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Online reviews, a new form of extortion
A new, keyboard-wielding mafia wants discounts, free stuff and preferential treatment in exchange for good reviews. Some businesses are giving in to their threats.
Tue, Jan 22 2013 at 4:42 PM
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My theory about the reviewers on sites like Yelp, Urban Spoon, Zagat (disclaimer: I’m a Zagat reviewer), and the like is this: people tend to complain more about an experience they disliked than praise an experience they liked, so I tend to think that those sites are skewed on the negative side. When I see a business like a restaurant or a salon that has many, many positive reviews and few negative ones, I think it must be a superior business and I’m more likely to try it out.
I read something today that blows my theory right out of the water. There are people out there who use the threat of a poor online review to get better service, discounted prices and preferential treatment. If they get what they want, they promise a positive review.
I suppose this shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. The Los Angeles Times has a piece on the ReviewerCard, a card that can be purchased for $100 if you’re deemed an influential enough reviewer. The owner of the black plastic card can whip it out at a business before receiving any service to let it be known, as it says on the card, “I write reviews.”
The creator of the ReviewerCard — the guy I can now thank for making any positive review I read suspect — is Brad Newman. He thinks his exclusive card isn’t hurting anyone.David Lazarus, the Los Angeles Times writer of the story mentioned above, certainly disagrees. He thinks it hurts the businesses, the review sites, the people who read reviews and the customers who don’t get preferential treatment because they don’t use threats.
I agree with Lazarus. The practice of letting a business owner or employees know that they better give you preferential treatment because you’re going to review them online is harmful. It’s particularly harmful to small, local businesses that understand how negative word of mouth on social media can hurt them, so they give in to this new form of extortion.
Newman says he’s actually taken the card out at a hotel and told customer service that if they give him a room for half price, he’ll write a great review on Trip Advisor. It worked. (Note to Trip Advisor: The credibility of your site has been extremely compromised by this guy and those who purchase his card.) He also tells of skipping the wait list at a restaurant after flashing the card, jumping ahead of customers who were there before him.
I don’t know what hotel this was (it was in Europe), and I don’t know how big it was. But I know this: if the same thing was done at one of the local restaurants near me that I love so dearly and help promote because they deserve it, not because they give me free or reduced stuff, it would hurt them. Their profit margins are very slim. If they get a few diners in each night who try to extort them, and they give in for fear of losing business, it will cost them dearly, especially if this catches on.
I’m angered by Newman and his ReviewerCard, and by the 100 people who have already ponied up $100 to buy one. In my opinion, they are forming a new type of mafia, one that uses the power of social media as extortion. It’s wrong.
I’m also worried that this practice will not only damage the reputations of online review sites and hurt businesses, but also damage the reputation of people like me who review restaurants.
I have strict rules that govern how I review. When I’m invited as a guest to a restaurant for a meal “on them,” I always say that clearly in my review. I do not promise a positive review, or any review at all, in exchange for my meal. My intent is to promote restaurants (or products) that impress me, and not to tear down a place that doesn’t impress. You’ll rarely see a negative review from me, not because I don’t have bad experiences, but because I choose to keep quiet about them.
I’m also picky about which invitations I accept. If a restaurant isn’t doing something impressive sustainably, I turn down the invitation. Sure, I could get a free meal for my husband and me (free date night!), and then tell the restaurant that their meal didn’t impress me so I won’t write about it — but that would be wrong to do.
(For more on my review policy, see The best restaurant experiences I had in 2012.)
I want you to know. I will never use anything like the ReviewerCard. I will never sell or barter my opinion. I will never tell a restaurant or business that I will give them a positive review in exchange for preferential treatment. I will never threaten a negative review if I’m treated like every other person who walks through the door.
What are your thoughts on the ReviewerCard? Does it change how you look at online review sites and online reviewers?
Related post on MNN: Can you trust online product reviews and ratings?
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I've heard from multiple friends who own small businesses that more and more people are demanding free items, discounted items or cash in some instances - otherwise they say they'll write a negative review. They prey on small businesses that have average ratings who may not want to see their rating diminish further. So sad what people can do.
I really enjoyed your article, however I'm confused as to why you won't write an unfavorable review on and establishment that doesn't live up to expectations. A review does not have to be completely negative, but there is such a thing as constructive criticism. Sure, the proprietor my not want to hear "bad" things about their business/service, but don't you feel in the long run that pointing out their inadequacies may in fact help them? Just a thought.
I agree with most of what your article says, but I think you're doing a disservice to readers when you say "You’ll rarely see a negative review from me, not because I don’t have bad experiences, but because I choose to keep quiet about them." I think it's just as important to write about your bad experiences as it is to write about the good ones.
I see your point, but wouldn't that same argument work in reverse? One good night doesn't necessarily represent a restaurant either. We're probably getting away from the main point of the article here, and I understand that every business - restaurant or otherwise - will have a bad day or have something go wrong from time to time, but I don't think it's at all unfair to write about one bad experience you've had at an establishment.
While I agree with what you're saying I believe this is the natural reaction to the trend that has been companies PAYING people (customers or not) for positive reviews. This is just reversing the roles of seeking payment before service. In otherwords, I think the companies brought this upon themselves (sadly the small businesses have to pay for the big businesses' actions here)
You should publish a list of those who purchased the car, so that we know who is selling their opinion... this is shameful at best...
We ate a restaurant had had such horrible food and terrible service. So I posted it on yelp. It was hidden from view by Yelp. Didn't really understand that.
As a small business owner, I simply refuse to do business with extortionists. If someone flashed one of those cards at me, I'd refuse to serve them. More businesses should do the same.
Good for you. I hope others follow your example.
It's sad that you have to use some form of so called "Threat", a review, to get descent service sometimes.
Not only is it extortion, the review sites themselves tend toward the negative reviews. I work for a large transportation company and we have had numerous customers (well over 20) try and leave positive reviews for us on Yelp, only to have the reviews either removed by Yelp or never posted at all, yet when a negative one comes through, it stays there forever. Just like the media, negativity sells.
From what I've read, that's actually Yelp's own form of extortion: if a business doesn't pay Yelp to advertise as a "preferred business" or something, they withhold all the 4- and 5-star reviews of a business, so all the public sees are the poor-to-mediocre reviews. I haven't looked into it myself, and maybe that description is exaggerated (it sounds ludicrously corrupt), it's just something I read in a different discussion of review sites.
It is extortion, as the article says. I wonder what would happen if a restaurant owner called the cops and reported it as a crime in progress upon being presented with one of those cards. If it was a customer I'd never seen before, I'd do it.
You don't own the opinion of others, so there's no crime if someone threatens to have a negative opinion of you and share it with others.
The answer might be to have more weighted profiles of users of these review sites, such that they themselves can be reviewed and the way they score things more visible to others.
Listening to the smug ego of the type of personality that writes reviews has never been an acurate way to form a picture of the object of your curiosity.
Here's how I use reviews on sites like Yelp:
I skip the positive reviews and read the negative ones. If I find the majority of the negative ones seem to be written by unhinged, self-absorbed douchebags, then I know I'll probably love the place.
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