Take Tripadvisor reviews with a very large grain of salt

[Bubblesong]

My last few trips I used TripAdvisor to find things to do in locations that I needed to keep kids busy, and found out activities I had would not have thought to google.
I do ignore the stars, and tend to learn the hard way, which is why I found myself doing a “Bubblerun! So much Fun!” Through a weed choked parking lot marked out by Road-Kill traffic cones and crime-scene tape, overlooked by a ghastly, condemned church on a hill, (no doubt haunted by the souls of those who suffocated in the bubbles). THEN I came home and read all the one star ratings, ooops!

 

[SandSmile]

We just booked the Blue Angel Resort for our June dive trip. I went on TA to check out the local restaurants as we are big foodies. I knew is was nonsense when the first restaurant that it recommended was Bubba Gump. Bleh.

 

[caruso]

I read only the negative reviews of a business that I am considering using, and look for commonalities between them.

 

[kelemvor]

I like reviews. I use both "star ratings" and descriptions to try and get an idea about something or someplace ahead of time. Of course reviews are subjective - the whole point in writing a review is to share your opinion on something. If I'm spending a lot of money on something, I look at the details about whatever it is, then I look at reviews. Sometimes spam in reviews are obvious, and (I assume) other times not so obvious. The spam makes it more difficult, but the alternative is what... just spend your money with no idea what to expect?

Lots of people only bother to post reviews if they've had a bad experience and are therefore pissed. I try to also post reviews if I've had a positive experience.

Some review systems allow for user "meta moderation" kind of like the comment system on slashdot. With these systems, customers can vote up or vote down any given review. Over time, obvious spam tends to get either flagged or voted into irrelevance. An example of this meta moderation can be seen on Amazon. You can mark someone's review as helpful or report abuse of the review system. Amazon's system lacks the ability to provide negative feedback to a review (downvote or mark unhelpful etc) but it's better than nothing.

 

[Bubblesong]

I read only the negative reviews of a business that I am considering using, and look for commonalities between them.

From what I’ve read, negative reviews can be faked by competitors, they mention any kind of bug, and people get scared off unfairly.
I believe we should leave TripAdvisor comments, but with specific details of the day that show you were really there. In the example I gave above, the condemned church really was in the center of the Bubblerun, yet not something a fake reviewer would know to include. In other positive reviews, name and fun quirks about the staff, or details about the neighborhood give trustworthiness to a positive review.
Online reviews also provide needed feedback when a business crosses to listen and learn from comments.

 

[kelemvor]

Online reviews also provide needed feedback when a business crosses to listen and learn from comments.

A lot of review systems (amazon is my example again) provide a method for the business to respond to the review. They can then potentially turn a negative review or comment into something positive. If I see someone post a review saying that a product arrived broken and then the company publicly apologized and stated they're quickly sending a replacement it's a positive review in my opinion. Problems happen, and when a business goes out of their way to provide excellent support that makes me want to buy from that business. When a business fails to publicly respond, I probably form a negative opinion in that scenario.

 

[dlofting]

With any internet rating systems regardless of the site I usually look at the more negative reviews. I also want to see specifics....if a review doesn't have that I ignore it.

 

[CathyE]

I'll read them occasionally, always a few of the bad ones looking for common issues. My pet peeve is the ones that do a roll call of the staff, especially the animation staff at a resort, I stop reading once this starts.
I also stop reading after 'XYZ Shop is the best, I just did my open water with them.' Tell me what you liked about them, but you can't know that they are the 'best'.
When I used to bother writing a review I usually tried to list points and observations to let people decide for themselves.

 

[mikeycanuk]

I only do google reviews. I used to do a lot of TA reviews but I realized I'm helping their bottom line and not getting much out of it. Plus there was a dive op the 3 of us wrote reviews for so he could get back to the top after a 1 star review dropped him down. All in return for some pictures/video they took. Terrible videos as it turned out.

And the 1 star was for losing divers for 2hrs. And I could see why, he was deaf as a post underwater. We never went back. (wasn't in Coz)

 

[morecowbells]

I do use Tripadvisor when planning a vacation. I disregard reviews from a one post new member(sorry to sound harsh). If a poster has been on TA for a while and has several reviews, I tend to take that with more gravitas than a vague member who made it a point to set up a TA account in order to praise or slam a business. I look for things like cleanliness, location, comfort of beds and noise factors. Admittedly, it has been incredibly helpful in vacation planning. I do however, agree with the other posters here who mentioned they feel used and taken for granted. I also feel that TA lacks integrity and engages in manipulative tactics. For example, I had some friends who visited Cozumel and used a dive op that I had recommended. Sadly, their experience was not so favorable. The wrote a 3 star review on this dive op outlining their experience. They liked their dive master and captain, but were not pleased with a rushed and inadequate surface interval. After their review was posted, it magically disappeared after only a couple of days. The review was neither scathing or gushing with praise, but obviously made the dive op owner unhappy. Now the dive op has >1000 stellar reviews on TA-go figure.....