Frequently Asked Questions

Our name really has 2 parts: WOM and Beat!

The WOM stands for Word-Of-Mouth. As we all know, WOM is the most trusted source of information and the best way to find out about local businesses.

Beat? Well frankly all of the good wombat domain names were already taken, but WOMbeat! sounded fun. (Hey, you wanted an honest answer!)

WOMbeat! will give you the best information on local businesses and service providers, period! It's what you want, when you want it from the most trustworthy sources.

Anybody can create a "List" or "Directory" of Businesses. WOMbeat!'s information is based on Word-Of-Mouth recommendation from people you know and trust!

That's because we don't think a bunch of banner ads and 'sponsored results' are in your best interest. You are not interested in search results that are biased towards companies with 'deep pockets' or cluttered with a annoying banner ads.

You want reliable, reputable local businesses and that's all you get on WOMbeat!

Reviews may seem great, but do you really know who's writing them? Was the review your read about that "great auto repair shop" written by the owner?

There has been more than one news article about one of the leading review sites being caught paying people to write reviews to boost content. How does this help you?

One of the other review sites actually requires you to pay a fee in order to use it. Why would you pay to get access to one list full of reviews by people you don't know?

WOMbeat! is genuine Word-Of-Mouth. It's like tapping into many great lists of recommendations from people you know and trust.

A listing is any business location or service provider that can be recommended on WOMbeat! Frequently, a business can have more than one location, so each location would be treated as a separate listing.

The initial Beta (that's tech-speak for "test") version of WOMbeat! is populated with listings from across the state of Florida area. WOMbeat! will soon be available in other markets and eventually across the entire US.

Gladly! At WOMbeat!, we take user privacy very seriously. You probably noticed when you signed up that we only asked for 2 pieces of required information: your email address (so we can communicate with you, of course), and your zip code so WOMbeat! can make your experience relevant to where you are located.

WOMbeat! does not sell or share its information with outside parties, and takes your privacy very seriously.

Only your friends will have your email address.

Only your friends will know that you are the one making those recommendations. Nobody outside of your 'My Friends' page will know your email address or display name when they view a business listing that you are recommending.

Yes and No. Yes, in that the social networking sites allow you and your friends to easily share recommendations. No, in that you do not need to worry about people you don't know suddenly showing up on your friends list. We know you have friends, so we didn't build WOMbeat! with a 'friend finder'.

We get this question a lot. If your group, such as an alumni club, neighborhood association, business networking group, moms' organization, etc. has a list of favorite businesses or service providers, simply have the club join as a regular user (just like you or I would). It's a FREE and easy way for the group to share recommendations.

Step 1: Setup your group's list on WOMbeat

Step 2: Send invitations to your club's membership & you're DONE!

Not only is this FREE, it is usually a lot easier to maintain the list on WOMbeat than it is keep a website updated. Plus, your members can also connect with each other to build an even strong sense of community.

It's very easy. In the top right corner of each page, you'll see 2 boxes titled Looking for and Near. Simply type in "what" you are looking for and "where" you are looking for it (like your ZIP code), and WOMbeat! will give you the results - where you can easily find those recommended by your friends.

There are a couple of great ways to find a recommendation. First, you can send a quick note to all of your friends to see if they have a business they can recommend that might not be on their list. Just look for the Ask for a Recommendation button on the Search Results page or the My Messages page. Second, you can check the recommendations of your Friends of Friends to see what the recommend. Just click on the display name of any of your friends on you're My Friends page to see their recommendations.

"My Directory" contains a list of all the businesses you have recommended or the ones that you might have rated with a negative recommendation in order to warn your friends about them.

Whenever you see a business listing that's not already in your directory, simply click the Add button next to that listing to add it to your directory. You can start by using the Looking for and Near boxes at the top of the page to look up a business you would like to recommend to your friends.

The more businesses you and your friends have in your directories, the better the search experience is for everyone. Additionally, you will eventually be able to receive special offers and rewards from your favorite businesses if you like.

Of course! We realize that sometimes, for whatever reason, your opinion on a business may change. It's easy to change that setting in WOMbeat! Simply go to My Directory and select that business and edit your recommendation for it.

Yes you may. Simply go to My Directory and click "Delete From List" (next to the Trash Can picture) for the listing you would like to remove.

Yes, please do! Business information changes all of the time, and it's a full time effort to keep our site up to date. While we do rely on outside companies for updates, our best information comes from the WOMbeat! users like yourself.

How To Report a New Business:
At the bottom of each page on WOMbeat! in the Help & Support area, you'll see a link titled "Submit a New Listing". Please click on that and tell us as much as you know about that business and we'll get it added to WOMbeat! as soon as possible.

WOMbeat! users are our best source of information on businesses that move, change names, etc., and you can help make WOMbeat! even better by letting us know if a listing needs to be updated.

How To Update a Listing:
Click on that listing and you'll see a button titled "Update This Listing" under the business name. Select the type of update and any information you have and we'll update it as soon as possible.

The more friends, the better the information. We all have our personal lists of favorite businesses, but getting the Word-Of-Mouth (WOM) recommendation the old fashioned way is time consuming.

Adding your friends to WOMbeat! gives you the quality of a true WOM recommendation without playing phone-tag or chasing email messages.

It's simple. There are many places on WOMbeat! to add friends, but the easiest places are either in the My Friends section or the My WOMbeat! section. In either place you'll find a button to "Invite More Friends". All you need is their email address.

As many as you like. Remember, the more people you invite as friends, the more WOM recommendations you can share.

Yes you can. If you have a friend that you no longer want to share recommendations with, simply go to the My Friends section and click the trash can icon next to their name.

This number shows the number of friends that person has in their network.

These settings allow you to block messages from specific friends in WOMbeat! and to not show their recommendations when you do a search.

Yes. At the bottom of each page on WOMbeat! you'll see the help and support options. Simply select "My Display Name and Picture" to make any changes.

Yes. At the bottom of each page on WOMbeat! you'll see the help and support options. Simply select "Change My Password" from this list and follow the directions.

Soon! We know that it can be fun to use your own picture, so this feature is coming very soon! At the bottom of each page on WOMbeat! you'll see the help and support options. Soon, you will be able to select "My Display Name and Picture" to upload a photo or other image.

Please remember that WOMbeat! is a family friendly site, and any inappropriate pictures will be removed by WOMbeat! and may result in account suspension.

You will find the "My Email Settings" link at the bottom of each page on WOMbeat! under the help and support options. Simply click on it to adjust your settings.