# Who ARE these people?



## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

Whenever I go on a trip, I read online reviews for the restaurants and hotels - after I get back.

On a recent trip to New York, I had a huge, quiet, perfectly clean room and ate in some famous and justifiably well regarded restaurants.

If the online reviews were to be believed, I would have encountered small, dark, noisy, dirty rooms, rude servers, poorly prepared food, and ridiculous prices.

There are, of course, more than enough positive reviews to keep the averages up. But who writes the bad reviews?

Clearly, they're people who think that a 100-year-old hotel or 80-year-old restaurant stays in business solely because of people who were fooled into going there by a fraudulent reputation. 

One person complained about being turned away after showing up in jeans to a restaurant where until recently men were required to wear a tie. Another review for the same restaurant claimed that the constantly-maintained-and-staffed washroom was dirty. (And to further give away the identity of the restaurant, several people claimed they went there because of the reputation, but "couldn't understand all the toys hanging from the ceiling.")

I consider myself to have high standards, and I've never had an experience as holistically awful as these people describe, despite going to the same places. So, am I just very accommodating, or are these people being unrealistic?


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## harvey_birdman (Mar 10, 2008)

There are several possible answers.

1. The negative reviews were written by competitors. Yelp is notorious for this.
2. The negative aspects of the review were present at the time the previous customer visited, but were resolved by the time you showed up.
3. People with different expectations and life experiences can visit the same place and yet react differently.


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

Miket61 said:


> And to further give away the identity of the restaurant, several people claimed they went there because of the reputation, but "couldn't understand all the toys hanging from the ceiling."


Pretty funny.

There's a lot to harvey birdman's third possible answer, I think. Particularly if it's a place that well-known and serves tourists, the restaurant (or whatever) may supply exactly the experience that they're "supposed" to provide, but some of the customers have no idea what that is, or if it's what they're looking for. It's like somebody going to see "There Will Be Blood" because they think it's a teen slasher movie.


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## stubloom (Jun 6, 2010)

It's been said that we'll tell 10 friends and associates about a "bad" experience and 1 about an extraordinary experience.

As I high-end dry cleaner for over 20 years with a largely discriminating clientele, I've seen it all. It's possible to have done beautiful work for a client for over 10 years (and never heard from them) but an overlooked, loose button on a slacks or trouser will result in a call or email. 

With the advent of the internet, everyone's a critic and their opinions are now real time.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

To Harvey Birdman's list, I'd add that sometimes good places just screw up or suffer a disaster once in a while - and as Stubloom says, the "victim" is a lot more likely to complain than a happy customer is to compliment.


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## dwebber18 (Jun 5, 2008)

Ya know I had a similar experience with out hotel room in NYC in August. It was listed as a 2.5 star only because it was an older hotel, and the room weren't modernized and swanky. I found it to be quaint, incredibly clean, and gigantic, especially for NYC. I gave it a very favorable rating because it exceeded my expectations. I wasn't expecting the Waldorf or the W, and I certainly didn't pay that for it. I really think its all about expectations, if you expect a 5 star restaurant and eat at a 3 star, don't rate it like you would a 5 star. Common sense to me, but I guess not everyone.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

IMHO people see and experience pretty much what they are looking for and expecting to find. My wife and I take quite a few short trips in the course of a year. As the opportunity presents itself, we like to stay in quaint bed and breakfasts, created out of restored older homes. Many would find the smaller rooms, period wallpaper patterns, antique furniture and lack of modern services (ie: Internet access) frequently found in these places to be seriously lacking but, we find such to simply add to the charm. Differing expectations and perspectives result in differing opinions and evaluations!


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

dwebber18 said:


> I wasn't expecting the Waldorf or the W, and I certainly didn't pay that for it.


We actually stayed at the Waldorf, and had a fantastic (for New York) rate. The room was wonderful and the staff couldn't have been nicer. But online reviews talk about the tiny, dirty rooms and rude staff. I can't imagine they're talking about the same place.

The one-to-five star ratings on consumer web sites annoy me. On TripAdvisor, there's a Hampton Inn in the theater district that so consistently exceeds expectations that it's ranked in the top two or three of all hotels in the city by the reviewers.

