Fair or Foul?
L.A. Times
2013/01/22 03:00:00
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Brad Newman thinks that people who post lots of reviews on websites such as Yelp or TripAdvisor don't get enough respect from the businesses they write about. So he's come up with his own business, a Manhattan Beach company called ReviewerCard that issues IDs to prolific online reviewers to help them get better service than the rest of us.
Granted, that's not how Newman, 35, would put it. He sees ReviewerCard as a way to enhance the relationship between amateur reviewers and the hotels or restaurants they visit. "I'm going to review them anyway," Newman said, "so why not let them know in advance? It's not hurting anyone."
No one, that is, except businesses that face the implicit threat of a negative review if they don't lavish special attention on the ReviewerCard holder.
Granted, that's not how Newman, 35, would put it. He sees ReviewerCard as a way to enhance the relationship between amateur reviewers and the hotels or restaurants they visit. "I'm going to review them anyway," Newman said, "so why not let them know in advance? It's not hurting anyone."
No one, that is, except businesses that face the implicit threat of a negative review if they don't lavish special attention on the ReviewerCard holder.
Read More: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-2013...
Top Opinion
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kyle 2013/01/22 05:16:25
Professional reviewers go to great lengths to prevent being identified as such. That way they can give an honest review.
If the business they are reviewing can spot them, the business may go out of their way to lavish great service on the reviewer; service that an ordinary customer would never get. That makes the reviewer's opinions of the place worthless to the ordinary customer.
There will be a lot of folks who will buy his card thinking they'll get special treatment, and a few might, but the reviews that come from these folks will be completely suspect and probably worthless.