2011-04-28 Sherwood Branches Testimonials

stock photo testimonial

Sherwood Branches

Back in December of 2010, Sherwood Electronics Laboratories Inc introduced Branches 1.0, a new genealogy application. Sherwood claimed that it is was the first and best graphical genealogy software, I was not impressed by either their application or their claims.

That Sherwood thinks their application is the best isn't unusual; many vendors make similar claims. That Sherwood believes their application is the first graphical genealogy software, when it most certainly isn't, could be a misconception resulting from a lack of market research. That is a mistake we can forgive, but not every mistake Sherwood Electronics makes is as easy to forgive.

ostensible testimonial

When I reviewed Branches back in December, I noticed that, although this was Branches 1.0, the very first release of their software, they already had a customer testimonial on their site. Having customer testimonials before the 1.0 release is odd, but not entirely impossible; perhaps the customer in question tested the 0.9 Beta. However, a little bit of sleuthing soon showed that their ostensible customer wasn't a customer at all, but just a royalty-free stock photo they had licensed through fotolia.

Sherwood exposed

The ostensible testimonial was nothing but a fabrication. I exposed this deliberate deception in my 2010 December review of Branches 1.0.

Branches Download Page

The Sherwood Branches Download page back in December. Sherwood Electronics attributed the testimonial Branches is like having Google Earth™ for genealogy. I can now see all of my family relationships, data, photos, and source documents on one screen. I didn't even read an operator's manual. I was using all the features of Branches within minutes. - complete with trademark-symbol - to this man.

Fotolia: Businessman by Kurhan

However, that statement isn't an actual testimonial. That man isn't a Sherwood Electronics customer. In fact, it is closer to the truth to say that Sherwood Electronics is his customer; that is royaltee-free stock photo 6619971 Businessman by Kurhan obtained from fotolia.com.

Branches 1.2

Sherwood Branches received a well-deserved dishonourable mention for their poor software and their dishonest business practice in the GeneAwards 2010.
It is 2011 now. New year, new chances.

Sherwood recently released Branches 1.2 and significantly lowered the asking price from US$ 39,95 to US$ 14,95. Sherwood claims the new version is not only cheaper, but faster and better as well. I did some quick tests and immediately experienced unhandled exception dialog boxes again…

updated site

I had another look at their website and noticed that Sherwood did not only have an updated version of their application, but an updated website as well. Back in December, the site had the fabricated testimonial on the download page. The menu title has changed from Download to Free Tial, but the page itself seems unchanged. The site still features the same ostensible testimonial as before.

Branches Download Page

The Download page back in December.

Branches Free Trial Page

The Free Trial page today.

doubly disappointing

My observation that Using stock photos is a common practice, attributing quotes to them is not seems to have been lost on Sherwood Electronics.

After I exposed the ostensible testimonial as a fabrication, Sherwood could have issued an apology and removed it. That they have not done so is disappointing already. It is doubly disappointing really, as it not only suggests a lack of business ethics, it also suggests that their product is so poor that they did not receive any real testimonials to replace the fabricated one with.

home page

Sherwood could have issued an apology, removed the fabricated testimonial, and moved on. If they had done so, it would have become nothing more than a rarely remembered past mistake. If they had done so, articles would focus on the quality of their product instead of their deceptive marketing tactics. Sherwood actually decided to do just the opposite. Sherwood Electronics has not only continued to promote their product using the already exposed testimonial, they have even decided to up the ante.

Branches Home Page with Bob L.

This is Sherwood's current home page. It promimently features two customers testimonials top centre.

Bob L. says Most genealogy programs are stuck back in the DOS days. They are essentially computerized pedigrees and family group sheets. Branches has done something that no one else has done..

Mary S. says The graphical view of my family tree makes it so easy to see areas that need more work. And I can move through my tree in seconds.

more testimonials

The What is Branches? text on the right keeps repeating the comparison to Google Earth. Remarkably, so does at least one of the ostensible customer testimonial.

There is a third testimonial on the home page, below the Watch Branches Demo button, and above the 30 Day Free Trial button.
The screenshot above shows a quote attributed to Joan E.: Branches is so easy that even my young children love viewing their ancestors. They love zooming in on the pictures., but if you refresh the page, the testimonial changes.

Barb J. says I challenge you to find another genealogy program that gives you such a depth and richness of features at such a low price. There simply is no other program that even comes close..

Karl L. says The developers of Branches have broken the mold of old stodgy genealogy programs. Their approach is unique and brilliant. It is intuitive and easy to use..

Steve M. says They have presented the family tree and data in a way that is pure genius. This software is on a par with Google Earth in its power and flexibility. It shows pure data in a way that is logical and intuitive..

more changes

After refreshing the page several times to see more testimonials, I noticed that that it was not only the testimonial between the below the Watch Branches Demo button and above the 30 Day Free Trial button that kept changing. Suddenly, Bob. L. had changed name to Robert D. and Robert D. opinined that: Sending family info and pictures to relatives can't be simpler. Branches does all the work for me..

Branches Home Page with Robert d.

The Sherwoord Branches home page again: Bob L. has changed name to Robert D..

Some additional pagerefreshing shows that Bob L. / Robert D. is also known as Richard G. (There is simply no other genealogy software that offers so much for so little. I just don’t know how they can do it), George B. (Viewing sources and source documents is so easy with Branches. I can see everything in one place just by zooming in) and John L. (Branches makes complex tasks simple and fast. It takes the mundane away. It is like a breath of fresh air. And the price. I still think it is a misprint. No software this good should be sold for a price this low.). This remarkable guy has more identities than Tom Cruise during a Mission Impossible movie.

However often I refreshed the page, Mary S. remained Mary S..
That made me wonder, who is Mary S.?

Mary S.

Ezine Articles author Wendy Gorman

Ezine Articles Wendy Gorman

Sherwood's Mary S. is perhaps best known as Ezine Articles Platinum Level Expert Author author Wendy Gorman. She joined in 2008, and has written about such diverse topics as making money online and floral tattoos, but seems to specialise in articles about job interview success and learning Spanish. Her Ezine Articles profile links back to her personal website, All About Alzheimer's.

All About Alzheimer's

property agent

Wendy holds down a job as a property agent in England.

Property Live

executive coach

She is an Executive Coach with Flynn Heath Holt.

Flynn Heath Holt

financial advisor

She represents the Institute of Financial Advisers.

Institute of Financial Advisors

iStockPhoto 6248326

The aforementioned functions are just a small sampling of her more than impressive resume.

iStockPhoto 6243826

The simple truth is that iStockPhoto 6243826 Close-up of businesswoman smiling with arms crossed against white background has proven popular with a wide range of businesses.

conclusion

Sherwood not only continues to promote Branches through the frabricated testimonial on their download page which I exposed last year already, hey've added many more ostensible testimonials, but it is hard to believe any of these are real.

The ostensible quotes sound do not sound like real customers, but like sentences from a press release. One ostensible customer's name and opinion are as fickle as a page refresh. The one ostensible customer whose name and quote seem stable isn't a customer at all. Sherwood Electronics has once again been caught attributing an ostensible testimonial to a stock photo.