Negative Online Reviews Can’t Be Trusted
While researching a tour package I was thinking about booking recently, I noticed that while all of the customer reviews about destinations, guides and travel arrangements were brilliant, there were a few people who gave poor ratings for reasons that didn’t seem like the travel company’s fault: their the flight was canceled so they missed the day; they got food poisoning so they couldn’t enjoy the tour; or they did not purchase travel insurance so they could not receive a refund when they could no longer travel.
It didn’t seem to me that these impressions should be taken into account in the ratings of the package itself. In the reviews, I mostly looked for security tips, so a few skeptics didn’t influence my decision. But the overall low rating of the package would definitely make me reconsider my decision.
This tendency to negatively evaluate products for things outside the manufacturer’s control is much more evident on sites like Amazon, where people leave one star for books they haven’t read, or because packaging was destroyed in transit. … And an article published today in the New York Times confirms my suspicions: in principle, negative online reviews cannot be trusted. At the very least, you should take them with a heap or two tablespoons of salt.
According to the Times , since there are relatively few negative reviews versus positive reviews, we focus more on negative reviews, although we probably shouldn’t. When we read negative reviews, we feel like we get the full picture of something before we spend our hard-earned money on it, especially in the worst case scenario.
Another highlight: A 2014 study published by The Journal of Marketing Research found that Internet browsers “are more likely to buy unusual sizes, make a profit, get married, have more children, be younger and less wealthy, and have academic degrees “. than the average consumer. ” And only about 1.5% of people leave reviews, according to Duncan Simester , professor of marketing at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and author of the study. Should we take their word for it?
The article also notes that when it comes to travel reviews, who a commentator is vacationing with plays a big role in how they rate the trip.
A study published last fall in the journal Electronic Commerce Research and Applications that analyzed 125,076 online reviews found that people traveling with their loved ones wrote the most positive reviews, followed by those traveling with friends or family. Reviewers traveling alone or on business were the most negative. Our experience changes based on our expectations, travel experience and who we work with.
Fortunately, I am traveling with a close friend. When we come back, I will definitely give you my grade.
Why Negative Online Reviews Can’t Really Be Trusted | New York Times