Review This!
Recently, I’ve seen several people making internet purchase decisions based upon the online reviews at the retailer site they were using. On the face of it, you may think this is a good idea and a necessary practise. I’ll tell you why you’re wrong.
This is more a public service announcement than a rant.
You’re welcome.
First, I should state that I’m not really talking about online reviews at sites like Amazon, where you’ll be buying a DVD or other media based content. They are pretty much OK. The reviews generally talk about the content rather than the physical item, or indeed the service. So, if you find it necessary for someone else to tell you what THEY thought about a film you already like before you buy it, knock yourself out.
However, reviews on sites for hotels, restaurants, home furnishings and the like are less than useless. They serve only as an outlet for every idiot on the ‘net to spout crap. If you’re looking for something that EVERY reviewer liked, you’re wasting your time. There is not a product, service or business out there that doesn’t have at least one awful review. Mostly because the people writing the reviews are (and lets be fair to them) retarded.
If you bought a self-assemble wardrobe from a home furnishings store and it arrived with screws missing, posting a “one star” review about the item is idiotic. That is simply a mistake in the packaging of the item and you just need to email the manufacturer for replacements. A minor inconvenience, sure. But not a reason to bad mouth the website you bought it off, or indeed the item itself!
I’d usually condone random outbursts of irrational rage on the internet (you’re surprised to hear), but the problem here is that the idiots looking at that item fail to make the connection between the complaint and the real issue behind it.
The other problem with blindly believing the one star reviewers is that they are one person amongst hundreds, possibly thousands of customers that have bought that item. Taking into account that most people having a positive experience will simply not even think of going back to the site to write a good review, the overall rating is already massively skewed anyway. Let me quickly point out some reasons I’ve seen for bad reviews:
Holiday Booking – Delayed flight.
Hotel – Male member of staff looked at/hit on my wife!
Restaurant – Ordered a meal I didn’t like and still had to pay for it!
DIY Store – Bought a new toilet, fitted it and it leaked.
When you engage in this pointless activity of checking other people’s experiences, all you’re doing is opening yourself up to the random moanings of miserable idiots that think everything in life should be moulded to shape their personal needs and expectations.
If you fit a toilet, sink or tap and it leaks, and you truly believe it’s not because you’re shit at plumbing, you’re a moron. If you order a dish you don’t like at a restaurant and end up having to have it replaced with something different, it only makes sense that you still PAY for both! What are they running, a charity?
These reviews are based upon an individual experience and should be ignored completely. One bad review amongst a hundred good ones should only tell you that, of the people reviewing, one was a stupid, miserable twat.
MisterShouty 