My personal opinion is that people who write bad reviews of well-regarded places wouldn't know a good fine dining experience if it bit them on the backside. They don't understand formal service, they don't recognize half the things on the menu and are too intimidated to ask questions, and they think that anything that's more expensive than the Olive Garden in their home town must be a rip-off tourist trap.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Miket61: There's a restaurant in my town that costs the same as Olive Garden and is better. It really needs more business -- the ingredients are local organic, the chef has won many awards, and the place oozes class in every department. (I think me and my girlfriend were the only ones wearing a suit and cocktail dress.) Now, I have nothing against Olive Garden. There's always something I will eat there. However, there's something to be said about affordable local dining that is far above the chains in quality. It amazes me how under-appreciated these places are. People will go to TGI Friday's all the time but never bat an eye at the local cuisine that's just around the corner and offers something different for the palate. What a shame.


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## dwebber18 (Jun 5, 2008)

Jovan said:


> Miket61: There's a restaurant in my town that costs the same as Olive Garden and is better. It really needs more business -- the ingredients are local organic, the chef has won many awards, and the place oozes class in every department. (I think me and my girlfriend were the only ones wearing a suit and cocktail dress.) Now, I have nothing against Olive Garden. There's always something I will eat there. However, there's something to be said about affordable local dining that is far above the chains in quality. It amazes me how under-appreciated these places are. People will go to TGI Friday's all the time but never bat an eye at the local cuisine that's just around the corner and offers something different for the palate. What a shame.


 I completely agree, especially when we go out of town, I always look for places that I are different and things I can't get at home. It amazed me that when I was in NYC the flood of people in TGI Fridays and Olive Garden in Times square. Just walk a couple blocks and find a local hole in the wall and try it out. I guess thats not the easy or "safe" bet, but for us it works better and we get to experience new things.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Ti Amo is far from a hole in the wall, but the entrance is discreet and just around the corner from a sleazy hipster bar.


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## beherethen (Jun 6, 2009)

I'm going to guess that a lot of the comments come from employees. I know a woman who was fired today for being one minute late. The ***** that fired her has dubious qualifications for her job.
If your annoyed at your employer. giving them a bad review is safer than a pipe bomb. The police tend to get annoyed when you use a pipe bomb, no matter how justified.


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## Canadian (Jan 17, 2008)

When I look for a hotel I look at three factors.

1. Cost. Can I afford to stay at this hotel and still have the money I need to pay for the trip.
2. Intentions. Am I taking my g/f away for a long weekend for some retail therapy. Am I traveling on business (because I'm not above a Days Inn for business, because being self employed means I pay the bills) or is it an escape from business. 
3. Location. If I get a rate at 200CDN for a night, but have to take a 40CDN taxi ride to get to the conference and another 40 back, would a slightly more expensive downtown hotel be more practical than one in say Little Italy (Montreal here as that's pretty much where I go all the time). Is it in a shopping district? How far away is it from amenities. How far from the airport? (Is it far enough away that planes aren't an issue, but close enough I don't have to get up at 3AM to catch a flight). 

Anyhow, that's what I'm interested in.

Thomas


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## camorristi (May 9, 2010)

Miket61 said:


> Whenever I go on a trip, I read online reviews for the restaurants and hotels - after I get back.
> 
> On a recent trip to New York, I had a huge, quiet, perfectly clean room and ate in some famous and justifiably well regarded restaurants.
> 
> ...


Interesting question, I too would like to find out. I think reviews should be unbiased and based on facts, not opinions. I don't give a f*** what you think, just give me the facts.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

I think most people nowadays are so used to generic motel rooms (big enough for soccer, same type bed, cable TV, little desk, you know the drill) that _anything _else strikes them as "lesser" somehow. Old wood walls? Oooh, is that dirty? Wood framed bed? Oooh, is that safe? Anything not absolutely brand new and antiseptic? Oooh, are there bugs, honey can't we go to a _nice _place? Most have no other experiences. And a "no jeans" restaurant? Well! Who do they think they are??

As you can probably tell, I've had experience with this kind of "rater". Just give her the newest Hampton or Holiday Inn Express. Nothing wrong with 'em, I've stayed in hundreds, but I've enjoyed dozens of little mom'n'pops that were just as clean and comfortable, and some fine hotels with small rooms where (gasp_!) I only slept_!


