A brief hypothesis can tell us that more than 80% of the consumers look at online reviews while only 6-8% contribute to them. Looking at a new experience, it is indeed difficult to judge based on a limited viewpoint. Here’s to how you can decode and make the what-so-ever information available useful to you.
Loving to eat and travel, Zomato and TripAdvisor serve to me in an incomparable fashion. While following a lot of food critics and travel enthusiasts and making decisions based on their experiences, I have got a hang of ideas on how to go about decoding these reviews.
Lesson 1 – Never believe any reviews in totality.
A positive emotion with it brings a wave of optimistic bias and forces us in our sub-conscious of finding the good and highlighting it. The most crazy example are the Indian mothers – when their kid scores more than the neighbour, you can’t make them go silent.
Similar are the negative emotions, they bring with them an unproven ability of finding a needle in a haystack and showing the picture as if you couldn’t enjoy 1 moment in a week long holiday. Again, the most crazy example is the Indian mothers – when their kid fails in a test – it will be blamed on his friends, girls, games, cycle, or even the pair of jeans he wears.
And then you would find reviews sounding perfectly balanced. These are the ones that I find dangerous. These are the ones that were written by the user in a sane state of mind – where he/she just wanted to add to the contributor’s world. The motive behind these was neither to promote nor degrade but trying to bring a picture that their eye perceives. The problem is you are not them.
Lesson 2 – Never discount the difference in outlooks
A British traveller looking to spend a month in Himalayas with his little whatsoever earnings will review a room with attached bath with almost nothing, as fulfilling. As a tourist looking to spend 3 days at the place, it might just not make sense to you. The point that I am trying to make is that we are different people with different outlooks, priorities, budgets and situations and that however less a heed we pay to demographics, they still play a role.
While reading a review, the first thing to understand is the outlook and motivation of the person writing the review as not all of us are gifted enough to be able to put situations to perfect words. The better you understand the reviewer, the better the chances you have of decoding the review.
Lesson 3 – Uniqueness is absolute
Everything is unique but uniqueness might not always appeal.
A lot of things are copied and might just fit your requirements.
As a crowd, we attribute uniqueness as a positive trait and a repeat as a cunning example of negativity. This is usually irrespective of whether they may appeal to us or not.
To make a wise choice, we need to see aspects in their absolute sense – weighing by just being unique might just be a wrong choice – I mean cow-dung served on a plate is unique too.
Lesson 4 – What does it mean to you
A Delhite reviewing a 5*hotel in Goa – “Does not even have a pool bar. No Caddy, no cart..the golfing experience can also be horrendous is what this place taught me….and then average food”.
For some, the expectation bar is super human. Beware – they might just spoil your experience about a place, as once aware about the minutest of flaws which can never affect you, you would be inclined on finding them and re-affirming your faith to someone who helped you ruin your experience.
Unfortunately, that’s human nature.
Lesson 5 – Time
Once said, change is the only constant.
Never fall for reviews written over 2 months back – this shows the current status of what you might end up signing up for.
Places/restaurants improve and degrade – both with time. It is always advisable to read about them in as recency as possible.
Lesson Last – Reviews help in exploring & re-affirming – not finding
Reviews are those tools designed to help you in eliminating, not selecting.
Get your requirements and priorities correct and find if the reviews help you in ascertaining your belief. Read at least 5 reviews prior to concluding your judgement.
I will certainly hope that this little experiential information be helpful to you & additions to decoding the formula find their way to you. Till then, Caveat Emptor.
