4 ms·

I know that most people just look at the stars and make a decision. Other people read the good reviews and determine to make their decision from that. I read

I know that most people just look at the stars and make a decision. Other people read the good reviews and determine to make their decision from that. I read the bad reviews. 1 to 3 star reviews. I'd rather go to a place with a bifrication of bad and good reviews where the bad reviews are stuff I don't care about... My theory is that if a place sucks it will definitely have bad reviews. A place that is great will still have a few, but they will be over stupid stuff (i.e. I expected something different etc.)

ledge 13y ago
There's no reason that a rival company couldn't fake negative reviews though. I'm sure it's common already.
- drakaal 13y ago
  They do. Storage Facilities more than restaurants.
- AJ007 13y ago
  Visually looking at the ratings curve can be a good indicator. Its the reviewers who need to be reviewed. Or, in a true social sense trusted reviewers should be followed and the rest ignored.
  - woebtz 13y ago
    When my friend's mother opened her restaurant in Koreatown, they received, amongst other welcome-to-the-neighborhoods: phantom Yelp reviews (describing tickets and events that never occurred) and a string of big table reservations (no shows). One such "review" complaining about a rat infestation was written by a then Yelp Elite member rather than an obvious sockpuppet. Who can you trust when even trust is gamed?
  - dsuth 13y ago
    What happens when a trusted reviewer gets recognised as such, and starts getting offers to do faked reviews for cash? This is a classic example in other mediums, eg. radio. Trust is a double-edged sword.
dredmorbius 13y ago
I read the bad reviews and the reasons for the negatives. If they add up, I'll take note. If they don't, I'll presume a fake. The failure of review services (Amazon, Yelp, and others) to police their reviews adequately really hurts these services. Otherwise they're little more than a yellow pages or directory.

ledge 13y ago

There's no reason that a rival company couldn't fake negative reviews though. I'm sure it's common already.

drakaal 13y ago
They do. Storage Facilities more than restaurants.
AJ007 13y ago
Visually looking at the ratings curve can be a good indicator. Its the reviewers who need to be reviewed. Or, in a true social sense trusted reviewers should be followed and the rest ignored.
- woebtz 13y ago
  When my friend's mother opened her restaurant in Koreatown, they received, amongst other welcome-to-the-neighborhoods: phantom Yelp reviews (describing tickets and events that never occurred) and a string of big table reservations (no shows). One such "review" complaining about a rat infestation was written by a then Yelp Elite member rather than an obvious sockpuppet. Who can you trust when even trust is gamed?
- dsuth 13y ago
  What happens when a trusted reviewer gets recognised as such, and starts getting offers to do faked reviews for cash? This is a classic example in other mediums, eg. radio. Trust is a double-edged sword.

dredmorbius 13y ago

I read the bad reviews and the reasons for the negatives. If they add up, I'll take note. If they don't, I'll presume a fake. The failure of review services (Amazon, Yelp, and others) to police their reviews adequately really hurts these services. Otherwise they're little more than a yellow pages or directory.