Lifestyle & Culture

Reviewing the Situation

August 8, 2021

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By Andrea Rouda

EVERYDAY life can be annoying these days. You can’t do anything without getting an email or a text or a phone call afterwards asking you to write a review about your experience. Earlier today I brought my car in for an inspection at a local auto shop. When I paid, I was informed that if I write a review of my service and post it online I will get a free oil change whenever I need one.

First of all, who says I’m bringing my car to them for my next oil change? And secondly, I’m not in the business of public relations. Write your own reviews.

Each time I shop at at L.L. Bean, which I do often because it’s three miles from my front door and just about the only retail establishment still in business after Covid swept through, by the time I get home I’ve received an email from the store asking me to rate my purchase. Hey, I haven’t even had time to take it out of the bag yet—how do I know what I think of it? Not to mention, who cares how I feel? If I like my socks, does that mean you will like the same socks? No, is the correct answer, so what’s the point?

—Andrea Rouda blogs at The Daily Droid



5 thoughts on “Reviewing the Situation

  1. Carol says:

    Okay Most of the time I delete the “review requests.” Unless I just love the item/service or… hate it for a variety of reasons. And I try to review when it is a small business trying to grow. I tend to think that folks only give bad reviews to vent and forgo good ones… I don’t pay much attention to the reviews out there anyway as I feel a lot are fake.

  2. Barbara Kreger says:

    true, it’s annoying, because it’s EVERYWHERE – IT’S EVERYWHERE. All you have to do is ignore it. But if you’ve had a negative experience, you’ve got a way to vent. Could be fun.

    1. Nancy McKeon says:

      Historically, newspapers (and such) receive mostly negative feedback from articles. The people who agree, or simply feel well served by the information, presumably just sit there nodding their heads. I think, for the most part, the same applies to product reviews. Remember the old Silent Majority? That’s the bulk of consumers.

  3. Claudia says:

    I completely agree. I get surveys all the time, the most recent from my hair dresser asking about my salon experience. They never used to do that. My experience is reflected in the tips—shouldn’t that be enough?

    With that said, if mylittlebird sent out a survey to its readers asking to rate their experience, I would be honored to participate.

    Thank you for your words, experience and insights.

    Claudia

    1. Nancy McKeon says:

      Thanks for the kind words!!!

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