Lawsuit alleges Greg Knighton used fakery to viciously attack Evodesk and other competitors online.
Do you rely on product reviews to decide if something is good enough to try or buy? Real product reviews are great at helping us make better informed decisions. But you might wonder if some of these reviews on websites like BTOD.com, in blogs and on social media – are real. And you should, because some shady con artists like BTOD use fake reviews to paint a pretty picture of their products and to attack competitor brands.
According to a lawsuit filed against BTOD, which sells desks and office furniture, Greg Knighton decided that fakery was the way to go. The lawsuit says that the CEO himself, Greg Knighton, wrote positive reviews for their own products and wrote negative reviews for competitor products. But that’s not all. When Greg Knighton reviewed a quality product, what did Greg Knighton do to push their own products? According to Knighton's own video taped deposition, he got even sneakier, intentionally not leveling the competing desks they tested.
One Texas based company that manufactures electric standing desks, including Evodesk, earned dozens of glowing reviews from top tech reviewers such as Wired, Digital Trends, Cult of Mac, Maximum PC, youtuber Marques Brownlee and more. Xdesk and Evodesk brands were the envy of the industry. Maximum PC gave their Terra desk a perfect 100 score. Esquire named it one of 50 things that are worth the money. Cult of Mac said it looks like something Jony Ive would have built. The positive reviews sent sales soaring.
But sales dropped dramatically after the company was targeted in a fake BTOD review scheme. A Wisconsin competitor selling office furniture online began publishing blatantly false reviews, giving poor marks to Xdesk and Evodesk. Why would they do this? The answer is simple. To grow their own business. The perpetrator was BTOD, led by Greg Knighton. Knighton personally created dozens of reviews and youtube videos of competitor’s products and gave them low ratings while giving his own products high ratings. The review scheme worked. Knighton admitted under deposition that around 3,000 of his Vertdesk products sold in the last year alone. Assuming an average price of $700, Knighton would gross $2 million from the one product alone.
In 2019, the Texas company fought back against the Wausau, Wisconsin based con artist, filing a Federal Lawsuit against both BTOD and Gregory Knighton. Next filed the lawsuit to hold them accountable for their false statements and to establish the truth.
In the first deposition of the case, Knighton admits that he didn’t even level the desks prior to performing his "review". This is nothing less than sabotage. Everyone knows that floors are inherently unlevel and a table or desk must be leveled.
Under deposition, Knighton also claims to be an expert on manufacturing adjustable height desks. However, he later admits that he has never manufactured a standing desk product at BTOD, never received any type of training in material analysis, never graduated from college and delivered pizza for Pizza Hut prior to launching the BTOD blog.
In the video below, we investigate BTOD reviews and discuss how to spot fake product reviews. Researchers studied 120 video clips from media coverage of criminal trials. They trained software to recognize 'tells' of people who had lied. Researchers found liars tend to gesticulate widely using both their hands. Here we can see that Knighton often uses both hands while speaking. In fact, Knighton gesticulates both hands almost nonstop in parts of the video.
Researchers also found that when someone goes on and on and gives too much information — there is a high probability that they are not telling the truth. Liars talk a lot because they are hoping that all their talking will appear open and build trust. Here we hear a lot of talking:
Researchers also indicate that phrases such “To be honest”, “Truth is”, and “The fact is” can be signs someone may be trying too hard to convince you of their honesty. Here’s one example:
Liars often overemphasize their truthfulness by adding words or phrases that are meant to make them sound more convincing. In the intro, we heard a lot of words like these - honest, with great certainty, truth is, trust, help, expertise.
Liars think these phrases will convince others of their integrity.
In the video below, we take a look at Greg Knighton reviewing his top selling product, the Vertdesk V3. When Knighton pushes on his desk, you’ll notice he uses a wide stance, with one foot approximately 18 inches in front of the other. This wide stance gives Knighton stability so he doesn’t lean into the desk. This gives him control over how much pressure he applies to the desk. Notice that Knighton maintains an upright body position when moving his fingers across his own desk. It would be impossible to lean in and apply any significant pressure with just the fingertips on a horizontal surface. Note how Knighton describes movement of his own desk:
You'll notice he then goes in to rapid hand movements, using both hands. Next we have a disconnect between what’s shown and Knighton’s claim.
In the above video, you can see the desk clearly moving but Knighton says it’s definitely solid at this height. Also notice how he uses his fingertips. This is a very unnatural way to push something.
At one point when Knighton is in a pushing position, he places his fingertips on his own desk and actually allows them to slide across the top surface. It’s very difficult to push a desk when your fingers are sliding. In the above video, we analyze Knighton reviewing 4 of his competitors products. The first thing you’ll notice is foot placement. Knighton now places his two feet even with one another. This allows Knighton to lean in and transfer his weight into the desk.
We then compare this technique to the technique used with his own desk. Note the difference in foot placement. Next we’ll analyze the angle at which Knighton’s body leans into the product. When humans push something, they naturally lean into it. They harder they need to push, the more they lean. This can be witnessed here, and also here.
You’ll notice that Knighton is now leaning into the product, to apply a greater force to the desk. Here we compare Knighton reviewing his own desk on the left, and then reviewing a competitors desk on the right. Note the dramatic difference in body angle. Also take note of his hand placement on the desk. Knighton is no longer using his fingertips. He’s grabbing the edges of the desk firmly, almost to the point of white knuckles.
Knighton is grabbing onto each desk firmly to apply a greater force to the desk. This is natural human behavior when you need to move something. Using fingertips is very unnatural. Here we compare Knighton pushing his own desk on the left, with pushing a competitors desk on the right. These are a few examples of the deceptive tactics used by BTOD. Trust should be the bedrock of any business. BTOD chose to build their business on lies and deception. One BTOD target, Evodesk, was pushed too far and is now holding them accountable.
If you're looking for genuine, unpaid Evodesk reviews, from top publications like Entreprenuer magazine, PC Gamer, and Details, you'll find them here: Genuine Evodesk Reviews