Are testimonials a cliché?

Testimonials can speak to how you do business. A former member here who went by the name Anthony Bullock was an excellent designer, one of the best I've ever seen. However, he never met deadlines and we eventually banned him for running with a client's money. A google search for that name will render multiple bad references.

However, it is obvious that any testimonials you put on your site are ones in your favor. They are cliche but make you look better. Testimonials on independent third party like our iTrader system help a lot though as they are unfiltered.