MommyLiberty5013 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Do you use Yelp and/or Trip Advisor? Angie's List? How closely do you follow Amazon reviews? I have a "rule" never to buy something off Amazon unless it has at least 4 stars. I took a gamble once on a set of chairs that had 3 stars and they only lasted 1 1/2 years before totally falling apart and DH tossing them in the burn pile. I use Trip Advisor every time we travel for hotels and restaurants. I tend to add up the 4 and 5 star reviews and decide if they out number the 1, 2, and 3 star ones. For restaurants, I usually try to eat at something in the top 3, unless they are super pricey. I have used Angie's List a few times. Incidentally, you used to have to pay for it, but now the basic level is free. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 For Travel, TripAdvisor.com is THE web site. I have personally written and submitted several Reviews (Hotels and a Timeshare). They apparently have a lot of people who read the Reviews that are submitted, before they publish them on their web site among the other reviews. I think there was a delay, possibly a few days, possibly a week or two, before I received notification emails from TripAdvisor that my Reviews had been published on their web site. I pay a LOT of attention to the Reviews on Amazon. The more reviews about a product, the better. You can learn a lot about a product, by reading them. There are, apparently, a large percentage of Reviews Online that are false and not written by people who have actually purchased and used a product, or stayed in a property or eaten in a particular restaurant. You need to try to weed out the false reviews by yourself and be careful about which web sites you are reading Reviews on. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I read review on Amazon, but that's about it. Some of them are funny. I was looking for a set of knives for dh and the average rating was 3 stars. After looking closely at the 1 star reviews I was satisfied that the knives would be good. Complaints ranged from "they got water spots after I washed them" to "they don't stay sharp", which just tells me people complain about anything. I don't read Yelp - I don't care that much about restaurants, and I use word of mouth for things that would be on Angie's List. I want personal experience and the ability to ask more questions of the person who hired them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) I don't go just by the stars but by what people say. Sometimes people give something a bad review for reasons that would be totally irrelevant or unimportant to me. On tripadvisor especially, some of the things that would make people "never go there again" I think "eh" either no big deal, or something that I would expect for the price I'm getting. I've seen some very cheap things that people complained about being "cheaply made". Um, if there is a $20 version and a $1.50 version, then maybe you should consider that in your choice. Things like that. On the other hand, even some positive reviews have revealed something that for me would be a dealbreaker, or make the item not worth buying. Edited July 24, 2017 by goldberry 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyLiberty5013 Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 It is funny when someone writes a great review of a product but only assigns it 1 star. Obviously they got the scale reversed in their head. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I use TripAdvisor extensively when planning travels. And I write reviews there as well. Amazon is hit or miss for me, I pay attention to what is being said because sometimes the low reviews are based on ignorance about the product type or an aspect that isn't important to me. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I use tripadvisor extensively. I am always very suspicious, though, of any place that has only 5-star reviews. There is a restaurant local to me that only has 5-star reviews, but they also have a lot of family and if you look at the reviewer names, that's mostly them. It's not hard to stack reviews in your favour if you have enough people to submit them. FWIW, the restaurant in question is not somewhere I would choose to eat. I've been there, but it's stodgy old-fashioned fare that I could cook better and cheaper at home myself, were I so inclined to eat that. The service has always been known as crusty, too, so there's that. When I am looking at reviews, in addition to looking for type of food, quality of service, value for money, etc., I am also conscious of the dates on the reviews. I will look at the most recent ones as reflections of current quality. I don't normally consider any reviews more than 6 months old. Restaurants, especially, do change hands and I wouldn't assume reviews from a year, two years, or more were talking about the same staff, cooks or management. With hotels, I look for reviews that note when renos occurred and then read only reviews current to the renos. That makes a big difference in hotel reviews, IMO. I also really appreciate when an establishment takes the time to respond to reviewers. To me, that says more than the reviews themselves. A place that is conscientious and responding to concerns or problems is a place that, to me, wants to do well, acknowledges that there is always room for improvement, and is truly committed to making guests/clients happy. Then, there are the places that respond to reviews with nothing but trash talk. That says a lot, too, about a lack of professionalism and to me, is a sure indicator of a place I'd never want to give my $$. