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.
