BEWARE BEFORE INSTALLING THIS PLUGIN > Updated Review
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I initially left an honest 1 star review for the experience I had with this plugin (you can read the full review down below if you are interested) and I really did not expect much after posting the review…
But boy oh boy was I (pleasantly) surprised by the team at Essential Addons who responded to my review faster than The Flash could ever hope to do (and on a Sunday!)
A lady called Patricia sent me an email right away kindly introducing herself and apologising for the negative experience I had after installing their plugin.
To my astonishment Patricia had actually found merit and value in the points raised in my negative review and had already set about implementing remedies – this deserves respect and applause.
It is a welcome experience when faults are acknowledged without starting a fight, remedies are implemented without delay, and apologies are delivered with sincerity.
So I have changed my 1 star review to a well earned 5 star review for the team at Essential Addons and give them kudos for taking it on the chin and diving straight in to sort things out.
**Just one last word of advice to the team – please consider clearly labelling the free and the pro elements on your website page that displays them all mixed together after clicking the newly titled “ALL FREE & PRO ELEMENTS” button on your homepage – based on the positive response I received from you today I get the feeling that you guys will be implementing that reasonable suggestion moving forward but probably just need some more time to complete that task compared to the simple and speedy task of changing the button text today.
After this experience today I can say with confidence that the Essential Addons team really do value their product, their reputation and most of all their users. Patricia’s communications with me after leaving my 1 star review have been truly commendable.
Again, thank you for your unexpected positive responses received today – your sincere efforts undertaken with good spirit have certainly earned an honest 5 stars!
Good vibes are now also an Essential Addon ??
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ORIGINAL 1 STAR REVIEW
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TRICKERY IS NEVER THE BEST STRATEGY TO GAIN NEW CUSTOMERS
BE INFORMED BEFORE INSTALLING THIS PLUGIN – WHAT IS PRESENTED ON THEIR WEBSITE TO BE FREE IS NOT ACTUALLY WHAT YOU GET FOR FREE
THIS REVIEW IS POSTED IN GOOD FAITH TO SAVE ANYONE FROM WASTING THEIR TIME BY HAVING TO DELETE THIS PLUGIN IMMEDIATELY AFTER INSTALLING IT (AND SPENDING TIME ERASING BITS OF CODE LEFT BEHIND ON YOUR DATABASE) AND LEFT FEELING FRUSTRATED FROM BEING MISLED INTO INSTALLING THIS PLUGIN
(If you do not want to read all about my experience with this plugin you can skip to the bottom of my review to discover what you need to do before installing this plugin if you are expecting to use the “free” elements)
I found this plugin searching the net for a free Google Maps element and landed on their website homepage – their homepage has a section proudly displaying some “free elements” and a bold call to action button saying “ALL FREE ELEMENTS” which after being clicked opens a page displaying what you would reasonably be led to believe are ALL FREE ELEMENTS…
So I browse ALL the FREE ELEMENTS displayed on the page and find the Google Maps element that I came to their website for… ahh wonderful let me give these guys a try and go ahead and install the plugin so that I can use the Google Maps element I came for and then maybe also spend some time exploring the other elements they have to offer seeing as they had what I was looking for and feeling positive about discovering these guys…
So I go ahead and install the plugin and then… Crash! Boom!! Bang!!!
REALITY SHIFT NUMBER 1
Turns out all the “FREE ELEMENTS” I was presented with on their website page after clicking the “ALL FREE ELEMENTS” button are not actually ALL FREE ELEMENTS and yip you guessed it – the free Google Maps element I came for in the first place is NOT one of the free elements either!
UGGGGHHHHH ??
