We Don’t Do PR. Sorry for the Confusion.

There’s a long-running problem with running SolarQuotes¹. When you write about smart ideas or gear that works well, the phones light up. Manufacturers call to say thanks. They invite you to factories. They offer free gear to test and keep. They love the spotlight when it suits them.

A Meltdown In The Echo Chamber

But if you shine that same light on a problem, such as in our recent coverage of Sigenergy’s inverter problems and the subsequent recall, some flip fast.

One day they are cheering you on. The next day it’s the full routine. “Clickbait!”, “You only care about clicks!”, “You don’t get how things work in the real world!” Sometimes a letter arrives from a bush lawyer.

Here’s the thing. If you only talk about the good stuff, you are not running a media channel. You’re running PR. And not very good PR at that. It is a rotten way to treat readers. It is a rotten way to treat installers. And it is a rotten way to treat the wider industry.

Who wants to live in a world where a company gets applause on Monday but when the same company cooks a board, melts a plug, or ships a dud update on Friday, the whole thing gets swept under the rug. Some folks seem fine with that, which still puzzles me.

Perhaps an opposing view that cuts across their Facebook echo chamber throws them off. Or maybe they simply think any pushback slows sales a bit. It might, for a short moment. But the real sales killer, the one that sticks, is losing trust over time.

Sigenergy inverter plugs are suffering meltdowns, as are the company’s cheerleaders across the industry.

Locking Away The Bad News

So this is a note to the people telling us to stop reporting problems. Think about what you are asking for. You are not asking for fairness. You are asking for silence. You want the good news loud and the bad news locked away until the big company gives its blessing and approves all copy.

That’s not a world I want to live in. And it’s sure not a world anyone at SolarQuotes wants to write about.

If we shine a light, it shines everywhere. If that upsets a few folks, so be it. Readers deserve the truth as and when it happens.

Phase Shift is a weekly opinion column by SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock. Subscribe to SolarQuotes’ free newsletter to get it emailed to your inbox each week along with our other home electrification coverage.