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## Dragoon (Apr 1, 2010)

I looked up the reviews of a restaurant that was recommended to me by a friend; a tar paper shack on the end of a fishing pier in Florida. Supposedly they had the best Grouper sandwich ever and most of the reviewers agreed. One lady went on for 250 words lamenting the fact that a Pelican landed within her field of view on an adjacent piling and took a dump. Apparently she required counseling to get over it.

I tend to disregard complaints about service because my warm and cheerful disposition *always *gets us warm and cheerful service. Plus, I'm not that hard to please.


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## The Style of Brian (Nov 27, 2009)

I don't have too much to add that hasn't been mentioned already by some thoughtful replies - so I'll just echo them in my own words. My thought regarding online review places:

1. I do rely on sites such as Yelp and Trip adviser to assist with my eating and travel choices. I do, however, take what is said with a grain of salt. But, if I notice several common themes develop - especially if accompanied by pictures posted from different reviewers, then I do take that into account a little more heavily. 

As a practice, I often look at the reviewers other reviews to: 
(a) see if they used their real name or some silly online name like - world's_best_critique_23; it goes without saying that people who use their real name are much more likely to review things for fairly. 
(b) look at their track record of reviews, and their "tone of voice" used in other reviews. If they frequently rant and rave, I dismiss them. If they seem to be calm and level headed in their other reviews (meaning dole out both positives and negatives) I take what they have written more seriously. I also do this on Amazon.com when I'm looking at reviews.

2. As was mentioned above in this thread, I think many online reviewers confuse criticism with critique. They either rave about some obscure place and tear down popular places to appear an independent thinker; or, they criticize everything that moves. I think most self-appointed critics are more concerned about gaining attention for themselves. Another explanation could be that online reviewing serves as an outlet for their frustration.

3. Or, it could be as the saying goes, "There's no accounting for taste;" and, online forums just show us how much this is so.


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

The Style of Brian said:


> As was mentioned above in this thread, I think many online reviewers confuse criticism with critique. They either rave about some obscure place and tear down popular places to appear an independent thinker; or, they criticize everything that moves. I think most self-appointed critics are more concerned about gaining attention for themselves. Another explanation could be that online reviewing serves as an outlet for their frustration.


 As a frequent Yelper, I've noticed this when I've read other people's reviews. Reviews like that mislead people and destroy the credibility of otherwise decent businesses.

If I take the time to evaluate the business, I consider the type of business and the intended audience and critique accordingly.


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

The Style of Brian said:


> 2. As was mentioned above in this thread, I think many online reviewers confuse criticism with critique. They either rave about some obscure place and tear down popular places to appear an independent thinker; or, they criticize everything that moves. I think most self-appointed critics are more concerned about gaining attention for themselves. Another explanation could be that online reviewing serves as an outlet for their frustration.


Some people claim to be so with-it and trendy that everything you've ever heard of is cliched and old - a friend mentioned an obscure band as being absolutely wonderful. When I told him two weeks later that I'd listened to them online, they were already boring.

And other people are such a perfect storm of bitter and stupid that they strongly dislike everything, because liking something would require being able to explain _why - _someone complained that the gourmet cranberry sauce I gave them as a gift was too sweet. (Cranberry sauce, for those in countries without it, is NOT sweet.)

I agree with the comments about looking at a critic's other posts. I have a 1981 _Rolling Stone Record Guide_ which is fascinating because it even predates artists like Prince and Madonna. But every scathing review has the same initials after it.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Dragoon said:


> I looked up the reviews of a restaurant that was recommended to me by a friend; a tar paper shack on the end of a fishing pier in Florida. Supposedly they had the best Grouper sandwich ever and most of the reviewers agreed. One lady went on for 250 words lamenting the fact that a Pelican landed within her field of view on an adjacent piling and took a dump. Apparently she required counseling to get over it.
> 
> I tend to disregard complaints about service because my warm and cheerful disposition *always *gets us warm and cheerful service. Plus, I'm not that hard to please.


Dragoon, I'm no longer amazed at the number of people who don't understand that _outside _is a bit messier than _inside,_ because their main experience with the outdoors is the kids' soccer field, a golf course, or the symphony at the park (oh, we sat on blankets and _everything!_) That woman probably heard the term "fishing pier", but it didn't compute to: a pier, off of which; there were fish.


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