How Groovyn ranks shops and checks facts

By default we show shops we have confirmed first. After that, shops are ordered by their Google rating, adjusted for how many reviews the rating rests on, so a handful of reviews cannot beat hundreds. Placement is not for sale.

On a listing page, and in “Shops worth knowing” on the home page, shops are sorted by these rules, in this order. A shop is placed by the first rule that separates it from the next.

1. Shops our editors have chosen to feature. This is an editorial choice and is never sold.
2. Shops that gave us their own rate card.
3. Shops whose listing facts we have verified.
4. Everyone else, by the adjusted Google score below. A shop with no Google rating comes after rated shops, and ties go in alphabetical order.

Sorting by stars alone is misleading. A shop with a single five-star review would beat one with 653 reviews at 4.8. So each shop’s rating is pulled towards the average of the shops it is compared with, and the fewer reviews it has, the harder it is pulled.

score = (v ÷ (v + 50)) × R + (50 ÷ (v + 50)) × C

• R is the shop’s Google rating and v is its number of Google reviews.
• C is the average rating of the shops being compared.
• 50 is how many reviews it takes for a shop’s own rating to outweigh that average.

“Top rated on Google” uses only the adjusted score above, with none of the confirmation rules. Price and name sorts do what they say.

• The shops themselves, through claims, rate cards and offers.
• Google, for ratings, review counts and some details. These are shown as Google’s and refreshed from time to time.
• Our own checks, by phone and in person.
• Suggestions from the public, which we check before a shop is listed.

• A shop’s own rate card, with the date it was given.
• An indicative range, which is our own research. It is not a quote.
• On request, when we do not know.

We never show an estimate as if the shop had said it. Always confirm a price with the shop.

A Verified listing is one whose facts, such as the address and phone number, the Groovyn team has checked. It is not a guarantee of the quality of a shop’s work.

• We do not take money for placement, ratings or guides.
• We do not earn commission on what you buy from a shop.
• Shops cannot change their Google rating, and we do not change it either.

If we ever offer paid placement, it will be labelled “Sponsored” and kept out of these rankings.

A rating is one signal. A skilled tailor with few reviews can be better than a popular one with many, and a rating cannot say whether a shop suits your outfit or budget. Use the order as a starting point, then confirm the details with the shop. If you spot a wrong detail, email groovyntech@gmail.com and we will check it.

In our guides we say where a figure came from, label estimates as estimates, show when a guide was last updated, and correct mistakes quickly when readers point them out.

More about us is on the About page.