Skewed Reality: How Review and Rating Sites Are Misleading Consumers

In today's digital age, the power of reviews can make or break a business. With the click of a button, customers can share their experiences and opinions with the world, shaping the reputation of a company and influencing potential customers. However, not all reviews are created equal. Bad ratings and reviews, while impactful, can sometimes be incorrect and harmful, presenting a skewed view of a company's offerings.

The Impact of Inaccurate Reviews on Business Reputation and Why Genuine Feedback Matters

In the case of SetSchedule, most online reviews focus on the quality of the leads aggregated from SetSchedule’s lead partners and not on the application's technical aspects. It cannot be understated that as a technology company, SetSchedule has skillfully published software that makes business easier for solopreneurs and SMBs through office automation technology, business development tools, and networking platforms. 

One of SetSchedule's first SaaS products is the Referral Radar, which was developed to make finding transactions for real estate agents easy. Despite the advanced technology layered through machine learning to create an ecosystem for agents to easily find their most desired leads, agents tend to fail when it comes to nurturing online leads. It’s not their fault. Most agents don’t have the training or experience with them. 

While some may not notice, the platform has received praise for its ease of use and user-friendly interface by other professionals. The app has evolved into a lot more. If you hadn’t checked the app yet, there are now an array of tools for business management and with the addition of Taskable to its suite of technologies, the company strives to introduce a new social business networking manifesto.

The Truth About Bad Reviews On The Internet

Negative reviews can have a devastating impact on businesses and products in the digital space. To better understand how bad reviews are written, it's important to learn the different types of reviewers who leave nasty reviews as well as their criteria for rating products.

The Disgruntled Customer

When customers are disgruntled, they share their frustration with others, and oftentimes, they have unrealistic expectations that are unattainable even before they begin trying. They might leave a one-star rating or a scathing review, often without considering the full picture or context. They also tend to focus on specific issues they encountered, instead of understanding why they occurred in the first place.

The Competitor

Competitor reviews are a dark side of the digital space. They might leave fake negative reviews to damage a rival's reputation and drive business away from them. They might also pay for fake reviews to be written or manipulate the system to artificially lower a product's rating. These fake reviews can be difficult to detect, but they can have a significant impact on a business's reputation.

The Hater

The hater is someone who has a personal vendetta against a particular business or product and leaves negative reviews out of spite. They might have had a negative experience in the past, or they might simply dislike the company for other reasons. Regardless, their reviews are often baseless and not reflective of the actual product or service.

Online Reviews and Ratings: How Accurate Are They?

Online review sites play a crucial role in helping consumers make informed decisions about products and services. However, the accuracy of these sites can vary greatly, making it important to understand their limitations. In this section, we will examine the accuracy of the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Better Business Bureau (BBB)

The BBB claims to be a nonprofit organization that provides consumer reviews and ratings of businesses. The BBB ratings are based on a number of factors, such as the length of time a business has been operating, its compliance with ‘BBB standards’, and the number and type of customer complaints it has received. However, the rating system is not always impartial and can be influenced by factors such as advertising and sponsorship partnerships with BBB.

Additionally, the BBB's evaluations may not always reflect the experiences of consumers, as they typically only include reported complaints and do not take into account other factors such as quality of products or services, customer satisfaction, or overall market reputation. In fact, the BBB does not use the products they rate or the products they provide their BBB accredited stamp. If you pay them, they’ll add it.

The BBB simply does not add up to the standards of guides like Michelin, which award restaurants held to the highest standard and personally dine at the restaurants before providing reviews and awards. One of the techniques used by Michelin is to drop a piece of silverware on the floor to see how quickly it will be picked up and replaced. This may seem like a minor detail, but it speaks to the level of attentiveness and professionalism that is expected of a top-tier service.

For years, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) faced criticism and controversy surrounding its grading system and practices, making its reputation even worse. This raised questions about the credibility and impartiality of the BBB's ratings, leading to a loss of trust among consumers and businesses. It’s not clear why the platform still continues to operate today. Other review websites such as TrustPilot have hundreds of complaints about BBB’s practices. Wonder what score BBB would receive if they reviewed themselves? We do…

Conclusion

The accuracy of rating and review platforms is definitely a subject of debate, and it's important to consider multiple sources of information before making any decisions based on a rating you saw online. While they can provide valuable information, it's also important to keep in mind their limitations and potential biases.

Biases and poorly executed review metrics can have a significant impact on consumers' decision-making process and can lead to serious consequences for them. When businesses pay for positive reviews, it can artificially inflate a product's rating and give consumers a false impression of its quality. This can result in consumers making purchasing decisions based on inaccurate information and missing out on products and services that actually fit their needs.