The world of business is full of surprises; none more so than the fact that receiving negative feedback can in fact be a positive thing.
As implausible as it might initially seem, this has proven to be the case for online knitwear and yarn shop AlpacaDirect.com.
The site was recently featured in an article in CNN Money entitled: 'Even bad reviews boost sales - think letting customers post cranky reviews of your products will scare away sales? Here's the surprising truth'.
Incredibly, since the website had allowed customers to leave negative feedback on their webpage, sales have actually increased, suggesting that other firms could benefit from encouraging customers to share feedback on their products.
The adoption of this policy - and its surprising truth - has led to the company securing a link on the CNN Money website, something that will no doubt boost sales as a result of the beneficial online PR and multitude of click-throughs.
There is good news for a couple of other companies too, who feature as a result of AlpacaDirect's success.
The software that AlpacaDirect uses to allow consumers to leave their honest opinion is the product of PowerReviews.
A month after the installation, sales had increased by 23 per cent, despite people leaving bad reviews, including calling clothes "sweaty" and a "poor fit".
But Jim Hobart, the company's owner, always kept faith and felt enough people liked his products for the business not to be adversely affected.
He told the news provider: "People are really researching their purchases. We knew our customers liked our products, and we wanted them to tell one another."
Larry Freed, chief executive of ForSee Results, a company that provides customer satisfaction surveys for websites, has a much more pragmatic view of the benefits of allowing negative reviews.
He said: "If they leave your site to look for reviews, they most likely won't come back."
Mr Hobart first thought that allowing negative feedback could herald benefits after a sales stint with Amazon, the founder of online customer reviewing.
In 2006, having placed 2,200 products on the website, he found that those with reviews sold better than those without.
As well as the evident profitability of adopting such reviewing methods, it also purveys a sense of honesty - something to which customers who don’t like having the wool pulled over their eyes may respond positively.
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