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Discussion Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: RakiaTaylor on March 16, 2012, 03:11:41 am

Title: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: RakiaTaylor on March 16, 2012, 03:11:41 am
I read customer reviews anytime I am about to purchase an item, book a hotel, eat at a restaurant and stuff like that.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: crazyzoo on March 16, 2012, 04:35:36 am
I do also it has stopped me from buying many things I also check the health inspections on local resturaunts
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: mgint on March 16, 2012, 05:42:53 am
sometimes they can help with a decision on buying products online.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: Abrupt on March 16, 2012, 06:23:02 am
I do it for online purchases quite often but you have to look for the information behind the ratings.  I tend to ignore (at least initially) the highest and lowest ratings (if they have a rating system) as I find the more useful information to be in the middle.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: pjlicari17 on March 16, 2012, 06:33:00 am
I am not even sure if I am doing this right, so please forgive me if I make little sense!

To answere your guestion, I do!  Because they MAY give me a decent answer that I sisn't know prior!  That is called "LEARNING"!
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: lucky382001 on March 16, 2012, 06:51:57 am
Sometimes I check them but sometimes they can be misleading too or they don't give enough information as to why they like or dislike the product. So generally research helps me know if it will likely work for me or not.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: sweedly on March 16, 2012, 07:27:35 am
I think it depends on the site and how much they check on the reviews. Someplaces are a bit more picky about who posts and about the post its self. If their not getting paided to make the post I feel I can trust the site better than places that pay customers to post reviews.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: brendy1990 on March 16, 2012, 07:29:10 am
i do on major purchases and for sure on hotels..  :wave:
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: shortnlovabl3 on March 16, 2012, 07:43:15 am
customer reviews are helpfull.  It keeps us from buying something that just won't work or is poor quality
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: devideddi on March 16, 2012, 08:17:54 am
yes whenever available
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: erinelise2 on March 16, 2012, 09:32:43 am
I always read the reviews - then I add a grain or two of salt! There are people who are getting paid to post reviews.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: hvnlydevil on March 16, 2012, 06:09:15 pm
I always use customer reviews when comparisson shopping. It's great to have a point of view from someone who owns and uses that item daily.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: crh55449 on March 16, 2012, 08:38:29 pm
I always read customer reviews. They help me pick what type of product or service I need
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: tcarmody on March 16, 2012, 09:49:51 pm
Yes, I do.  Who knows better than the customers??  I value that over some service reward that was given to them by corporate.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: davidh121 on March 16, 2012, 11:42:00 pm
I heavily rely on customer reviews (and expert reviews) when considering a product and sometimes travel destination services, but not so much as to hotels in particular. Reviews more often than not have actually caused me to delay a purchase or give up on an item entirely.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: sherryinutah on March 17, 2012, 12:31:42 am
I read customer reviews anytime I am about to purchase an item, book a hotel, eat at a restaurant and stuff like that.
I also read reviews when I shop on Amazon or when I'm looking for a great recipe.  I'm glad people rate things and write reviews so I feel confident about the decisions I make.

 :heart:
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: kaitsilva on March 17, 2012, 05:28:48 am
It depends on the product. If I'm buying something like a computer or major household appliance I ALWAYS trust consumer reviews because I don't think the average person seriously thinks they can ruin a company like that by complaining about a dishwasher or the like.

I tend to be more lenient when it comes to things like shops or restaurants (unless almost everyone who reviews gives it a bad review), because there's always that one person who causes a stir at the place by being extremely rude or OCD-level nitpicky, then goes home and writes a horrible review. Some of my favorite places in the world surely have some bad reviews online. Oh well!
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: jenniferhoder on March 17, 2012, 05:51:05 am
I do on some things when I am making a SERIOUS purchase. I don't always rely on them  bc I have found on some things people are just being picky.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: sdecaro558 on March 17, 2012, 08:55:27 am
Always read them, but don't always rely on them because they can be so varied.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: makememoney35 on March 17, 2012, 08:56:42 am
yes it is how I determine my purchase
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: articx on March 17, 2012, 09:56:13 am
Yes, I do. When I shop for video games, customer reviews can be helpful.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: dymondzncurlz810 on March 17, 2012, 10:35:19 am
I do also it has stopped me from buying many things I also check the health inspections on local resturaunts

