How Stoves Online Keep Improving With Reviews.io

Richard Ball

July 8, 2019

5 min read

Stoves Online, a family-run UK supplier of wood-burning stoves, has been helping customers heat their homes for over 35 years. Alongside selling high-quality products, they offer expert installation advice and chimney design - giving customers a complete service experience.

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But even with decades of experience, they know that no business gets everything right 100% of the time. What sets them apart is what happens after something goes wrong.

The Challenge: Misaligned Expectations and a Disappointed Customer

When a customer recently ordered a stove from Stoves Online, what arrived wasn’t quite what she expected. The product listing described the latest model, but the imagery showed both the older and newer versions - leading her to believe she’d receive the older one.

Naturally, she was frustrated to find the new model in the box. When she asked to return the product, she was told she’d need to pay return postage. Feeling misled and let down, she left a negative review.

Without a review collection platform, that could’ve been the end of the story.

The Turning Point: Real-Time Review Alerts in Action

Because Stoves Online use REVIEWS.io, the negative feedback didn’t get buried. It was picked up immediately by Director Sune Nightingale, who acted quickly to fix the issue.

“I think they didn't take long enough to think (the return process) through to be honest. So I talked to the lady and agreed with her that I wasn't happy about that either. I refunded her the delivery cost and then the team met and we reviewed how we handle situations like that. Of course we also corrected the webpage.”

Sune didn’t just respond - he listened. He agreed with the customer, took responsibility, offered a refund, and addressed the confusion on the product page. But most importantly, the team reflected on the internal process and made improvements.

The Outcome: A Happy Customer and a Smarter Business

Because Sune responded personally, and transparently, the customer’s opinion changed. She voluntarily updated her review to reflect the positive resolution.

“The customer was very happy with this outcome and re-reviewed. I didn't even ask her to, that wasn't my plan - she came out and said she wanted to. I was very happy with this outcome because it helped us improve our service process and the way in which we deal with and think about certain types of returns.”

Thanks to this interaction, Stoves Online not only saved the relationship with one customer, they used the experience to improve how they manage product listings and returns for everyone else.

At the time of writing, Stoves Online has collected 1,514 verified reviews with an average rating of 4.9 stars. That glowing reputation isn’t built on perfection - it’s built on transparency, responsiveness, and a willingness to learn.

Key Takeaways: Why Feedback-Driven Brands Win

This isn’t a story about damage control, it’s a story about proactive learning and customer-first thinking.

Here’s what other brands can take from Stoves Online’s approach:

They treat reviews as an ongoing conversation, not a vanity metric
They act fast and personally when something goes wrong
They use feedback to guide operational improvements, not just customer support scripts

“For a business much larger than our rather small one, the benefit of learning from these reviews would very much scale. I'd advise management to actually look over the reviews - they might see really useful ideas being suggested by customers too.”

Want to Handle Reviews Like Stoves Online?

REVIEWS.io gives you the tools to monitor, respond to, and act on customer feedback in real time - so you can turn every review into a learning opportunity.

‍Book a demo and discover how review-driven brands build better businesses.