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I read them. It's Soo helpful because often what someone doesn't like is what I'm looking for, or visa versa. Writing a helpful review is a special talent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) I read review on amazon for some things. I also do yelp for some things - restaurants when traveling I also do trip advisor when booking accommodations. my ABSOLUTE favorite set of reviews - were for the same italian restaurant. . . . the first was a one star, complaining it "wasn't more like olive garden" the second was a five star, and how great the food was like in italy, and how grateful the reviewer was it "wasn't like olive garden". :smilielol5: they were literally only two or three reviews apart. (the bad one came first) I'd already been to this place a number of times (go early or late- they don't take reservations :glare: - at dinner time there will be a wait. it's worth it. we once assured someone as it was their first time, and the line was intimidating them.) -and it's nothing "like olive garden". I only looked it up because I wanted a phone number. I'm not an itailian food fan. this place. :drool5: eta: i'm fairly confident the reviewers were independent. and yeah, I had eaten there, and do eat there still. and it's good .. . Edited July 24, 2017 by gardenmom5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I read review on Amazon, but that's about it. Some of them are funny. I was looking for a set of knives for dh and the average rating was 3 stars. After looking closely at the 1 star reviews I was satisfied that the knives would be good. Complaints ranged from "they got water spots after I washed them" to "they don't stay sharp", which just tells me people complain about anything. I don't read Yelp - I don't care that much about restaurants, and I use word of mouth for things that would be on Angie's List. I want personal experience and the ability to ask more questions of the person who hired them. read the reviews for haribo sugar free gummii bears.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My4arrows Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I used TripAdvisor when planning our upcoming trip. The reviews were so helpful for us to plan the trip, I plan on adding our own after we've returned. I look at all types of reviews, as I am especially interested in the lower rated reviews. Most of the time the reason they've given it aren't applicable to us or don't matter so I know I can disregard them. I do the same on Amazon as I've noticed on there that many products have high reviews from those who were given the item for free or haven't used it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 read the reviews for haribo sugar free gummii bears.. Hysterical! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) I definitely rely on Amazon reviews, but I always read them carefully and am very suspicious if every review is 5 star. I only consider "Verified Purchase" reviews, and if it's a fairly inexpensive item (where someone who wanted to boost the rating could order a bunch of them in order to leave "Verified" reviews), then I look through those carefully to see how many are anonymous and if a lot of them are written in a very similar style. I was looking at an item recently and noticed that there were more than a dozen 5 star reviews that all said very similar things and had the same grammatical errors suggesting they were not native English speakers. I also check to see how many 5 star reviews mention getting a discount on the item or a code for a future discount in return for leaving a review.ETA: One thing that bugs the heck out of me is when people leave a 1 star review for a book because they never received it, or it was in worse condition than they expected, or it was the wrong book!I also use Yelp occasionally, and I use TripAdvisor a lot for travel and hotels. Edited July 24, 2017 by Corraleno 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 We rely yelp to find restaurants when travel. Have not been disappointed yet. I do rely on amazon and google reviews on a lot of things we purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 . I look at all types of reviews, as I am especially interested in the lower rated reviews. Most of the time the reason they've given it aren't applicable to us or don't matter so I know I can disregard them. I do the same on Amazon as I've noticed on there that many products have high reviews from those who were given the item for free or haven't used it. some of the reviews say a whole lot (of negative) about the reviewer - and nothing about what they're supposedly leaving a review on . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I regularly use TripAdvisor and Amazon reviews but not Yelp. I often roll my eyes at one-star reviews on any site, but if the reviewer makes fair points instead of the usual angry rant it may convince me not to buy or use that service/product/business. Hotel reviewers seem especially picky much of the time and like they would complain even if they were staying at a magical palace. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I do use reviews whenever they are available. I don't automatically credit one or two low reviews, though. I read to see what the low reviewer has to say. In the other thread, for example, I would care that the reviewer said the food and service was good, not that they liked the prior owners better. I rent at VRBO for vacations and I do read the reviews and care what people say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I read some but should leave more. I do need to remember this is the review everything and anything age and everyone's opinion is important. ;) But seriously, I need to leave some positive reviews for those who earned them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackermom Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I do rely on TripAdvisor and Amazon reviews, but I don't write them. On Amazon, when there are a ton of choices, I filter out products with an average below 4 stars, and then read some of them. Unfortunately there are many useless 5 star reviews with comments like: "I haven't used it yet, but it looks great!" or "I haven't seen it because I was able to have it shipped directly to my grandchildren, but I just know they will love it!" Because of that, I tend to actually read 4 star reviews instead, because they are generally more realistic, and it is more helpful to know about the little things that made it less than a perfect product, such as a cord being a little short, or controls being hard to read, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I do, but I read both the positive and negatives in order to make up my own mind. I use rate my professor for example to look for the ones who get the most complaints for "makes you do all the homework and read the texts or you fail" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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