses have the public right of reply to ratings left for them which enables them to respond appropriately. We find that visitors to NoCowboys are generally understanding of the fact that some customers may be difficult and unreasonable and are not concerned by poor ratings left by such individuals. Often visitors to NoCowboys are impressed by the responsible manner in which complaints are dealt with by the business in question.
6. Finally, the more ratings left for businesses on the site, the less the likelihood of one or more individuals skewing the feedback system. We encourage everyone visiting the site to rate any service businesses they have used. Every rating posted improves the usefulness of NoCowboys.co.nz to all users. We also invite all businesses to ask their satisfied customers to rate them on NoCowboys.co.nz. This enables businesses to record word-of-mouth referrals from their happy customers and use them as a powerful marketing tool. To assist businesses in doing this, we offer QR codes to add to invoices or other communication with customers. A downloadable electronic logo is also available to registered businesses. Registered businesses can also make use of our email rating request form which enables customers to rate them quickly and easily.
   
   

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9. Want to know more about another issue, which we haven't included here?

Send your question to us. We will respond as soon as possible.