This isn't a problem just on yelp, I've found useless reviews on other sites like Amazon too. Customer buys wrong product (even though the product description is crystal clear) and writes bad/stupid reviews (instead of simply returning the product). Another really annoying type review is "product was amazing, but it came 15 days late - I know it is not a problem of the company, but I'm still giving one star review". If they knew it was a problem from USPS (or whatever shipping company) why leave a bad rating for the product/company?
Also, in all these review sites - how do we know if the reviewer actually used the product/service? Amazon seems to differentiate, but what about others?
It would be awesome to have a review site where
1. All reviews older than 6 months (or 1 year or whatever timeframe makes sense) are not shown by default
2. Only confirmed users of the product/service are able to review
At least on Amazon you can see the misleading reviews quite easily - just click to view the one stars and see if they are relevant or not. Personally I find Amazon reviews about the best in terms of actually deciding what stuff to buy.
This doesn't mirror my own experience. Typically the 5-star reviews often fall into the category "worked great for me" or fanboyism, but it's generally ambiguous how extensive of a test they've performed on the item, if it even warrants it (though some reviews are exhaustive on this front). And 1-star reviews often are hyper-critical to excess, though any potential issues are often highlighted there, prompting me to read them first. Since all reviews end up with these extremes and the "is this review helpful" ironically isn't often helpful (more like, "do I agree with the review"), I always end up just going with my initial gut feeling on whatever I'm looking to buy anyways.
Also, in all these review sites - how do we know if the reviewer actually used the product/service? Amazon seems to differentiate, but what about others?
It would be awesome to have a review site where 1. All reviews older than 6 months (or 1 year or whatever timeframe makes sense) are not shown by default 2. Only confirmed users of the product/service are able to review