I always thought it was funny that you may have through skill and cunning avoided disaster for your flight but then plant the landing you were a bum. On the other hand you could incompetent and almost crash several times and then luck into a smooth landing and you were a hero. For better or worse the folks in the back usually have no clue what is going on up front. As stated in other posts there are a lot of possible reasons for a firm landing. some reflect the pilot's skill and some do not.