Reviews

A lot of things have changed since the personal computer became a fixture in peoples lives.  The Internet has changed how we interact with everything. Today you can get your news, weather, research any topic, video chat, socialize,and even watch your house cats from anywhere in the world thanks to the Internet.  The thing is the Internet has also changed how we shop as well.  You can go to almost any companies website and buy their products online. Even amazon.com one of the largest online retailers in the world is testing the viability of offering customers the option of buying their groceries online as well. I am sure in the future that service will be rolled out to all of amazons customers.  Soon it will be possible to do all your shopping right from in front of your computer or smart phone.

There is still one small problem with online shopping and that is how do you know if you are getting what you think you are getting.  For customers nothing is more of a hassle than having to return an item and wait for the replacement to be sent out.  A recent study I had seen found that the biggest obstacle to most people buying items online is the hassle of returns, and the fact that every retailer handles them differently.  For most people the biggest problem was the having to wait additional time while returning an item and waiting for the replacement to come.  This can be extremely bother some when buying shoes online. Especially if you have never tried on a particular brand of shoe before.  Because virtually every shoe is made differently you might wear  one size and width in a Reebok shoe for instance, and wear a different size or width in an Adidas.  I on one occasion had to return a pair of shoes three times to get a pair that was the right fit.

There was a study done many years back that showed that reviews are beneficial to companies in three ways. One is that they generate sales, Two they reduce returns by nearly 75% and third they identify poorly performing products. For retailers all three of these are important. For consumers reviews are just as important.  With more and more people buying online the process of product reviews becomes even more important.  Before the Internet retailers knew one thing and they knew it well.  That one thing is "If a customer is satisfied he will tell two or three people about his experience. If a customer has a bad experience or is unsatisfied with a product or service he will tell anyone who will listen about it."  This is what is known as word of mouth advertising.  Word of mouth advertising costs nothing, is extremely effective, and can grow your customer base faster than the best marketing plan out there.

What does this all have to do with reviews you are probably asking.  Simple the customer review is the Internet version of word of mouth.  Whether it is a pair of shoes, a service, or the dinner you had at Chili's the night before.  There is always someplace you can leave a review about it online.  In my career as an author I know that reviews sell books.  The medical facility that I work at knows that reviews generate patients. The restaurant down the street knows that reviews bring diners through the door.

Unfortunately I find that a lot of my peers get upset about negative reviews.  As an author I can relate because we pour our heart and soul into this thing that has taken months if not years to go from an idea to being put down on paper and published.  Then someone comes along and says "This book was terrible and it is not even worth being used as toilet paper."  To an author this is the equivalent to having someone look at your baby boy or girl and call it ugly.  I also know though that this is the same feeling you get as a cook when someone returns a dish to the kitchen too.  As a creator or producer you are going to be criticized it is just part of the game and you can't please everyone all the time.  I know we have all heard that before. The best thing that you can do is try to learn from it if there is something to learn and move on.

What I want to talk about is reviews from the side of a customer.  When I start browsing Amazon for instance looking at products the first thing I look at after reading the description blurb is customer reviews. The reason is because the blurb is written by a salesman whose only job is to sell products. Customer reviews are the people who have used it, read it, or ate it.  They are the ones I want to know information from.  They are the ones that tell me if the coat tends to run large, or if a shoe runs small, etc. Now it is always nice if you have a lot of reviews to look at because if you see a number of people saying the same things you can be sure it is a fact.

Unfortunately though there is a small amount that do not want to give you any information at all.  These are the people that leave reviews that say "This is crap! DON'T BUY!!!" or "Don't waste your money."  OK as a consumer my next thought is obviously WHY?  Now there is always the person that says well that is their opinion and they are entitled to it.  Well yes they are but my logical side says if I was face to face with this person and they said that to me my next question would be why? Like anyone else I would want to know why you think that, I want details.  Is it crap because it is made of cheap plastic, and broke after two uses?  Then say that; don't just say its crap.  You are not helping anybody by not providing some sort of reason as to why you think something is crap.

Someone I talked to once called those that leave reviews like that as Trolls. In the online gaming world they are also called Trolls or Griefers.  Because their only object is to cause harm, or frustration to someone simply because they can.  I have also used this term on occasion and I know I shouldn't.  I believe that if you are going to take the time to make a review that you should have enough integrity to actually back up your opinion with facts as to why you have that opinion.  Personally if you don't feel the need to expand on why you think something is crap then you obviously don't hold your own opinion as having any worth.

I know that this might rub some people the wrong way.  If it does then I am sorry. The opinions expressed are my own and are in no way meant to influence anyone.  And as always comments are always welcome.