Trustpilot Reviews: Why We Believe Experience, Reputation and Longevity Matter More.
When you are choosing a company to supply your exhibition stands, banner stands, printed graphics or promotional displays, online reviews can seem like the obvious place to start.
Type a company name into Google and you will often see a Trustpilot score, a star rating and perhaps thousands of customer reviews.
But should the number of reviews really be the deciding factor?
At Stand Banner, we don’t believe it should.
We have been designing, printing and supplying exhibition and display products for more than 35 years. During that time, we have supplied displays to thousands upon thousands of customers, from small businesses ordering a single banner stand to major organisations requiring complete exhibition and promotional display solutions.
That is why we believe there is much more to choosing a reputable display company than looking at a review score.
Is Trustpilot Really the Best Measure of a Company’s Reputation?
Let’s be clear: Trustpilot is a significant review platform, and genuine customer reviews can be useful.
However, we don’t believe any online review platform should automatically be regarded as the definitive measure of whether a company is trustworthy.
Trustpilot itself recognises that fake reviews and attempts to manipulate review platforms are genuine problems. In its 2025 Trust Report, Trustpilot said that 4.5 million fake reviews were removed during 2024, representing 7.4% of all reviews submitted. It also reported that the majority of detected fake reviews removed were positive.
That statistic alone demonstrates why consumers should be cautious about treating a review score as absolute proof of a company’s quality.
Trustpilot says it uses automated technology, artificial intelligence and specialist investigators to identify suspicious reviews, including reviews that may have been purchased. Stand banner reviews :we have many fake and negative reviews from competitors.
We welcome those efforts.
But our point is simple:
Online reviews should be one piece of evidence, not the entire picture.
The Problem With Buying Reviews
One of the biggest concerns surrounding online review platforms is the existence of businesses and individuals offering review manipulation services.
There is an entire ecosystem surrounding online reputation management, review generation and, in some cases, fraudulent reviews.
The problem isn’t necessarily limited to positive reviews.
Fake or manipulated reviews can potentially be used to:
- Inflate the reputation of a company.
- Damage the reputation of a competitor.
- Create an artificially high review count.
- Generate misleading five-star ratings.
- Post damaging one-star reviews.
- Create multiple accounts.
- Attempt to influence search results.
- Make a relatively new company appear far more established than it actually is.
Trustpilot explicitly prohibits fake reviews and says businesses must not ask people to write fake positive or negative reviews. It also prohibits competitors and people with certain relationships to a business from writing reviews because of the potential for bias.
The existence of those rules is important because it demonstrates that review manipulation isn’t simply a theoretical concern.
It is something the review industry actively has to combat.
Could a Company Accumulate Thousands of Reviews Quickly?
This is another reason we believe consumers should look beyond the headline number.
A company with thousands of reviews might look impressive.
But consumers should ask:
How long has the company actually been trading?
How many customers does it have?
Does its history support the reputation suggested by its review profile?
Does it have an established physical presence?
Can you find evidence of the company operating over many years?
Does it have a long-standing customer base?
A large review count accumulated over a relatively short period isn’t necessarily proof that anything improper has happened. Businesses can legitimately generate large numbers of reviews through high-volume sales and systematic, compliant review invitations.
Trustpilot itself allows businesses to invite customers to leave reviews, provided the process is fair and unbiased. Its current guidelines state that businesses should invite customers consistently rather than selectively asking only happy customers.
Therefore, the number of reviews alone tells you very little about how established a business actually is.
Trust the History, Not Just the Star Rating
This is particularly important when buying exhibition equipment.
A banner stand might look like a relatively simple product.
But when you are buying for an important exhibition, product launch, shopping centre promotion or corporate event, there is much more at stake.
You need to know that the company understands:
- Printing.
- Graphic design.
- Exhibition requirements.
- Display hardware.
- Fire-rated materials.
- Installation.
- Delivery deadlines.
- Artwork preparation.
- Replacement graphics.
- Product specifications.
- Event deadlines.
A company that has been doing this for decades has accumulated something that can’t simply be created by generating thousands of online reviews:
experience.
Stand Banner – More Than 35 Years in the Industry
Stand Banner has been involved in banner stands, exhibition displays, graphic design and large-format printing for over 35 years.
That means our reputation has been built over decades rather than months.
Over that period, we have worked with thousands of customers and produced countless displays for businesses, exhibitions, retail environments, events and promotional campaigns.
We have seen the industry change dramatically.
Printing technology has changed.
Display hardware has changed.
Exhibition design has changed.
Digital marketing has transformed how businesses promote themselves.