DO NOT trust the health inspections on restaurants!! Our restaurant passes everytime good "grades" and it is the dirtiest thing I have ever seen. First of all most places KNOW when or about when the inspector is going to come in so they "prepare" for it. Our restaurant has *bleep* roaches, we wash our dishes with laundry detergent, but mostly just spray them off. There are some dishes we don't wash AT ALL because they "keep" longer. We drop food on the floor all the time and use it, we reuse stuff that customers take back, they smoke in the back of the restaurant, they use their bare hands to make the food and we get about 5 complaints about "hair in our food" a day. There is SO MUCH more this place is horrible and I would LOVE to turn us into the health department but they will know it's me because I complain about everything and I can't lose my job  :-
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: ptfunds on March 17, 2012, 10:37:55 am
Great topic! Yes, I always read the reviews for products, restaurants, hotels, beauty salons, etc.  I have saved myself much grief and money in the process of doing this and think it is one of the great advantages of the internet. Where else can you get this type of info from a broad range of people in different areas?  So glad you brought up this topic as it may encourage more people to take advantage of all of the free information available. :)
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: Snoozey on March 17, 2012, 08:13:15 pm
I prefer to use customer reviews when looking for a new phone or technology, but it seems like a lot of people only write reviews when they are dissatisfied.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: southernhorizons on March 17, 2012, 08:47:45 pm
I read customer review a lot of times on Amazon, especially if I'm comparing similar products. I don't always make my decisions just on the reviews however, because Some people find fault with everything anyway, and a lot of times the things they complain about aren't even bad qualities. I also read reviews about hotels, but they aren't necessarily foolproof either. I tend to look at the whole picture, if all or most of the reviews are bad, then there's probably some truth to it.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: timandvicky1 on March 17, 2012, 09:42:52 pm
I also rely heavily on customer reviews on products, hotels, rv campgrounds etc......I also try to give a good customer review when a product or service calls for it.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: quietpal on March 17, 2012, 10:45:28 pm
I usually read customer reviews, although I don't rely soley on the reviews when I want to make a purchase.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: candyterrius on March 20, 2012, 07:43:47 pm
I do read them when reviews are available. If it’s for a book or movie, I would find a way to borrow them from the library before deciding to buy. For all other things, when positive reviews outweigh the negative, I am willing to give it a chance to confirm the truth myself when I really need it.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: champak97 on March 20, 2012, 08:33:42 pm
I read customer reviews, but don't rely on them completely. It is helpful in a certain way, as to form a opinion about an unknown item.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: sgluckadoo on March 20, 2012, 09:13:27 pm
I do. i tend to look at customer reviews and create my own "average". You will always ahve people who love a product and those who hate it, so i try to look at how many reviews there are in the middle.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: kittenkagome on March 20, 2012, 11:44:30 pm
I try to make a habit of reading customer reviews. It makes me feel better to know what other people's experience was with a product before I invest any money into it. The problem is you have to weed through so many stupid, silly, or just plain unhelpful reviews to get any sort of real information, which can be a huge pain. For example, saying you hate a cleaning product because your husband said the packaging looked weird, or that you got a bad result because you didn't read the instructions. Then there are the really annoying people who use the review space on websites just to chat with their friends. Anyway, once you get past all that, I think the best thing to do is to look for consistency. See what most of the people are saying. I agree with a previous post that said looking at the most positive and negative reviews only give you extremes and is not a very good sample of what you will most likely experience. So yes, I encourage all to read the reviews when you can. It is always better to do the research in the long run. :cat:
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: Shandara09 on March 21, 2012, 11:50:47 am
I always check them out to help me make decisions on hotels or products.  A lot of the time I check things on my phone while I'm at the store, just to be sure I'm getting something good.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: diala84 on March 21, 2012, 03:01:25 pm
I check usually when I am trying something new. Although sometimes I just take a chance especially when I am making a decision on the go since I don't have internet on my phone.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: pstovall on March 21, 2012, 03:20:02 pm
I never buy anything online any more without checking out the customer reviews if they are available, especially big purchases.  I was buying a dvd player one Christmas and found out all kinds of useful information about which brand to buy just by checking all the different reviews.  This past Christmas, I was looking for a particular present for a grandchild, and while reading the reviews learned that I could buy it significantly cheaper through QVC.  I was delighted and would not have known to look there if I hadn't read the review!
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: runy_brm on March 21, 2012, 04:20:21 pm
Yes when i shop online, it helps me to get good products
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: pjlicari17 on March 22, 2012, 07:46:13 am
For the record, I have found that up to now, I usually don't.  Well, I do SKIM them to see what they say though,,,
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: ninajay on March 23, 2012, 08:43:33 pm
I read customer reviews especially for products I'm not sure about or when I shop online
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: mom2taz on March 23, 2012, 08:57:44 pm
Absolutely!!!  I find costumer reviews to be very helpful with trying to decide between different brands of the same or similar items.  gotta get your moneys worth these days for sure.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: Onlinedou2 on March 24, 2012, 06:19:06 pm
yea, it's very helpful when shopping online.
Title: Re: Do You Read Customer Reviews?
Post by: vickysue on March 24, 2012, 06:35:47 pm
I do quite a lot. Stops me from buying something that is not quite what is repsented. I hate spending money something that is not worth a hill of beans.