Ok maybe I am missing something here – let me reach out to the support chat on their website…
I sent a chat message with screenshots of their website journey I went on and ALL FREE ELEMENTS I was presented with after clicking the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button on their homepage…
I received a prompt reply on their website support chat and was introduced to a friendly guy called Gary (kudos to them for being responsive – and on a Sunday) and Gary thanked me for bringing this to his attention and that he will take a quick dive into what I shared with him and get back to me shortly…
Gary came back to me promptly (kudos again for being responsive) and apologised sincerely for this situation because yes… when you click on the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button on their homepage it takes you to a page where you are (unknowingly) presented with their full catalog of elements which displays all of their free AND pro (payment required) elements mixed together on the same page – BUT none of the elements displayed on this page have any label or tag disclosing which element is free and which element requires a pro subscription – so how are you supposed to know? You are still browsing in the “false” reality that all the elements presented to you on this page after clicking the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button on the homepage are actually ALL FREE ELEMENTS
And then the chat with Gary took a weird turn > cue the brakes screeching sound effects while sliding straight into the next reality shift…
REALITY SHIFT NUMBER 2
Gary explained to me that “it seems that you have shared an old screenshot“… Huh? Sorry what?? Ok maybe I am suffering a mild concussion from the pile up of reality shifts I am experiencing from being in this situation so far???
Ok… just give me a moment to wait for the concussion birds to stop tweeting around my head, take a deep breath and now try to get my head around this one…
“It seems that you have shared an old screenshot” – but I just took the screenshot a few minutes ago off your live website??
I know that a few minutes in the life cycle of a mosquito translates to approximately 14 years in human time – so yes on planet mosquito a few minutes ago could be described as “old” – but I am not a mosquito. I am a human where 3 minutes ago does not make something “old”. On my planet 3 minutes ago is exactly that… 3 minutes ago.
And then Gary went on to state that “we have updated this interface” which gave me the impression that they had promptly got to work diving in to fix the misleading presentation of all the (NOT) free elements displayed on their website after clicking the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button. I thought “WOW” kudos to them for taking this seriously, taking swift action, and being dedicated to presenting an honest and accurate journey for visitors browsing their homepage and clicking their call to action buttons.
So I opened up their website homepage to check the amazing swift corrections they had implemented and clicked on the same ALL FREE ELEMENTS button expecting to be directed to a page displaying only all the free elements on offer and… yip you guessed it > cue the steering wheel airbag deploying and bursting right in my face…
REALITY SHIFT NUMBER 3
The page you land on after clicking the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button is still the very same page displaying all the free and pro (paid for) elements still not clearly labelled ‘free’ or ‘pro’
So it begs the questions…
- Why not just direct the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button to point to a page where only all the free elements are displayed? Or…
- If the button is still going to direct you to the current page where the free AND the pro elements are presented then simply change the button text to “ALL FREE & PRO ELEMENTS” and at least clearly label which elements are free and which elements are pro?? Or…
- Direct the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button to point to the already published page buried somewhere else in their website (which Gary politely gave me the link to in our chat) where a compare chart displays the free and pro elements for you to see???
Well the answer is simple folks – if they designed the website visitor’s browsing journey that begins on their homepage to be clear and honest then I would not have installed their plugin because all I wanted was the free (not actually free) Google Maps element.
But plugin creators need you to install their plugin. It helps them present their product as amazing because they achieved a gazillion installations and have the genuine installation stats to back up the claim… regardless of if you immediately uninstalled the plugin because you soon discovered it was useless to you AFTER installing it (I wonder what difference it would make to installation prospects for plugin creators if we were presented with how many times a plugin was uninstalled also?)
So they achieved their goal – I installed their plugin and now they can proudly add my installation to their count. Now they have achieved a gazillion plus one more installations – congrats guys. But I did not achieve my goal of being able to use the (free but not free) Google Maps element I was duped into installing.
That makes the score: ESSENTIAL ADDONS 1 and ME 0.
But this was not an honest game. Heck I wasn’t even aware that I was playing a game to begin with.
And lets face it – experiences like this leave an unavoidable bad taste in the mouth for “would be” customers (he says while still spitting and sputtering the exploded air bag powder out of his mouth)
It is an unfortunate reality these days that full disclosure (without the prepared scripted excuse that disclosures are actually represented on another page placed deliberately further down the website browsing journey) could actually be a valid unique selling point for businesses to consider to stand out from the crowd.
