Tuesday, May 10, 2016

How Reliable Are Those Reviews?



I know I am not the only one who does this, when planning a trip, I think, “I’m gonna try something new this trip!” so eagerly I head to a place like TripAdvisor to see what’s new in an area.  I look at the top hotels, restaurants and things to do in a city.  I did it so much that I started to write my own reviews of different places I had been, seen and experienced.  It wasn’t until I wrote and unflattering review, that it made me wonder how legit these things really are?

I wrote a less than glowing review of a restaurant.  I was there by myself, as is true with many business travelers.  It was a local restaurant, not a chain and I was excited to give it a try because I love acting like a local when I am in a city.  Off I go for a quick dinner.  I waited and waited and waited for a server…I finally went back to the hostess desk to ask if I even had one.  Finally, 5 minutes later, someone came.  So, the service was a challenge.  The food was okay.  I had had better and I had had worse.  So, you can see that my review was okay, not great, but only okay. 

When my review was posted, the restaurant team wanted to do whatever they could to have me adjust my review.  A few years back, a friend in the hotel industry said that people are using TripAdvisor against the hotels.  If they don’t get EXACTLY what they want, the threaten to blast them on sites like this.  On the other hand, if they do write a bad review, the hotels are reaching out for a change in the review. 

Has “getting even” or “getting something” changed how we advocate for products and services?  When I have a great experience, they want me to share, when my experience is only so-so, they prefer I keep it to myself.  Are the reviews on these sites being bought or sold?  Trust, I didn’t change my review, but I wonder how many people do.

I haven’t stopped writing reviews or even reading them, but I am taking them in with a little more caution that I have in the past. Keep going friends, keep going.