What's wrong with online reviews of services? A critical view

In today's digital world, reviews of services play a central role. They are often the first thing potential customers look at when choosing a service. Regardless of whether it is a restaurant, a hotel or a cleaning service – reviews are the key to successful customer acquisition. But how representative are these reviews really? Are they able to provide a realistic picture of the quality of the service? In this discussion I would like to shed light on the problem of valuations and question whether they are actually a reliable indicator.

1. Positive experiences rarely motivate a review

One of the biggest problems with online reviews is the fact that satisfied customers often do not have the motivation to leave a review. For many people, when a service is going well, it's simply normal - there's no reason to spend extra time communicating this. The cleaning was successful, the taxi arrived on time, and the customer thinks: “Everything is fine, thank you.” But it is precisely this silence that leads to a distorted picture of the actual performance of a service provider.

Only in exceptionally bad or particularly bad cases Outstanding experiences make people take the time to write a review. And especially when they have a bad experience, customers tend to quickly reach for the keyboard. This distorts the picture and leads to negative reviews being overrepresented.

2. Extensive reviews with photos dominate the algorithms

Another problem is that reviews with pictures or detailed descriptions are preferred in the algorithms of review platforms such as Google or Yelp. These in-depth reviews are considered more valuable and authentic because they appear to provide more information. But what is the reality?

Customers who are satisfied rarely write long, detailed reviews. They have received their service and are happy – that is enough for them. But the algorithms prefer longer reviews with pictures, and these often come from unhappy customers who want to complain. This leads to negative reviews being displayed more often and thus distorting the overall picture.

3. The importance of negative reviews in relation to the total number of customers

An important fact that is often overlooked: If a company has been on the market for years, it is bound to receive some bad reviews. That's just the nature of the business. No company can serve thousands of customers without encountering one or two dissatisfied customers. But how is this presented?

Google and other platforms do not show the total number of customers a company has served. It's entirely possible that a cleaning company had 10,000 happy customers but only had 10 bad reviews online. A potential customer reading these ten negative reviews might conclude that the company is bad, even though these complaints represent only a tiny fraction of the total customer base.

4. Good reviews often appear “contrived”

Another phenomenon that we can observe is the distrust of good reviews. Positive reviews are often perceived as “too similar” and seem unbelievable to some users. As Lev Tolstoy once wrote: “All happy families are the same, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” The same applies to reviews: happy customers often leave simple, similar comments like “Everything was great,” while unhappy customers express their disappointment in different, creative ways.

This imbalance in emotional expression means that positive evaluations are often ignored and negative ones are given undue attention.

5. Negative reviews carry more weight than positive ones

One negative review can often carry much more weight than five positive ones. People tend to remember bad experiences more strongly and perceive them more intensely. The same goes for the reviews. A company may have an average rating of 4.5 stars, but the few negative comments carry much more weight and leave a lasting impression.

6. Limited response options for companies

One of the biggest challenges for companies is responding appropriately to negative reviews. They are often severely limited in their answers. For example, you cannot post photos or detailed information about the condition of an apartment before cleaning, while the customer can often “say whatever he wants” in his review. This one-sided communication disadvantages companies that cannot fully defend themselves.

Another problem is that some dissatisfied customers mobilize friends and acquaintances to leave additional negative reviews - often without these people being customers themselves. Platforms like Google hardly offer any options for removing or refuting such unlawful reviews.

7. Normal experiences go unnoticed, bad experiences spread

Who talks about an average taxi ride? No one. You get in, arrive on time and say thank you. But stories about strange or unpleasant experiences spread like wildfire. The same applies to other services. Normal, “unspectacular” experiences do not motivate writing, but negative experiences stick and are shared.

8. Long-time, loyal customers rarely leave reviews

Another interesting point: Customers can use a company's service for years and be consistently satisfied - but they don't leave a single positive review. But as soon as something goes wrong, a negative review is immediately written. This can be particularly frustrating for companies, because a single negative incident can destroy the image of years of good work.

An example: easyoffbam.info

An excellent example is the cleaning companyeasyoffbam.info, which operates in Berlin. It has over 700 reviews and an average rating of 4.5 stars. This is a real example of success considering that many other cleaning companies have much fewer reviews and most are well below this rating. Nevertheless, this review also contains some negative comments, and potential customers often read these first.

Conclusion: Reviews - just a “list of failures”?

Reviews on platforms like Google or Yelp often do not reflect reality. Rather, they represent a “list of failures” in which negative experiences are overrepresented. Companies rarely have the opportunity to explain their position or provide context, while unhappy customers are free to act. It's important to look at reviews in context and understand that they only represent a small part of the overall customer experience.