FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is RateSavvy.com?
A: RateSavvy.com is a business directory with a new twist. With the recent recession we experienced, we have all become more money-conscious. RateSavvy helps its users to be thriftier by displaying the prices associated with a particular service. The developers acknowledge how hard it can be to obtain a solid number from a business until it's too late. We don't believe the average person should be "suckered" in to paying these sometimes astronomical prices
Q: Will this create an unfair advantage for some businesses?
A: Absolutely not. Some businesses may appear cheaper than others, but RateSavvy users are constantly reminded that "You get what you pay for." In addition to prices, users are able to see how well a business has been ranked by previous customers.
Q: Who should use RateSavvy?
A: Everyone. Consumer to business, business to business, it's great for both. If you can't find what you're looking for, tell us and we'll help you find it, and THEN add it to the site.
Q: How do you keep the information current; prices are changing constantly, right?
A: In many businesses, yes, prices change constantly. The short answer is, RateSavvy alone cannot constantly maintain the current rate for every service every business offers. We have roughly 20,000,000 businesses in our database, just within the United States. However, we have developed the website to allow anonymous user submission of information to update the various parts of a particular business' listing.
Q: Wait, you mean anyone can change any information about a business without validating their identity or position?
A: No, not change. This was a very important issue we crafted a solution for long before the ability to update a business existed. The information submitted by anonymous users is placed in a different database entirely. While in this temporary database, the information is considered "pending verification". Some of this information will appear immediately, some will remain hidden until fully verified. The information displayed immediately will have warnings throughout, explicitly stating that it is unverified information.
Q: How does information become verified?
A: Users other than those who submitted information are able to 'verify' information (either in part, or in its entirety). Every verification is logged, and after a certain number of verifications, the information will be considered 'Verified', at which point the updates will take full effect and be displayed as factual. If verification via this method is taking too long, the RateSavvy development team will contact the business in question to verify that the new information is factual. Any necessary corrections will be made, and the information will move to 'Verified' status. If a user verifies information, and also claims to be a part of the businesses in question, the business will be contacted with all pertinent information, and the user will be offered the ability to 'lock' a listing to their name.
Q: What does it mean to "Lock" a listing to a user?
A: This simply means that the business can no longer be edited by anonymous users. The user to which it is locked will be given a user name and password to update the listing at any time, which will immediately move into "Verified" status. However, anonymous users will still be able to suggest that there is an error. The "locked" user will receive notification of this. If it appears that the locked user is not updating the information frequently enough, and many valid errors have been reported, the business will be taken off of "Locked" status, at which point, anonymous users may resume submissions of updated information.
Q: So a business is able to maintain its own listing, can they remove all price-rates entirely?
A: Absolutely. A business can remove particular rates, but are required to maintain at least one price-rate through the standard console. If a business wishes that no price-rates be displayed, a special request must be made to the RateSavvy development team. At which point, the business owner will be contacted and informed of any potential consequences, then asked to confirm some information.
Q: Potential Consequences?
A: Since the entire basis of this website is focused on the prices businesses charge (or pay), the search results are ranked accordingly. By default, the search results are displayed in order of price-rates, relevancy, overall rating, and location. Any business without rates posted will appear near the bottom of the search results. This is not to create an incentive for submitting rates, but is rather a byproduct of our tried and true search-engine infrastructure. It's simply the best way to provide users with what they're looking for.
Q: How much does it cost?
A: For users? Just inform people that this service exists. For businesses? It's also free. There are plenty of additional services a business can purchase to improve their ability to draw in customers, but the basic listing is free.
Any questions? Feel free to Contact Us