Reading Goods and services reviews over the Internet has become unreliable

According to an investigation conducted in New York, some corporations have taken advantage of apps such as “Yelp, Citysearch and Yahoo” (David) to improve their reputation by writing fake reviews. It was found that some restaurants and stores bribe 5 stars customers’ satisfaction evaluation by giving them gift certificates or special discounts. Companies that are generating fake reviews can harm customers in many ways, including complicating the buyer’s purchasing plan and relative outcome expectations. This can lead to minimal repercussions to buyers in the short run, but can also create long-term nightmares for consumers. An example of a situation where there is minimal damage is when a buyer acquires a dining service following a positive review of a certain restaurant. The buyer’s high expectation might be clearly unsatisfied after a poor dining service. Long-term repercussions can be far more harmful, such as capital investment or an expensive attorney service acquisition.

In my opinion, one of the biggest problems that sites like Yelp and City search have is that reviews can be written by basically any online user. In fact, people can even write a review without actually acquiring the good or service stated. This can be seen as a huge pitfall for companies that participate in such apps. On the other hand, companies can maximize their sales by persuading customers with good reviews.

Do you use any app to read reviews of places before visiting? 

Have you ever thought of the possibility that such reviews could actually be a fake?

Have you ever been disappointed after visiting a place with a good review?

If you are a user of one of those apps, do you write a review after purchasing a good or service?

Streitfeld, David. "The New York Times." Editorial. Give Yourself 5 Stars? Online, It Might Cost You 22 Sept. 2013, US Edition ed., Technology sec. The New York Times Company, 22 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/technology/give-yourself-4-stars-online-it-might-cost-you.html?ref=onlineadvertising&_r=0