But one thing hasn’t changed:
customers still need their displays to arrive correctly, look professional and work when they need them.
That is what matters to us.
Why Don’t We Have Thousands of Online Reviews?
This is an interesting question.
You might reasonably ask:
“If Stand Banner has been trading for more than 35 years, why doesn’t it have hundreds of thousands of reviews?”
The answer is surprisingly simple.
Most customers don’t leave reviews.
Even when you go above and beyond for them.
We have customers who have been using us for years.
We have customers who call us with urgent requirements.
We have customers who need artwork changed at the last minute.
We have customers who need a banner for an exhibition the following morning.
We have customers who call outside normal working hours.
And sometimes we answer.
Saturday evening?
We’ve done it.
Sunday?
We’ve done it.
An urgent exhibition deadline?
We’ve helped.
A customer who has made a mistake with their artwork?
We try to help.
A customer who has ordered the wrong product?
We try to find a solution.
But how often does that result in a review?
Not nearly as often as you might imagine.
People Are More Likely to Complain Than Compliment
There is a well-known phenomenon in customer service: people are often more motivated to complain about a bad experience than to praise a good one.
Imagine two customers.
Customer A receives their banner stand on time, the printing looks fantastic and everything goes perfectly.
They unpack it.
They use it.
They attend their exhibition.
Then they get on with their lives.
They may never leave a review.
Customer B experiences a delivery problem.
Perhaps the courier is delayed because of traffic.
Perhaps an event venue changes its delivery instructions.
Perhaps the customer ordered the wrong size.
Perhaps they misunderstood the product specification.
Perhaps an element has been damaged in transit.
The customer is understandably frustrated.
And suddenly they find the time to write a review.
That doesn’t mean their complaint shouldn’t be taken seriously.
It absolutely should.
But it does demonstrate why a handful of negative reviews shouldn’t automatically outweigh decades of successful trading.
What About Negative Reviews?
We aren’t claiming that every negative review is fake.
Far from it.
Every established business will have customers who aren’t completely satisfied.
Sometimes we get things wrong.
Sometimes a courier lets us down.
Sometimes a customer has misunderstood what they ordered.
Sometimes artwork isn’t supplied correctly.
Sometimes expectations don’t match the product.
And sometimes there are simply genuine service failures.
Those customers deserve to be heard.
However, review platforms can also contain reviews that businesses believe don’t accurately represent a genuine customer experience.
Trustpilot provides processes for businesses to flag reviews that may breach its guidelines, including reviews that aren’t based on a genuine experience. Trustpilot also says that businesses should not flag reviews simply because they dislike criticism or disagree with a rating.
We believe that is the right principle.
Genuine criticism should be allowed.
But fraudulent or malicious content should not.
What About Competitors?
Competition is healthy.
The exhibition and printing industry is highly competitive, with hundreds of companies offering banner stands, roller banners, pop-up displays and printed graphics.
We have no problem with competition.
Our concern is when competition potentially crosses the line into unethical behaviour.
A competitor should win business because they offer:
- Better products.
- Better service.
- Better prices.
- Better turnaround times.
- Better design.
- Better customer support.
Not because they have managed to manipulate somebody else’s online reputation.
Trustpilot’s own guidelines prohibit competitors from writing reviews about a business because of the potential for biased feedback.
That tells you something important:
the industry recognises that competitor-generated reviews can compromise the integrity of a review platform.
Review Manipulation Is a Two-Way Problem
It’s important to make another point.
Fake reviews aren’t only about attacking competitors.
Businesses can also manipulate their own reputation by attempting to generate fake positive reviews.
That’s why we don’t believe consumers should automatically equate:
5 stars + 3,000 reviews = best company.
It might.
But it might not.
Instead, look at the complete picture.
How Long Has the Company Been Trading?
This is one of the first questions we recommend asking.
A company that has been trading for 30 or 40 years has a history.
You can investigate it. Yes!. Originally back in *0’s the company was called sign solutions, after that we had an off shoot called www.design-matrix.co.uk afer that we had Stand Banner.
You can look for:
- Old websites.
- Company history.
- Previous projects.
- Industry references.
- Archived information.
- Established premises.
- Long-standing customers.
- Industry experience.
- Product knowledge.
That information is much harder to manufacture than an online review profile.
What Should You Look for When Buying a Banner Stand?
Don’t simply ask:
“Who has the highest Trustpilot score?”
Ask:
“Who has the experience to deliver what I actually need?”
Consider:
Experience
How long has the company been designing and supplying display equipment?
Printing
Does the company understand large-format printing and colour management?
Materials
Are the graphics suitable for your intended environment?
