We’ve all been burned by a bad experience at a restaurant, whether it was literally, by a scalding hot cup of coffee, or maybe figuratively, by a dishonest waitress. Some of us have been so disappointed by bad food or service that we took to Yelp, Google, or any of the dozens of review sites out there to leave a one star review.
Daniel Jurafsky, professor of linguistics and computer science at Stanford, decided it was time to study just what kinds of things people say in restaurant reviews. Turns out, writers of one star reviews write as though they’ve “suffered minor traumas from bad service, rudeness, or being cheated,” writing as though they were trauma victims. One common example is using plural pronouns like “we” and “us” in the past tense to split the suffering among a group and push the traumatic event back in time. (Did you notice that’s exactly what I did in the first paragraph?)
Beyond this, reviewers were more likely to leave a negative review because of bad service than bad food. This is a lesson anyone who provides a service can relate to; customers will take out frustration on anyone they can, any way they can. Whether you’re a dentist, a lawyer, or even a sewage company, customers review your attitude and level of service first, then your product.
At bizmktg.com, we make 5-star reviews a daily event. Call or e-mail the marketing machines to learn more: (800) 808-0249 or info@bizmktg.com.