SOME HELPFUL TIPS TO THIS PLUGIN TEAM ABOUT REALITY SHIFTS
- Trickery designed into your website user’s journey only creates distrust in the end
- Offering a trojan horse as a gift only creates insult in the end
- Talking nonsense dressed as support only creates annoyance in the end
- Having to delete a plugin immediately after installing it because only after installing it do you discover that it does not actually deliver what you were presented with before deciding to install (commonly known as the ol ‘bait n switch’) and then also have to clean the database of leftover shrapnels of unwanted plugin code only creates an infuriated website designer in the end
- All of the above only leads to a 1 star (honest) review in the end
And please guys, let’s not beat around the bush and just acknowledge it for what it is – your homepage design and your “ALL FREE ELEMENTS” call to action button on your homepage directing to a page that displays all your free (but not actually free) elements is a deliberate and misleading website design tactic on your part. And it works – I installed your plugin.
All I wanted was a free Google Maps element, came across your plugin website, and now look what’s happened… you got an unwanted 1 star review and I got 3 unwanted reality shifts.
So it seems that the final score at the end of this experience is: ESSENTIAL ADDONS 1 and ME 3.
Just a pity that nobody is a winner in this game you have designed. We are both losers. You got something you don’t want (another 1 star review) and didn’t get something I wanted (a free Google Maps element)
I must say that I much prefer realities where everyone is made aware of what they are getting themselves into and where all parties participate in good faith and support each other to achieve their shared goal = everybody wins.
I also believe in second chances and the opportunity to make things right so I am happy to present you with…
A CHALLENGE PUT TO ESSENTIAL ADDONS WHERE DOING THE RIGHT THING MEANS EVERYBODY IS A WINNER!
**Disclaimer** This challenge does not involve any untested, unfamiliar, unethical, undisclosed nor underhanded concepts.
The premise of the challenge is simple and is based on well established best practices of suppliers/sellers/service providers acting in good faith with regard to advertising, publishing, commerce and their reputation.
An ethical business is obliged and expected (without having to be told, reminded or forced) to reasonably correct any experience where their advertising, published content, products and/or services has negatively affected or misled any person or customer who has engaged with or been exposed to their advertising, published content, product and/or services.
So, under the circumstances and with regard to everything that has been shared, I propose that Essential Addons helps to make everyone a winner (including future visitors to their website who will be going down the ALL FREE ELEMENTS rabbit hole like I did today) by challenging you to:
CREATE A 4TH AND FINAL REALITY SHIFT (cue the opening soundtrack to Top Gun and enter the Kenny Loggins ‘Danger Zone’) except this time the reality shift will be for Essential Addons by taking action to implement the following fair and reasonable remedies:
- Direct the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button on your homepage to land on a page that actually ONLY displays ALL FREE ELEMENTS, or
- Change the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button text on your homepage to something like ALL FREE & PRO ELEMENTS if you insist that the button must still direct to land on the current website page which displays the free (and secretly NOT free) elements AND be sure to clearly label the free and pro elements displayed here
- Provide me with the free Google Maps element that was displayed to me on your website page after clicking the ALL FREE ELEMENTS button which led me to reasonably believe that it is actually free and install your plugin (and yes yes, I know – there are many free Google Maps plugins to be sourced elsewhere and of course I will inevitably need to go find and install one of them now) however this is a gesture you should instinctively offer as a courtesy apology as that is what is published on your website page where your ALL FREE ELEMENTS button on your homepage explicitly leads your website visitor to
I am more than happy to revisit this review and rating should the Essential powers that be find value in what has been learned here today and apply themselves to making everyone winner.
However I have a feeling that my challenge is destined to die a slow and quiet death here in a distant corner of the plugin review universe > cue the tumble weed rolling by and the vultures circling up above.
If anything, and to all those who might have decided to read this review and have actually read all the way to this point (big round of applause – especially if you didn’t need to take a pee break halfway through) I hope that this review at least provides one helpful tip to all considering installing this plugin because of some free features you are expecting to be able to use…
BEWARE BEFORE INSTALLING THIS PLUGIN AND MAKE SURE YOU DIVE DEEPER DOWN THE ESSENTIAL RABBIT HOLE TO FIND THE LIST OF WHICH ELEMENTS ARE ACTUALLY FREE BECAUSE THE FREE ELEMENTS YOU ARE SHOWN ON THEIR WEBSITE PAGE AFTER CLICKING THE “ALL FREE ELEMENTS” BUTTON ON THEIR HOMEPAGE ARE DEFINITELY NOT ALL FREE ELEMENTS.
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