Rooted Vitality believes in the power of authentic client feedback. This Reviews Policy explains how our review system works and the guidelines that help maintain a respectful, honest community where all voices are heard and valued.
1. Our Review Philosophy
1.1 Reviews as Authentic Expression
At Rooted Vitality, we believe that:
- Client reviews are authentic expressions of personal opinion and experience
- We are not the arbiters of truth in reviews
- Reviews reflect individual perspectives and may vary from person to person
- Both positive and negative feedback is valuable for our community
- Practitioners and clients deserve to share their genuine experiences
1.2 Our Role
Rooted Vitality's role is to:
- Provide a platform for honest client feedback
- Enforce our review guidelines to keep reviews respectful and safe
- Remove only reviews that violate our guidelines (not because we disagree with them)
- Trust clients to evaluate practitioners based on their own values and needs
- Support both practitioners and clients in a fair, balanced way
2. How Reviews Work
2.1 Posting a Review
You can post a review after you have received services from a practitioner:
- Reviews can include a star rating (1-5 stars) and written feedback
- Reviews are optional—posting a review is entirely up to you
- Your review appears on the practitioner's profile once posted
- Other clients can see your review to help them make informed decisions
2.2 Editing Your Review
You can edit your review to update or clarify your feedback:
- Access your review through your account or the practitioner's profile
- Update your rating or written feedback as you see fit
- Your edited review will reflect the changes immediately
- You can modify your review whenever you wish
2.3 Review Permanence
Reviews are permanent once posted:
- Once you post a review, it becomes part of the platform community
- You cannot delete or remove your own review
- You can only edit your review to update its content
- Reviews remain publicly visible unless they violate our guidelines
- Your review is a permanent contribution to the community's feedback
2.4 Review Visibility and Control
Reviews are publicly visible and permanent:
- Reviews are visible on practitioner profiles to all users
- Visible to anyone accessing the platform (not limited to registered users)
- Associated with your account (others can see you posted the review)
- Part of the practitioner's overall rating and reputation
- You have no control over whether your review stays public once posted
- Your review remains permanently public unless it violates our review guidelines
- Rooted Vitality hosts reviews as a platform for community feedback and is not responsible for the content of individual reviews
3. Review Guidelines
3.1 What We Don't Allow in Reviews
Reviews must NOT:
- Promote violence or harm: Include threats, calls for violence, or encouragement of harmful behavior
- Promote discrimination: Include hateful content based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics
- Promote illegal activity: Encourage or describe illegal behavior
- Use vulgar or blacklisted terminology: Include profanity or offensive language
- Reveal private information: Share practitioner's personal contact info, address, or other private details
- Be spam or ads: Promote other businesses or services unrelated to the practitioner's services
- Be manipulation or fraud: Include false information intended to mislead other users
3.2 What You CAN Include in Reviews
We encourage reviews that include:
- Your honest opinion about the service you received
- Specific details about your experience (what worked, what didn't)
- How the service affected you or your wellness journey
- Whether you felt the service was worth the price
- Whether you would recommend this practitioner to others
- Constructive feedback about how the practitioner could improve
- Comparison to other practitioners or services you've tried
3.3 Review Content Standards
Reviews should:
- Be based on your actual experience with the practitioner
- Be truthful and honest, as you experienced it
- Be respectful even if critical
- Focus on the service received, not personal attacks
- Be clear and understandable to other readers
4. What Constitutes a Review Violation
4.1 Examples of Violations
The following types of reviews will be removed:
- Violence: "They should be locked up" or threats against the practitioner
- Hate speech: Slurs or discriminatory language based on protected characteristics
- Illegal promotion: "I got drugs from this person" or similar illegal content
- Vulgar language: Excessive profanity or offensive terms
- Private information: Sharing the practitioner's address, phone number, or email (if not public)
- Spam: "Check out my competing business" or unrelated promotions
- Lies: Fabricated stories clearly intended to harm the practitioner's reputation
4.2 Examples of Allowed Negative Reviews
These reviews are NOT violations and will remain:
- "This service didn't help my situation. I didn't feel a difference."
- "The practitioner was nice, but their method didn't work for me personally."
- "I paid $100 for an hour session and didn't get what I expected."
- "This wasn't for me. I found a different practitioner I like better."
- "The session felt rushed. I didn't have time to fully explain my concerns."
- "The practitioner was rude and dismissive of my questions."
- "I would not recommend this person based on my experience."
