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A recommendation from Consumer Reports or Wirecutter can be a game-changer for brands, and many leverage the reviews through marketing and licensing deals with the publications, as we reported over the summer.
But if the product reviewers giveth, so too do they taketh away. Exhibit 1: Consumer Reports’ annual roundup of its worst-rated products.
Behold the gleeful snark emanating from the usually more measured tone of this august publication, here channeling a parent who just grounded Tyler for two months.
“To be clear,” the article explained, “We’re not mad, we’re just disappointed.”
Low blows: Even cult brand Dyson was in the crosshairs, with its HP07 Hot+Cool Black & Nickel air purifier earning a rating of only 15 out of 100.
“If you run the unit at low speed, it’s just not effective at removing dust, smoke, and pollen from the air,” the article explained. “And at high speed, it’s noisy.” CR pointed out the purifier, which at this writing is on sale for $599.99 on Dyson’s e-commerce site (down from $749.99), is pricey, with CR’s highest rated air purifier, the Blueair Blue Pure 311i Max, with a score of 81, costing $229.99.
Elsewhere in air-blowing devices, the editors had this quibble with the Black+Decker LSW40C battery leaf blower: “It can’t blow leaves, which is kind of a dealbreaker for a leaf blower.” What does blow is its rating: 37.
Consumer retorts: While brands may take the ratings from CR to heart to improve their products, what’s on offer here is less constructive feedback than a roast.
“With a mind-bendingly slow flow rate,” the Clear2O GRP200 water filter pitcher (rating: 36), for instance, “will either try your patience or lull you into a state of zen.”
As for the Lasko MyHeat 100 space heater (rating: 23), “Keep your socks on; this heater takes forever to do its thing.”
If you’re wondering if the ratings could get any worse, the answer is the Shark Steam Pocket S3501 steam mop (rating: 9), which “might have the words ‘steam mop’ in the name, but it’s lousy at producing steam and not very good at mopping.”
Fittingly enough, the product with the stain of the worst rating of the year is…a stain. According to testers, the Sherwin-Williams SuperDeck Clear Sealer wood stain stops providing suitable protection to wooden decks after only a year. Out of a possible 100, it rated a 4.