Whiny reviewers

[Catwoman2965]

Not quite sure if this belongs here or not, but seems like the best place to put it. I’ve been doing a bit of traveling recently, which has necessitated staying in hotels. Usually one night, in several different places. I’m a firm believer in reading reviews, just to make sure I’m not ending up in something disgusting.

The number of people who post reviews, complaining about things that they could have found out by simply doing their homework, or that really aren’t any fault of the hotel never ceases to amaze me. I tend to prefer one chain that doesn’t provide free breakfast. Now we all know that many chains do, but this one doesn’t. They do however, have a small café and bar, where you can purchase food, coffee, and other adult beverages. I tend to stay there, for the convenience. Yes, it’s a bit pricy, but if I’ve spent all day driving, the last thing I want to do is have to go out and find somewhere to eat, in an area I’m not familiar with. Its really nice to be able to go down in the evening, get something to eat, a glass of wine, and go back up to my room. And then grab coffee in the am on my way out, as I’m usually up and out fairly early

Other complaints are about how hard the bed is, how they don’t care for the pillows, the DÉCOR of the hotel, which by the way, was newly renovated, or how its “old” or that they had the same darn thing every day for breakfast, and the noise of the a/c or heating I’m betting the last one is folks who have central a/c or forced air heat, and the rooms have a/c units. Yes, they make noise. I’ve also seen complaints about the noise from the road, as many are located JUST off the interstate. Seriously????

Nothing is going to be like it is in your own home; but I’ve found a couple of chains I like, and try and stick with them as much as I can. It’s really not rocket science!

I did have to laugh; the last place I stayed is the one with no breakfast, and the manager replied to all reviews, and in each one where someone complained about that, they politely said “this particular chain in the brand doesn’t provide free breakfast” which, had they actually DONE some research, they would have seen as most hotel’s websites spell out what thye do and don’t include!

[EricKei]

What's worse is when the customers try to use the threat of bad reviews as a way to scam their way into free upgrades/discounts/etc. Sadly, it seems to work at far, far too many places.

Kudos on that manager for taking the time to reply!

[Catwoman2965]

Maybe its just me, but anytime I travel, i read reviews. of hotels, restaurants, etc. I can't help myself, but at least I know what I'm getting into. On my last trip, i was going to stay in an area I usually do, but the one hotel i normally stay in (tourist attractions, summer etc.) was way more than i wanted to pay. Found another one, but after reading the reviews, more than a few said it wasn't too clean. So i changed tactics, and stayed elsewhere. I've gotten pretty good at figureing out which reviews are legit, and which are just whiny.

I always try and be honest, and only comment negatively if there was truly an issue. But I guess since really all I expect is polite staff, and a clean, safe room, I've never had any issue. Sure, most of the pillows aren't too my liking, but you know what? i can either bring my own, or suck it up fora night. and the a/c making noise? um, it does. I always travel with earplugs too, and highway noise doesn't bother me.

THe thing that gets me, and the hotel has no control over, is slamming doors. Do people not konw how to shut a door quietly?

[notalwaysright]

I have to say if it's just for a night, I don't do any research. I also used to go to conventions which had specific hotels who offered a discount for attendees, so I would look to see which was the closest and book that one. I have the worst time with online reviews, I figure probably 80% are complete bull. Or they were written by imbeciles. I've eaten at places I LOVED and when I went to do a review, saw they had very poor reviews. If I had bothered to look I would have missed some of these great places. There was a little bistro close to my house with the most amazing rave reviews, and I was so incredibly disappointed. So I'm not at all consistent about reading reviews.

Oh, and if these people are sensitive to noise, they could bring earplugs, or ask for a room facing away from the highway. I've done it, it's not hard, and just asking nicely doesn't hurt.

[MoonCat]

Do people not konw how to shut a door quietly?

Not if they live next door to me.

Re: reviews, I wish I'd read the reviews for the place my sisters stayed at three years ago in Myrtle Beach before we reserved the rooms. More than 80% of the reviews were negative, involving cleanliness, broken bathroom fixtures and furniture, door locks that either wouldn't lock or broke the first time the guest tried to lock the door, noise all night in the hallways and parking lots, and worse. These complaints were accurate. But we never checked the reviews because the friends they traveled with had stayed there once and thought it was great. After my sisters came home and I heard what the place was like, I went looking for online reviews and discovered that most other recent guests had had the same bad experiences.

[WishfulSpirit]

It is possible to make doors impervious to slamming, I know there's a slow-close mechanism in existence in the world, but maybe there's too expensive for most hotels?

[Seshat]

They get broken by impatient guests.

[Racket_Man]

Back in the day when I did the road warrior thing for work. I did several days to a week to a whole month during that time. I could have cared less about the décor, the bar, the door, the surrounding food places, or really even the bed.

I usually stayed at national franchised chains AND from my experience MOST hotel rooms are all really the same in the end, just the name changes.