5. Our Review Moderation Process
5.1 How We Review Reviews
We use a combination of automated and manual review:
- Automated Detection: Our system flags reviews that may violate guidelines
- Manual Review: Our team reviews flagged content for final determination
- Context Matters: We consider context when evaluating reviews (e.g., mild profanity vs. hate speech)
- Benefit of the Doubt: When borderline, we lean toward keeping reviews to preserve free expression
5.2 Removal and Appeals
If a review is removed:
- You will be notified with a reason for the removal
- You can appeal the removal if you believe it was a mistake
- Our team will re-evaluate the review and respond to your appeal
- We aim to process appeals within 5-7 business days
5.3 What We WON'T Do
We will NOT remove reviews because:
- The practitioner disagrees with the opinion expressed
- A review is negative or critical
- A review hurts a practitioner's feelings
- A review describes a bad experience (even if the practitioner denies it)
- We think a review is unfair (it's your opinion to share)
- A practitioner requests we remove a review
- A client requests deletion of their own review
6. Responding to Reviews
6.1 Practitioner Responses
Practitioners can respond to reviews:
- Responses should be professional and constructive
- Responses should not attack or insult the reviewer
- Responses can offer clarification or their perspective on the feedback
- Responses are public and visible to other clients
6.2 What NOT to Do in Responses
Practitioners should not:
- Attack or insult the reviewer personally
- Use responses as an opportunity for aggressive counter-arguments
- Disclose private information about the client
- Make false claims or lies in response
- Use vulgar or abusive language
- Pressure clients to change their review
6.3 Client Engagement
If a practitioner responds to your review:
- You can edit your review if you want to address their response
- You have the right to your opinion, whether or not they agree
- You can ignore their response if you choose
7. Review Authenticity
7.1 Genuine Reviews Only
Reviews should be genuine and based on actual experiences:
- Don't post fake reviews (positive or negative) for any reason
- Don't pay for or accept payment for writing reviews
- Don't write reviews pretending to be someone else
- Don't coordinate with competitors to post negative reviews
7.2 What Happens if We Detect Fraud
If we identify fake or fraudulent reviews:
- We will remove the fraudulent reviews
- We may suspend or terminate the account responsible
- We may ban the person from posting reviews in the future
- We may pursue legal action if warranted
8. Review Disputes
8.1 If You Disagree with a Review
If you are a practitioner and disagree with a review:
- You can respond publicly to the review (recommended)
- You can request a review be removed IF it violates guidelines (not just if you disagree)
- You can contact our support team if you believe the review contains false information
- We will investigate if you believe the review violates our guidelines
8.2 If You Believe a Review Violates Guidelines
If you see a review that you believe violates our guidelines:
- Report it through the review reporting feature
- Provide details about which guideline(s) it violates
- Our team will review and determine if action is needed
- We appreciate community help in keeping reviews respectful
9. Privacy in Reviews
When posting a review, remember:
- Your name is associated with your review (visible to others)
- Don't share personal health details you want to keep private
- Don't include the practitioner's private contact information
- Don't name other clients or practitioners in your review
- Consider what information you're comfortable sharing publicly
10. Review Ethics
10.1 For Clients Posting Reviews
We ask that you:
- Be honest and fair in your assessment
- Base your review on your actual experience
- Be respectful even if critical
- Give practitioners credit for what they do well
- Remember that wellness outcomes vary from person to person
- Consider that the practitioner is a real person reading your words
10.2 For Practitioners Reading Reviews
We ask that you:
- Accept feedback gracefully, even negative feedback
- Use reviews as an opportunity to learn and improve
- Remember that different people have different needs and preferences
- Not take negative reviews personally (not everyone is a good fit)
- Respond professionally if you choose to respond
- Never retaliate against clients for honest reviews
11. Special Circumstances
11.1 Reviews About Safety Concerns
If your review describes a safety concern or illegal activity:
- Your review may stay on the platform
- We may also report the concern to appropriate authorities
- Your safety and the community's safety are our priority
11.2 Legal Disputes
If there's a legal dispute between a client and practitioner:
- Reviews remain on the platform unless they violate guidelines
- We don't remove reviews just because there's a legal disagreement
- Both parties are welcome to share their perspective through reviews or responses
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Reviews Policy from time to time:
- We will notify users of material changes
- Your continued use of the platform indicates acceptance of updates
- We will honor this policy for all reviews posted before changes
13. Questions and Support
If you have questions about our reviews policy or need support with a review:
Rooted Vitality Support Team
Email: support@rootedvitality.health
Phone: [Phone Number]
We're here to help make sure reviews work fairly for everyone in our community.
Summary
The Rooted Vitality Review Philosophy:
- ✓ We trust clients to share honest opinions
- ✓ We value authentic feedback, positive and negative
- ✓ We are not arbiters of truth—we enforce guidelines, not opinions
- ✓ Reviews are protected expressions of customer experience
- ✓ Reviews are permanent once posted and cannot be deleted
- ✓ You can edit your review anytime, but cannot remove it
- ✓ We remove only reviews that violate our clear guidelines
- ✓ Both clients and practitioners deserve to share their authentic voices