Quote:
Originally Posted by The Yen Man
Again, I really can't agree with your take. If that's your stance, then what the heck is the point of a review system? Either give a glowing review, or don't give one at all, even though you were dissatisfied with some stuff?
As a customer, it's the 3 star reviews that I really turn to and get the most value out of, because those are probably the more honest ones, and less of a chance that they are fake (good or bad).
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OMG, maybe I've been taking something for granted this whole time and this will help. What is the point of a review system?
TO MAKE MONEY FOR THE HOST OF THE REVIEWS!
Think about it...it's a dynamic set up with all the power in the hands of customers, who provide free content to the review site at the grave expense of businesses. They're unmoderated and practically free to host, yet they drive tons of traffic.
Think of Yelp! when it was more popular...I had a bad review that was complete BS, so I contacted Yelp! naively thinking they would help with some moderation. Nope. Their solution was to have me pay to advertise with them. It's a total racket with a victim and a useful idiot perpetrator.
Now Google reviews are kind of the king. They drive traffic to Google.
What about Amazon...they have a lot of reviews, too. Yeah, they keep you on the site longer, which drives sales. More useful idiot stuff.
Literally every business owner I know feels exposed and victimized by reviews and we're defenseless against reviewers and the tech giants who encourage them. It's awful and I hope to see some legislative help at some point because it's a total scourge.
I've even been blackmailed (is that the right word?) by a customer. He completely abused his product from us in an egregious, ridiculous way, then one-starred us for giving him a "hunk of junk." I reached out to him to try to sort out what happened, and he just wanted a new one for free to take down the review. Cost me about $1000, but that was peanuts to get that review down versus the damage it would cause being up there for decades. Again, a total abuse.