3 ms·

> Negative reviews seem to be pretty reliable, you have to have a motivation to post them, even if the content may not be objectively accurate. I agree with th

> Negative reviews seem to be pretty reliable, you have to have a motivation to post them, even if the content may not be objectively accurate. I agree with this. I'm usually more suspect of the glowing, very positive reviews, particularly a bunch in a row within a certain time period. I've read at least once that I can remember where employers were essentially providing incentives for employees to go out and write positive things on Glassdoor, in an effort to clean up its image on that site. I'd say look for themes. I'm interviewing with a company right now where the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, but I've turned the mental alarms off for now because it's totally backed up by all of my interaction with anyone associated with the place. Genuinely great culture in play. I only say this to balance out any message I might be giving to not trust any positive reviews. You really are best off reading through and looking for themes, rather than relying on the aggregate ratings, or categorical statements of "good" and "bad" in any particular review. Culture is totally subjective, so look for a description of what that culture is, versus whether the reviewer thinks its good or bad.

KGIII 9y ago
Hmm... I generally only leave positive reviews for goods and services. My thinking has been that satisfied people don't generally take the time to write reviews, while unhappy people will invest the time and energy. I figure that adding a negative review is only going to add to the noise. So, I usually avoid doing so unless it is particularly egregious. This means that I also weigh the good reviews heavier than I do the negative reviews. I do try to keep an eye out for fluff reviews and try to ignore those. No, this product didn't 'literally save your life' and things like that. Many of the negative reviews read like they didn't understand the product or service and are displeased that it didn't meet their goals, which would be expected because it didn't claim to meet those goals. It does make me wonder if there's a way to ensure honest and objective reviews. I doubt there is, but we may be able to make the system better.

KGIII 9y ago

Hmm... I generally only leave positive reviews for goods and services. My thinking has been that satisfied people don't generally take the time to write reviews, while unhappy people will invest the time and energy. I figure that adding a negative review is only going to add to the noise. So, I usually avoid doing so unless it is particularly egregious. This means that I also weigh the good reviews heavier than I do the negative reviews. I do try to keep an eye out for fluff reviews and try to ignore those. No, this product didn't 'literally save your life' and things like that. Many of the negative reviews read like they didn't understand the product or service and are displeased that it didn't meet their goals, which would be expected because it didn't claim to meet those goals. It does make me wonder if there's a way to ensure honest and objective reviews. I doubt there is, but we may be able to make the system better.