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.
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.
It is so crazy to me that you post about this topic. I have recently started working in an area in which I am not completely familiar with, let alone I only resign here in Charlotte for school purposes, so I use apps such as Yelp to help me find new places to eat or shop or whatever. It does not surprise me that businesses use apps like that, which are meant to be helpful to consumers, and abuse them by manipulating the resources offered by them. You are right, it is hurting the customer because it can be drawing them in to use a product or service that is actually a waste of money, and in worse case could be locking them into something they never intended on getting into had the reviews been credible. It is hurting other businesses as well, because they could very well be using apps ethically, yet because of those companies who aren't, consumers could stop trusting the reviews they read. It truly is sad that our society functions this way. It would be nice to be able to put our trust in SOMETHING that humans do, even as simple as reading reviews on products we purchase and spend our hard earned money on.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Alysia, it is very sad that many company owner's utilizes apps like Yelp to raise their profits. Instead, apps like these should be used as guide to make future improvements in companies.
DeleteI often use my app to review products on consumer report, yelp and city search to review spec and price, but having anyone being able to write a review has taken its tool on what I can trust. More often than not I do think some of the reviews are fake knowing that product has a good history, but then the review is tarnishing its image. I have been disappointed after visiting a place with a good review multiple times says the restaurant is "clean, fast and good quality" to later being very disappointing. I do not usually post any of my results after purchasing a good or service.
ReplyDeleteI use Yelp to get an idea of a location and to read reviews, and so far, I haven't been disappointed after reading a review and visiting a place. While reading reviews, I consider the fact that consumers are more likely to write a review on a place or product if they have a negative experience than a positive one. I also understand that services like restaurants are prone to variability. However, I did not know that companies are framing their positive reviews by offering some type of compensation to the consumer. I am glad I know about this now. No, I've never considered the fact that a review could be fake. I will definitely keep my eyes open for reviews that sound to be too good to be true from this point out. Lastly, I have never written a review on a place but realize that I really should.
ReplyDeleteI always check out the google reviews before I visit places, where it be a restaurant or a pet store. Due to the ability for any person to write a review, I take the positive ones with a grain of salt. I usually check for the negative reviews to see what the critical people had to say. Companies may be able to go online and write fake reviews for themselves, but as far as I know, they can't stop unhappy customers from going online and expressing their opinions as well.
ReplyDeleteI have a new business idea and I was wondering, What do you think is the best route as far as advertising my product.
ReplyDeleteAdvertisement is really expensive, but it has shown to have great benefits. If you are starting a company, you will have to study your market first. Who is going to use your product? On what people who is gonna use your product spend their free time? Is it affordable to you to make a market study ? How much money you want to invest?.. As you can see there are many variables that you may take in consideration before having a concrete response to your question.
DeleteThank you for writing about this topic. I can really relate to it through my experience of finding apartments. Like most of us know, apartment finding is a headache for students. Last year, it took me a long time to find a place that has reviews with more than 80% positive. A question I always had: what kept a competetive apartment from going online and giving false reviews of another apartment? I took my chance and moved in one that I thought look nice. It had as many bad reviews as good ones. And I never experienced half the bad things mentioned in those negative reviews.
ReplyDeleteTriet Pham
I have used a few apps of this nature, but I generally ignored the negative comments about a place such as a restaurant and only looked at the positive ones. A lot of the negative reviews always seemed to be too harsh and too focused on small details whereas the others gave an overall review of the place. I don't tend to use these apps anymore because most of them geared towards restaurants are based on one time experiences but the waitress could have just been having a bad day. Apps geared towards movies seem to be more helpful to me.
ReplyDeleteReview apps definitely help give you a good idea of what to expect beforehand before heading to a specific location. I know when I go out of town or vacation in a different city, I'd like to stay in places that are not completely dangerous or dirt ridden. I rely on reviews for that kind of help, because you never know if a "2-star" hotel could be any bang worth your buck. Negative reviews can be pretty worrisome, but all in all, doing that kind of comparison online before just gives you a peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteI rarely write reviews, but I often read them. Oftentimes, when I'm going to a new restaurant or need a suggestion if I'm in a different city, I'll check out foursquare. I recognize that many reviews (especially the positive ones) could be endorsed by the actual business, so my strategy is to find businesses that have many reviews, both good and bad, and make my decision by weighing both sides.
ReplyDelete