Hearthlist Digest #357 - Sunday, October 10, 1999
 
Polls and Stove Rating Project
  by "Craig Issod" <[email protected]>
 

(back)
Subject: Polls and Stove Rating Project
From: "Craig Issod" <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 15:41:58 -0500
 
Those of you who have visited HearthNet (http://hearth.com) recently may
have noticed the poll on the front page. This poll asks customers what =
fuel
their next stove will use.
 
Currently, the stats look like this (881 votes)
gas-33%
wood-44%
pellets-17%
electric/Alcohol-3%
Coal-3%
 
This is an interesting indication of current customer preferences, however
it is probably not reflected in real world purchases. If Joe Customer goes
to his local hearth store to buy a Pellet Stove and finds that none are on
display (and the salespeople talk negative about them), then Joe may pick
up a wood stove instead. Likewise, if Mary Doe wants a wood fireplace and
goes into your shop where you show her the convienience of gas, she may
switch her fuel preference.
 
The poll also reflects the preferences of the online population, which =
does
not take into account all the builders putting in certain fuels as =
standard
and other such actions.
 
We'll be changing these polls on a regular basis...
 
Stove Rating Project
 
We have a new section at HearthNet (http://hearth.com/ratings.html) which
allows stove and fireplace owners to give us feedback on brands and models
of hearth appliances. After we collect enough data, we'll try to massage =
it
into some sort of form that can be understood.
 
If you are a manufacturer, you are welcome to link to this section from
your web page. This will assure inclusion of your customers feedback into
the database.
 
We ask that no manufacturers or retailers SPAM the database. By SPAM, we
mean that no group effort should be undertaken to enter certain models in
order to try to cast positive or negative results on any stove brand or
model. It will be fairly wasy for us to determine if this is being done,
and we will remove any and all reviews that appear to be placed in this
manner.
 
A valid email address and location are required to place a review. This
should help us adjust results (such as heating capacity) for climate.
 
Please email if you have any feedback or suggestions about these new =
features.
 
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Craig Issod             HearthNet at http://www.hearth.com
[email protected]    Everything your Hearth Desires
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