Fire Rating
If you’re exhibiting indoors, does the product have the required B1 fire certification?
Delivery
Can the company meet your exhibition deadline?
Artwork
Can they help if your artwork isn’t correct?
Replacement Graphics
Can you order replacement or interchangeable graphics in the future?
Customer Support
Can you actually speak to someone when you have a problem?
Product Knowledge
Does the supplier understand exhibition and retail requirements?
These questions can be much more valuable than a star rating.
Why We Believe Longevity Matters
At Stand Banner, we don’t claim that being in business for more than 35 years automatically makes us perfect.
It doesn’t.
We are human.
Mistakes happen.
Printers fail.
Couriers get stuck in traffic.
Customers change their minds.
Artwork can go wrong.
Events can change.
What 35+ years does provide, however, is experience.
We’ve been through thousands of customer requirements.
We’ve seen almost every exhibition deadline imaginable.
We’ve produced countless different types of display.
We’ve dealt with urgent orders.
We’ve dealt with replacement graphics.
We’ve helped customers who weren’t sure what they needed.
And we’ve continued operating through enormous changes in the printing and exhibition industry.
That longevity means something.
Don’t Just Trust Us – Do Your Research
We’re not asking customers to ignore reviews.
We’re asking them to put reviews into context.
Look at the company website.
Look at its history.
Look at its products.
Look at its physical presence.
Look at its experience.
Look at its customer service.
Look at independent information.
Look at the consistency of the company’s reputation over many years.
And then look at the reviews.
Reviews should be part of your research – not the entire research process.
Our View on Trustpilot Isn’t good!
So, does Stand Banner believe Trustpilot is completely useless?
No.
There are genuine reviews on Trustpilot, and genuine customer feedback can be valuable.
Does Stand Banner believe Trustpilot should automatically be treated as the ultimate authority on whether a company is trustworthy?
Absolutely not.
The fact that Trustpilot itself removed millions of fake reviews demonstrates that review manipulation is a real challenge for the online review industry. In 2024 alone, Trustpilot reported removing 4.5 million fake reviews.
That doesn’t prove that every negative review is fake.
It doesn’t prove that every positive review is genuine.
And it certainly doesn’t prove that a particular competitor has manipulated reviews.
What it does demonstrate is that consumers should approach online review scores with a degree of critical thinking.
Our Advice Is Simple
When you’re spending hundreds or thousands of pounds on exhibition equipment, don’t make your decision based solely on a star rating.
Look for experience.
Look for expertise.
Look for longevity.
Look for quality.
Look for customer service.
Look at the products.
And look at the complete picture.
A company that has successfully served customers for more than 35 years has something that can’t be created overnight.
It has history.
It has experience.
It has knowledge.
And most importantly, it has had to keep customers happy year after year to remain in business.
Stand Banner – 35+ Years of Experience
Stand Banner has been supplying banner stands, exhibition displays, printed graphics and promotional equipment for more than 35 years.
We’ve built our reputation through customers, not simply through review scores.
We’ve worked with businesses of all sizes, from small independent companies to major organisations.
We’ve helped customers with straightforward orders and complicated exhibition requirements.
We’ve answered urgent calls.
We’ve worked outside normal hours when customers have needed help.
And we’ve continued to invest in printing, design, products and customer service.
That’s the reputation we value.
Not a number beside a star.
Not an algorithm.
Not a review count.
35+ years of real-world experience.
Read Our History
If you want to understand where Stand Banner came from and how the business has developed over more than three decades, we recommend reading our company history.
Understanding the history of a company can tell you considerably more than a five-star rating.
You can explore Stand Banner’s products, services and company information on our website:
Stand Banner – Banner Stands, Exhibition Displays & Printing
Final Thought: Trust Your Instinct
The next time you’re choosing an exhibition stand supplier, don’t simply ask:
“Who has the most reviews?”
Ask:
“Who has the experience?”
“Who has been doing this for decades?”
“Who will still be here when I need replacement graphics next year?”
“Who can help if something goes wrong?”
“Who understands exhibitions, printing and display equipment?”
Online reviews have their place.
But they are only one part of the story.
At Stand Banner, we believe the strongest reputation is one built over time.
35+ years. Thousands upon thousands of customers. Decades of printing, design and exhibition experience.
That’s the reputation we stand behind.
And that’s why, when it comes to choosing an exhibition and banner stand supplier, our advice is simple:
Don’t just trust the reviews.
Trust the experience.
For more information on service please contact us or call Stand Banner on: 0800 246 1352. or on WhatsApp.
We’ll ensure your custom exhibition stand arrives on time, giving your brand the attention it deserves.