How Do You REALLY Rate?

Everybody gets bad reviews. Could be from acquaintances, colleagues, friends, family, strangers. People talk and they don’t always have good things to say. It’s not necessarily about you. Could be just a cranky person. Or someone who, justifiably or not, felt slighted or underappreciated. You can’t always fix that. It’s not necessarily your fault. You don’t have to go around apologizing. Unless you know you’re a mess. Then you should do something about that.

Businesses often get mixed reviews. It’s unusual to have everyone like you. Some may dislike you, your product, or your service but not want to seem like a complainer or part of a smear campaign. Then there are those who like to complain about everything – for everyone to hear and see. You can’t please everyone. Just don’t let that keep you from continuing to ask trusted sources how you can improve.

A doctor, practicing for years, with hundreds of happy patients, got a negative online review from a patient who didn’t like all the sports paraphernalia and posters decorating the office. The doc loved it, big fan. So were a number of his clients. Someone posted that the office décor was out of line and should offer more universal and visual appeal. This in spite of the fact that they liked everything else there. Someone actually took the time to write up that complaint. Did they think the doc would post, “Oh, so sorry you were offended. We’ll take it all down immediately and put up what you like.”?

If you’re searching for a professional, you should click on reviews – positive, negative, and in-between. But take all of them with a grain of salt. Some of those reviewers are paid to post. There are people who are paid to remove negative reviews. What are you seeing? What are you NOT seeing? Better to get personal recommendations if possible. But that can be a problem too. Ask them what they liked and didn’t like – and consider the source.

You have to be skeptical. Read between the lines. Consider what isn’t said. Consider WHY someone would say something like that. And, if it’s just a click on a positive, neutral or negative icon - no text – what does THAT really mean? As best you can, check things out. Ask questions. See if reviews and feedback form a pattern you might want to take seriously (whether it’s feedback about you or about a professional you’re interested in). Make your best informed guess/choice. Know it might or might not work out. Learn from that.