"I laughed, I cried, I put it in my shakshouka!"

Until now, I never thought about Google Reviews, which is maybe one of the reasons I’m not winning this year’s Outstanding Entrepreneur award. But when I looked through all 13 reviews aggregated from an online store I no longer sell to, I realized I better start paying attention. 

The review above, from Kristin G, is a year old. I can’t assume anything about Kristin G, other than she is a lover of sandwich spreads, which Bobbie’s Boat Sauce is (in my opinion) not. Is is a condiment that is great with sandwiches? Yes. Is Kristin G entitled to her opinion? Yes. Is she slandering my good name by miscategorizing my product as a "sandwich spread"? Maybe. Should Kristin G thus be given prominence in my Google reviews??

Hey. Boat Sauce really isn’t for everyone, that’s not news to me. Recently, while doing a demo at Whole Foods, a man came up to my table and asked me if this was my product. I answered yes.  He tried it, then proceeded tell me that it reminded him of a sauce he bought from "Hot Ones" that he really didn't like, and went into detail about what was wrong with THAT sauce, and how similar Bobbie's Boat Sauce is to it. 

I respect Kristin G, who spent money on a product that she didn't like and felt compelled to give that feedback.  But anyone tasting a sample for free, and their own free will, need not give any feedback beyond "it's not for me, but thank you!" if they don't like it. My friends in the food community all have stories like this. I may need to start a CPG self esteem support group.

Despite the occasional negative feedback, the data says that Bobbie's Boat Sauce is a crowdpleaser.   If we set up a little taste test booth at State Fair and I have total confidence that more people would give it the thumbs up than down. So, do we let the “Didn’t live up to my expectations” crowd win??  

It would mean so much to me if you could leave a heartfelt review of Bobbie’s Boat Sauce Classic or Hot on Google or any other platform you encounter.  There's always the option of leaving a review on the website (shout out to my dad and his three-star review of the Boat Sauce T-shirt)