Do you leave online reviews (good or bad)?

[Walt34]

I'll sometimes write reviews but like others only if the product/service was very good or very bad. Or if mine is going to be one of 8,000 others I figure there's no point in bothering.

The whole issue with reviews is now so corrupted with false reviews that they don't have any credibility anymore anyway so I just don't see the point in bothering.

 

[old medic]

I do if I have a particularly good or particularly bad experience.

Me to....

 

[Aerides]

Most of the replies here have shown that reviews are not always helpful to knowing what to expect.

Most of us have said we leave a review IF
- we are particularly unhappy
- we are very happy

No middle ground. No "this works, it's good, I like it, didn't change my life but I got what I paid for" - and that's what would help more viewers of reviews.

(and yes I do that too, it's normal to only bother when really compelled one way or the other).

 

[VanWinkle]

I only post for companies that went beyond the normal in service. I do not post bad reviews as I feel that people see service differently than I do. Why bias future customers with my slanted opinion of their service. I guess I'm from the school of thought that if you can't say something positive, don't say anything. Wrong or right, that's my 2 cents worth.

 

[athena53]

Why bias future customers with my slanted opinion of their service?

It's all in the details. I'm careful to note what I really did or did not like because we all have different priorities. I read the reviews the same way- I care about the gym, less so about the pool, want reliable internet, don't care what fancy cocktails they have in the bar or what they cost. And some reviewers have unrealistic expectations or maybe really did use the business when they were having a less-than-stellar day.

 

[sparky08]

OP here. Someone asked me (not here) what I hoped to get out of leaving the review.

It was a good question. First, I was PO'd because I bought an expensive stove and it stopped working after a couple weeks. I called/emailed the dealer for two weeks before they called back. (It took a call to their corporate office to get them to respond). And then it took a week to get someone to look at it. They pronounced it dead, and it took another week to replace it.

It has been replaced and this one seems to be working. But I'm still mad because they said they would comp me for their crappy service, but have changed their mind.

So, I guess part of me wants to save other customers some trouble, but deep down, I just want to punish the dealer for treating me so bad. Am I being petty?

Yesterday, I did post the review. Thanks to all here who commented.

 

[sengsational]

Most of the replies here have shown that reviews are not always helpful to knowing what to expect.

Most of us have said we leave a review IF
- we are particularly unhappy
- we are very happy

No middle ground. No "this works, it's good, I like it, didn't change my life but I got what I paid for" - and that's what would help more viewers of reviews.

(and yes I do that too, it's normal to only bother when really compelled one way or the other).

I post a quite a few "hit the mark" reviews on Yelp. But it's because I want to make my negative reviews more "meaningful"

I don't review restaurants locally, only when traveling, for the most part. And mostly won't think of rating unless something bad goes on that seems systemic to me. Then I'll be detailed and offer specifics to improve, if I can. But after a negative review, I'm more cognizant of when things aren't going wrong, and I don't want my Yelp average review score to indicate I'm a "complainer", so I'll pop a few 4 star reviews with "hit the mark with one minor suggestion for improvement".

 

[CRLLS]

The number of times that I have left a review of a product or seller can be counted on my left hand. I don't see the value unless I have a really bad experience. AS others have posted, I seldom look at the 1 star or 5 star reviews. If this is a common thing, what's the use of leaving a bad review. I really hate when a service provider or seller keeps nagging me to leave a review. I get constant reminders from my medical providers.

Leaving a bad review on a seller's own website can easily be removed by them, so again, I see not benefit in taking my time to warn others.

OTOH, I've been trying to get a service date for over a week for a car issue and cannot even get 2 dealers to return my calls! Maybe I should write a couple of reviews?

 

[jollystomper]

Most of the replies here have shown that reviews are not always helpful to knowing what to expect.

Most of us have said we leave a review IF
- we are particularly unhappy
- we are very happy

No middle ground. No "this works, it's good, I like it, didn't change my life but I got what I paid for" - and that's what would help more viewers of reviews.

(and yes I do that too, it's normal to only bother when really compelled one way or the other).

The more detailed a review is, the more I trust it, or at least can assess if the good/bad/indifferent points raised would apply to me. In turn, when I do leave a review I try to be specific and what is good or bad, or if it "just works" what is the specific environment I am using it in that works.

The other thing that helps, if the capability is provided, is to post pictures along with the review.

 

[athena53]

Leaving a bad review on a seller's own website can easily be removed by them, so again, I see not benefit in taking my time to warn others.

Totally agreed.

The other thing that helps, if the capability is provided, is to post pictures along with the review.

I do that a lot, mostly on TripAdvisor.

 

[sengsational]

Leaving a bad review on a seller's own website can easily be removed by them, so again, I see not benefit in taking my time to warn others.

I agree, on a seller's web site, except on a site like Amazon. My daughter worked for a company that used Amazon, and it was impossible to remove a review, even one with just completely wrong information. But I don't bother with negative reviews anywhere where they can delete it on their own discretion.

 

[Qs Laptop]

While not the same as product reviews, I do leave a lot of reviews of books I've read. I read about 50-60 novels per year and I probably leave 10 or 15 reviews per year. I figure it's good feedback if the author monitors the review sections.

In all my years of reading/reviewing I think I've only given out a couple of 5 star reviews out of perhaps a total of 100 reviews. Most of my reviews are 3 stars. I've given several 1 star reviews.

 

[Retired Expat]

I do if I have a particularly good or particularly bad experience.

We do but you must be fair and write positive and negative reviews and be fair Too many people just use the review process to complain about every little thing often beyond the control of the company you are reviewing. Like the bad hotel review because the guest had bad weather for their entire vacation! Not the hotel’s fault!

Our new car had a problem when we got it. Took a couple of months to resolve, they flew a specialist from China to South America where I am to address it, gave us a loaner car the entire time, i really like the car and have only written positive things about it as the company stepped up and did the right thing. Problems happen but how a firm deals with those problems tells a lot too

 

[catii]

I find reviews to be useful, because I use them differently. If I plan to buy a product/service, I read the first few reviews, which are invariably 5-star, with a grain of salt. Then I click on the 1-star, because I want to know the bad points! However, far too often, I see that 1-stars have been counted, but the posts have been removed, which tells me that there really IS a problem, & I buy elsewhere.

When I do post, I often mention that I'm a retired professional engineer (if that pertains to the product/service) & why that's important. I seldom just "sound off" to see my own posts, or to say something useless, although I do click on the appropriate number of stars, even when I don't have anything useful to contribute.

In a remarkable number of Amazon cases, I've posted an extremely-negative report, & have actually gotten a response! In one recent purchase, I posted that the battery for a tire air pump literally went up in smoke, the first time I tried to charge it, & I got an immediate response. The seller sent me an entire new air pump, plus an extra battery, so I now have two working pumps. I corresponded with them, sending photos & my observations, & they ended up switching battery vendors! So some posts actually do some good.

 

[template]

I write brief comments on the products I purchase from Amazon.

I have left a few reviews on Google, too.

The most frustrating thing happened when I posted positive reviews of two local companies on Yelp.com . The Yelp software misjudged the credibility of the reviews and hid them from public view. I put a lot of effort into writing the reviews -- for nothing. That was the first and last time I used Yelp.