Bloggers Journal

There are plenty of websites on the internet which provide reviews of products.  Many of them include commenting options for readers to leave feedback from many everyday users.  However, this feedback from an every day user – is it helpful or misleading?  Does it depend on the product?  Or even the niche being evaluated.

Regardless, people leave opinions with the intent of trying to be helpful.  But are they really being helpful?

What is the point of feedback?

Feedback is one of the great things of mankind.  It comes in many shapes and forms.  It can be the usual type which you expect from feedback – it’s an answer to whether something is useful or not.  It an also take the form of a recommendation – positive feedback (essentially).

It can be used to convey approval or dismay.  Generally it is used to help others considering something to make their mind up.

How powerful is feedback?

The power of feedback is felt daily, by each and every one of us.  If we go out to a restaurant, and someone tells us that they had a really tastey meal, and recommend the place, you will more than likely try to check out the restaurant for yourself.  Likewise, if you get a bad review, your view of the place is tainted, without having actually developed your own opinion.

Essentially, feedback is very driven by trust.  We trust our friends and family around us, that if they say something about, for example, a restaurant, or a television documentary, that we may follow suit.  The internet is no different.  How often do you check out Trip Advisor before planning your next holiday?  I’ve done it many times.  It ultimately influences my decisions and thoughts on where to stay.

So where is the problem?

The advice and feedback from others is great.  There is no doubting that.  However, is it always helpful?  I say no.  My rationale for this is simple.  The influence of trust, regardless of how much we may say otherwise, will influence what we do.  If we read a glowing review on a movie, we are tempted to go and see it, and go into the movie with the opinion that it’s good.  This is a tainted view of things.  Preconceived opinions – I guess you could call it prejudice.  It’s the same should someone say that a movie is rubbish, we may watch the movie from the start with the same view.

In many ways, this can be quite counter productive.  What I say is good, you may say is bad.  Regardless, the point I make is that feedback can be as much a useful thing as a hinderance.  It may help us out, or be the reason we don’t do something which we really could have done.

The other issue, is that occasionally the feedback which is given is completely useless or just plain silly.  I see occasionally on Trip Advisor.  Some reviews lack depth.  People give positive feedback like “awesome hotel, loved it”, or they give negative feedback like “it was crap, don’t go”.  What use is that?  It’s helping nobody.

Likewise, when people are leaving feedback, it is important to weigh up whether the feedback is being left by people with higher expectations than are realistic.  Say for example you are reading a review on a lower star hotel, and someone has rated it extremely poorly because there are no amenities.  Can you really rely upon this review?  Add this poor score to the overall score card for that hotel, and it can be brought down dramatically.  Is it a fair reflection of the hotel?  The lower star is immediately indicative of lacking amenities – not necessarily quality.  And so, it’s review is tainted by one review which is not actually useful.

To sum up

Feedback can be great – it can help us make decisions.  However it is important to ensure we have reviewed the feedback to draw better educated decisions.

When you are making your mind up on purchasing something, like a holiday, do you get feedback from others?  Do you look for recommendations?  Or maybe you read the negative comments?  How do you use feedback to influence your decisions?

Image Credit – adesigna