Have you ever gone online to read reviews?
I would assume that yes, yes you have. But as my high school economics teacher taught me… There is no such thing as a free lunch. Oops, wrong one, I mean, You know what happens when you assume? You make (another word for behind) out of U and ME.
So, I don’t want to do that. Hence the question.
I’ll admit it first, and then you can if you want.
I read online reviews. Here’s my tried and true system for getting the most out of reading online reviews. Call now and I’ll throw in a monocle at no extra charge.
Not really. I don’t have a monocle. But I will give you my permission to say the word monocle. Out loud. Ten times. Monocle. It sounds kind of cool. Go on – you know you want to.
Fun huh?
Okay, enough nonsense, here’s the dealio:
First – I read the rotten reviews. The one star. The lowest of the low.
Next – I read the 5 star. The winner winner chicken dinner reviews.
Then – I make an educated decision about whether or not to buy or do the thing.
Here’s why – one star reviews are very informative. Did you know that the majority of the time someone will rate something one star because they got a paper cut when they opened the package or because the mail person gave them a funny look when they dropped the package off? True story. Once in a while there will be a legit reason why they didn’t like it.
Either way, super helpful.
Five star reviews are similar, you just have to wade through the sunshine, butterflies and gushing to find reviews that apply to the thing.
So. That’s my strategy. Feel free to use it if you want to, it isn’t copywrited. Copywritten. Copywrit.
The reason we are talking about this is because the internet give us a plethora of information. Tons of opinions. If I want to do anything I can look it up in two seconds and find out what everyone else thinks about it.
But here’s the thing –
Not everyone thinks the same.
There is a possibility, no wait – hear me out – that I may not feel the same way about something as you do.
Right?!
I know, I know. I would never have thought it possible.
But it’s true.
Example: I wanted to hike a new trail with my husband, one that the city opened up not too long ago. I went online and read the reviews. Want to know what happened?
Expectations is what happened.
The trail didn’t get great reviews.
Instantly my attitude plummeted. I started envisioning the worst hike ever. Like, EVER. I thoroughly expected to have a thoroughly miserable experience. Because my husband, brilliant man really, didn’t read the reviews, he still thought it was going to be super fun and still wanted to go. I dragged my feet. Drug my feet. Drugged my feet.
Hm, those can’t be right.
Anyway, what I did was whined a lot. Up until the moment we parked the car.
And you know what? Despite the last little bit of trail that winds behind the sewage plant, complete with expected stench, the hike was amazing. It was beautiful. It has actually become one of my favorites.
Despite the smell.
Really, it’s just for a small portion.
So, bringing it all home, here’s what I know: There have been many times in my life when I have avoided something because I heard or gathered or read or assumed (gasp) that it was not a good experience for someone somewhere sometime.
And I know, I can feel it in my bones, I’ve missed out on a lot of amazing things.
Dream with me for a moment. What would happen if we heard the good and heard the bad and DECIDED to find out for ourselves what to think about it. Sure, we might hate it. It might be miserable or, well, stinky.
But… it could be fun though.
Read the reviews my friends, but don’t let them stop you from seeing for yourself. There’s gonna be good and there’s gonna be bad but… maybe not. Maybe bad isn’t real.
Maybe it’s ALL good.