Yeah so it was the middle of January in Atlanta and NO pool. I was sick as a dog and doing emergency surgery on an old IBM S/36 I was keeping alive for a few months more.

Heck even when 40 years ago when on vacation with my parents we just choose the nearest hotel to the time we planned on stopping for the night after driving however long.

[EyeAgree]

Not quite sure if this belongs here or not, but seems like the best place to put it. I’ve been doing a bit of traveling recently, which has necessitated staying in hotels. Usually one night, in several different places. I’m a firm believer in reading reviews, just to make sure I’m not ending up in something disgusting.

I'm glad internet reviews exist, and regularly use places like tripadvisor when I am planning a trip. That said, there is an art to reading reviews. Some people have too high of expectations, and would probably never be happy. The key is to filter out the negative reviews by people who are being unreasonable or expect too much (like a free breakfast at a hotel that doesn't offer a free breakfast). But if multiple reviews mention police sirens and gunshots waking them up in the middle of the night, it's probably good to pay attention to them.
When I write a review (on a hotel, a campground, a tourist destination, a product, or anything else), I try to provide as much information as possible as well as pictures. Those are the reviews I really appreciate!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I’ve also seen complaints about the noise from the road, as many are located JUST off the interstate. Seriously????

When the hotel room does not have an in-room A/C unit, just a ceiling fan and an open window for ventilation, and happens to be located on a very narrow strip of land between the north and southbound lanes of the main highway through town, I would think a negative review would be warranted.

That was us a few years ago. Not a restful night's sleep at all.

I just pulled up the web site for that hotel. There is a map showing its location between the busy highways, but that only becomes apparent if you zoom way in. And even then you wouldn't think it's an issue because you assume the hotel has in-room A/C; the site doesn't mention that it doesn't.

[WishfulSpirit]

I tend to listen if there's 2 or more reviews complaining about the same thing over a period of time. Usually that means there's something to the problem.

[Catwoman2965]

I tend to listen if there's 2 or more reviews complaining about the same thing over a period of time. Usually that means there's something to the problem.

I do too. But i'm pretty good at weeding out those with unreasonable expectations, and those that had legitimate complaints. One gem was teh placement of the tv in the room! Apparently it was "awkward" and hard t owatch in bed. Um, no it wasn't, and it swiveled.

[raudf]

I judge all reviews by the quality of the reviewer.

Does the reviewer have reasonable expectations of the product/place? I've seen someone complain about an ice maker not heating pizza.

Does the reviewer use a level of spelling and grammar that doesn't make you think that an Idiot to English translator would give up and say, "Damn if I know?" I've seen several where there was no punctuation and spelling was a concept that got lost on the way to the page. y is-macr na het peesa

Did the reviewer attempt to get problem remedied before writing review? It's amazing how many people whine but if an attempt to remedy the situation is made, you've just killed their first born! Or they say, "I didn't want to be difficult.." Umm.. reasonable expectation is not "being difficult." You didn't give them a chance to correct it, so you'll never know the real quality of the product/establishment.

Does the reviewer balance the negative with positive experiences*? Constructive criticism means just that, being constructive. "I had a problem with the sink in my original room's bathroom, but thanks to the great staff at X, I was moved to a room with a working sink. They also provided prompt room service and made sure my stay was great!" *Keep in mind, some places/products are just that terrible. Apply the rest of the list to determine if this is the case.

Does the reviewer seem to have a personal vendetta against a product/place? This kind of goes with "reasonable expectations," but in this case, the reviewer may not have ever visited/used said establishment/product, but is ranting because of the chain/manufacturer/service. It's like a current Death Star customer railing about Red Checkmark's service.. using the phone's reviews, rather than the company/chain's review page. Often, this is because said troll has been blocked from doing so.

[Catwoman2965]

Yup. if you have an issue, bring it to their attention then! My mom, who uses a wheelchair all the time, as in cannot stand or walk at all, was with me on my recent road trip. One hotel had a roll in shower, with an adjustable shower bench. THe kind where you can lengthen or shorten the legs, and one piece has holes, and the other a peg that fits into the hole, at the correct height.

Upon inspection (as we always look to make sure everything is ok when we first get in the room) one leg had the peg missing, so it was essentially a tripod, and if someone sat on it, they'd fall onto the floor of the shower.

A quick trip to the front desk, and in 10 minutes, housekeeping was knocking at our door with a new one! Things happen, you let them know, and give them an opportunity to fix it. Since they did, with no fuss, and quickly, it wasn't even mentioned in my review!

[Evannah]

I was on a review site ages ago scrolling through some reviews left for a particular hotel and found this really horrible, scathing review that wasn't just whiny but rude as well. He was bad-mouthing them left right and centre. I clicked on his profile and he had left over 200 reviews for other places, and they all had one star! I'm pretty sure he does this to get loads and loads of freebies... and judging by the number of bad reviews he wrote, I can only imagine how well it works. Disgusting.