Methodology
How Reviews and the RugRate Score Work
Two different things sit on every company listing: star ratings from other platforms, and the RugRate Score out of 5 that combines them with what the company publishes.
How a Review Is Checked
The same steps apply to positive and negative reviews.
- Step 1
One job, one review
A review describes a single job arranged with that company.
- Step 2
Guideline check
Every review is checked against the review guidelines before it appears.
- Step 3
Right of reply
The company can respond publicly once the review is published.
- Step 4
Reporting
Anyone can report a review, and reports are reviewed against the same rules.
- Step 5
No paid placement
A company cannot pay to remove a review or raise its score.
RugRate Score
What Goes Into the Score
- Customer rating — up to 2.5The average of every star rating the company holds, weighted by the number of reviews behind each one. RugRate’s own reviews join this average, as one more source, once a company has 5 published RugRate reviews. Below that, this component uses only the ratings published on other platforms.
- Weight of evidence — up to 1.0How many reviews support that average, on a log scale, counting RugRate’s own reviews once they join the average above. Roughly 300 reviews earns the full point.
- Track record — up to 0.75Years in business as the company states them; 25 years earns the full amount.
- Listing completeness — up to 0.75Address, where rugs are cleaned, range of services, presence on more than one platform, and specifics about how it works.
The score is shown out of 5, to one decimal place, and always next to the star ratings so you can see both. Every company’s profile shows its four components, so the total can be checked line by line.
Deliberately excluded
What the Score Does Not Measure
- Advertising spend or any paid relationship with RugRate
- How large or old the company is, on its own
- A single five-star or one-star review
- Any single platform’s star rating, taken on its own as our score
Methodology — FAQs
Which companies have a RugRate Score?
Every listed company with a star rating on at least one platform, or 5 or more published RugRate reviews, carries a score, computed from the four inputs above. A company with no rating anywhere shows "Not scored yet" rather than a low score.
Why show a score out of 5 as well as stars?
Because a star average answers one question: were customers happy? The score covers things a star rating misses, such as whether the quoted price was the price paid.
Can a company improve its score?
Yes, by doing the things the score measures: writing clear all-in quotes, stating the method, responding quickly and fixing problems properly.
Can a company pay for a better score?
No. Advertising and listing upgrades have no effect on the score, and paid placement is never presented as a ranking.