GE Appliances Nixes Negative Reviews

In June 2018, we ordered a GE Profile gas cooktop, this 5 burner 30" model, the PGP7030SLSS.  As a cooktop, it was a nice upgrade from the as-base-as-possible 30" GE gas cooktop that the builder installed in 2003.  None of the burners on the old one were high output, so it took forever to boil a large pot.  It was also all black, and we've been replacing the original black appliances with stainless ones.  This new model was the same size and so wouldn't need any countertop modifications to go in.  We purchased through Costco.

The cooktop has been fine as a cooking appliance, but has turned out to leave a bit to be desired in the way of finish durability.  The black label text around each of the knobs has worn off in places from cleaning.  I do not think we've used anything abrasive there, as nearly all kitchen cleaning for us just ends up using a multi-surface spray like Puracy.  I think this wore off just from applied pressured while cleaning with non-abrasive cleaners:

What can also be see in the above picture is the finish wearing off of a knob.  This is pretty minor compared to the bigger problem: knob melting.  See the knob on the far right here:

It looks like new knobs can be ordered at $20/each.  In reviews on the GE site, several other reviews mention knobs melting.  GE responded to a few of those reviews, stating that the knobs should not melt and that they would be sent new ones.  I tried to add my voice to the chorus; if I had seen all of these issues ahead of the purchase, I might have purchased a different model (or brand).

I wrote one review, including these pictures.  I received a notification a few hours later that my review had been 'moderated.'  The email listed guidelines that needed to be followed:

• Keep your review focused on the product.
• Avoid writing about customer service, contact us instead if you have issues requiring immediate attention.
• Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
• Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

I hadn't voilated any of these in my original review, but thought perhaps there were some specifics that were tripping it up, such as mentioning detail about the prior unit or noting that other reviewers seemed to be experiencing knob melting.  I resubmitted it with that missing...and got the same moderation email for the new review.

I did it one last time the day after, watering it down further yet.  This was the shortest review yet, and definitely does not violate any of the bullets.  And sure enough, it was moderated as well.  I can only imagine they are nixing it due to it being a partially negative review: it notes the good cooking performance, but cites the finish durability downsides, and (maybe more importantly) gives it 3/5 on some of the categories and indicates no for a question on if I would recommend the product to a friend.  Below is a screenshot of the text of my rejected view, taken from this third moderation email.  The formatting of my original review has been stripped (lumping it into one chunk of text), but the content is what I wrote:

This seems like pretty blatant moderation of less-than-positive posts.  I suppose I'll take a more jaded eye towards reviews (or at least reviews on the manufacturer's own site) for whatever kitchen appliance comes next!