Business Writing: Lazy Lies in Testimonials

By Lynn Gaertner-Johnston

I was talking the other day to one of our vendors who is going out of business but starting a new line of work. He had referred me proudly to his new website, and I told him how impressed I was with the testimonials on the site. They were especially impressive because the business is new.

(Note: Testimonials are quotes from customers or clients praising the product or service. They are a form of evidence that the product or service is worth buying.)

He responded, "I'm glad you like them. I wrote all of them."

In response to my questions, I learned, shocked, that our vendor had made up all the testimonials and simply added attributions like "John T." and "Rita M." and "Ellie A."--apparently based on real people who had been his actual first customers. (more)