The home improvement platform’s verified review system was built so homeowners never have to wonder.
This content was prepared by Builderscrack and is being published by The New Zealand Herald as Advertorial.
Can you actually trust the reviews you’re reading before hiring a tradie? The star rating looks good, the feedback sounds great, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re wondering if any of it’s true.
For anyone about to spend thousands on a renovation, it’s a fair question to ask, and that trust factor is exactly what one online platform set out to provide nearly two decades ago.
Builderscrack.co.nz co-founder Jeremy Wyn-Harris says the home improvement platform’s verified review system was built so homeowners never have to wonder.
“We started by asking how you make a review actually mean something, back when most sites were happy to let anyone type five stars and hit publish,” Wyn-Harris says.
On Builderscrack, a verified review can’t exist on its own. It requires three things to line up: a real job posted on the platform, a verified tradie invited to quote on it, and a homeowner who chose to connect with them — each carrying its own unique ID.
That verified review design closes two loopholes that can plague other platforms: Friends and family can’t boost ratings, and competitors can’t attack a rival’s online reputation.
“Our review system has fraud-signal checks and human moderation to maintain a high standard of due diligence,” Wyn-Harris says. “Positive or negative feedback can be published too, so it reflects a genuine experience.”
“Tradies take their star rating just as seriously. Some contact their account manager, concerned they got a 4.5-star review instead of a 5, and in the case of a genuinely unwarranted review, our team works with them and the homeowner to try and reach a good outcome.”
Of 779 Builderscrack homeowners surveyed last year, 92% said they check reviews before hiring a tradie through Builderscrack — and when asked what mattered most, 37% pointed to the fact the reviews were verified, ahead of how detailed a review was (22%), how recent it was (20%) or the overall star rating (12%).
The scale says something too: homeowners have left more than 350,000 reviews of tradies on Builderscrack since 2007, something Wyn-Harris says is driven by two main reasons.
“Our homeowners leave reviews to help the next homeowner make a good call, and to say thanks to the tradie who did right by them,” Wyn-Harris says.
Against a growing backdrop of doubt about online reviews and AI-generated content, Builderscrack is fighting fake reviews by simply doing what it’s always done.
“Reviews are only useful if people can see the proof behind the experience,” Wyn-Harris says. “That’s why we link reviews back to the original job, and everyone benefits from that transparency.”
Next time you’re scrolling reviews before hiring someone to fix your roof, the verified badge next to the star rating might be worth a second look.
Read tradie reviews you can trust on Builderscrack.co.nz.