I search all the time for 'the best' manicures, colorists, hair stylists, massage therapists... the list is endless. I began my online reference for the best with Citysearch about 8 years ago. This was the first time I realized just how great online presence was. My reference of websites has obviously grown a lot since those early days, including any and all sites that you can find reviews on! You can read anyone's reviews of any place, or person you want to use and see if it's even worth the try. Awesome! Until...
in the past many years, businesses also realized how important these online reviews are and are coming up with their own ways to ensure they have a 'stellar' online presence as well. Being a business owner, I have been tempted many a time to embellish a little... this is what has made me know and realize that other businesses have taken part in this idea. If you look up any business you most likely can find something about them. The good, the bad and the perfectly neutral. Sometimes you don't find much, which is frustrating as you hoped that someone was either so happy or miserable with their choice of business that they decided to be vocal about it. This hopeful attempt to find ratings may lead you down a path of lies, deceit and espionage! LOL... ok, not the last one, maybe... ;) I have found many businesses with multiple AWESOME reviews. It's ridiculous. You see how great they are, go there, to find out for yourself it was all a scham. The reviews were probably written by friends, employees or owners of the business. You can tell, they sound 'too' perfect: "These guys are awesome! I am so impressed with the individual love and attention my dog got. The paper work was informative and I felt really comfortable leaving my sweet pup to be taken care of my them. I will be sure to use them again. Have recommended to all my friends." This is what a 'bogus' online review of a pet sitter might say (this isn't an actual one, but something like what I have seen used before). I work in this industry so I know what sounds fake, clients don't talk that way. They don't notice these things then review about it. Instead they make very normal comments, they don't normally sound so happy, as though they are about to explode, and don't go overboard with the compliments. Noticing paperwork is VERY abnormal, no matter HOW good it is! I've had clients notice my professionalism and paperwork, but NEVER comment on the paperwork! Just something they notice but don't rave about. Due to this, I have become familiar with what other businesses might say. One example: A local hair salon, that opened about 4 years ago, opened with numerous perfect reviews on Citysearch Austin. I was surprised that such a new place could have such an awesome start, especially since I had met the owner and wasn't too impressed. I wanted to check it out, but decided to wait and see what a few more months of reviews would reveal. SO glad I did! They eventually got very nasty reviews, and the way they were written was much more 'human, every day person' rather than perfect, like they were written by employees, friends of the company or owner. Amazing what these little online blurbs can do for a company! They got a lot of business but it was not earned. They blew up their presence and made it seem like everyone should go there, they did and came back shocked as to why there are so many positive reviews, when they had a bad experience. Eventually it all evens out and the truth becomes known. Now, this place apparently decided to step up to the bar and actually began to fulfill their customers expectations, over the past few years, their presence improved and they are what they set themselves up to be, a great place for customers to visit and use services. This is quite unique though, most of the time, I notice it is a very slippery downward slope they tread on, and subsequently fall to failure. Once they start to lie, they lose sight of the real objective, happy customers. Those who write earned, awesome reviews and return with friends should be more the focus, the bigger picture. I think this is getting lost in big business, never mind, I know it has.
As a consumer, one still has to be on the watch. Read, research and do it again. You never know when those final bad reviews start to roll in, I have had enough bad experiences on my own (some REALLY bad!), and it's only a few weeks or months after my experience that I finally find the honesty I was searching for. SO: be wary, does it sound real, do normal people talk that way? Be a little skeptical and make sure to ask the questions. If you are mainly concerned with professionalism, ask about it! If you are mainly concerned with the attention to detail, ask! If the person you question doesn't have an acceptable answer, or they stumble to find an answer, means they don't 'do that' or pay attention to it, they can't even answer or respond to any questions about 'it'. Consumers generally wont write a good review of a place or service if they don't feel time was taken to assist them or enough experience of the company representative to provide comforting answers was available or provided. Rushing=need to get you outta here before you change your mind. Also: keep an eye out for reviews that seem 'too informed'. If the person writing seems like they are too educated in the industry the review is referencing, read their review with a sense of skepticism. Then read 5 more, are they more positive or negative?
Additionally, I wish the general consumer would realize just how much of an impact online reviews can have. Don't write one arbitrarily, you can greatly affect a small company. I have heard too many consumers making a nasty comment about a place they visited, and I realize they have no idea just how much that can hurt a company if it isn't accurate, in their opinion of course. But that is the world we live in, and it seems to only get tougher. You can't force a consumer to write something great, and you can't always fix a customers bad experience. As a business owner, you are left with an online statement that you can either take to learn from, or ignore completely and hope it doesn't represent a omen of things to come. Just as it's said: Lemons, make something of 'em...
Good luck with your choice! Now on to find the perfect hair stylist and colorist...
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