We frequently make purchases or hire services without seeing them first. We enjoy trying new restaurants and bars. We need a professional for home repairs but have no clue who to call.
So what’s the usual move?
We consult online review platforms.
Whether buying a new item, hiring a service provider, sampling a meal, or visiting an entertainment spot, most people prefer at least some sense of what they’re getting into. That’s why they consult online reviews, which commonly display a score on a five-point scale derived from average customer ratings, plus user comments.
But how trustworthy are those ratings and reviews? The answer varies by which review platform you use.
Keep in mind that business and product rating sites aren’t themselves evaluated by an independent authority, and there are countless anecdotes about negative reviews vanishing from public view.
In this article we’ll examine:
- What to consider when using rating platforms
- Evaluating rating services: advantages, drawbacks and key points
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Yelp
- Amazon product reviews and ratings
- Google customer reviews and product ratings
- Facebook Business Page recommendations
- Angi
- HomeAdvisor
- Tripadvisor
What to Consider When You Use Rating Services
Being doubtful about review sites is a healthy instinct. No matter how reputable a ratings service may be, errors and abuses can occur. Policies, procedures and quality controls vary widely.
Here are factors to weigh when judging how much faith to place in customer reviews and ratings.
- How many total ratings or reviews are visible? A small number of reviews is a weaker basis for judgment.
- How transparent are the site’s policies and processes? Is there clear information about privacy practices, how ratings are computed and other quality controls?
- If the platform does its own evaluations beyond customer input, are those criteria explained?
- What accountability exists to promote honest, helpful and accurate reviews? Are there measures to deter paid reviewers who might skew results?
- How does the site try to prevent fake reviews? Is there any screening? Do humans review submissions or is everything algorithm-driven? There’s no absolute answer: algorithms can be gamed, while people can be fallible.
- Is there a mechanism to dispute a negative review someone believes is unfair or incorrect?
- Can users respond to posted reviews? Countering opinions can provide context and help spot fake or careless posts.
- If the site accepts advertising from businesses it rates, does the FAQ disclose that? Or are you left wondering whether advertisers receive preferential treatment?
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Assessing the Rating Services: Pros, Cons and What to Know
Below is a brief look at eight online review platforms that stand out because of their popularity, traffic, longevity, or all three. They’re established enough to have track records and substantial data. We examined their policies and practices so you can use them more wisely.
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Long before the internet—and even before the economic collapse of the 1930s—the Better Business Bureau (BBB) collected information about how U.S. companies performed according to customers. Over time, the BBB developed an arbitration process to help resolve consumer disputes, benefiting both buyers and the companies they deal with.
The BBB’s core mission is to accredit businesses that meet acceptable standards of competence and integrity. It publishes Standards of Trust and Accreditation Standards, making it one of the more formal rating organizations. Businesses can become BBB Accredited if they satisfy these standards. The BBB commonly covers general contractors, attorneys, auto repair shops and restaurants.
What’s rated? Home construction, repair and maintenance services; attorneys; auto repair shops; restaurants.
Who’s doing the rating? The BBB and registered customers.
How it works: Search for a business or browse by service type. Listed businesses receive a grade from A+ to F and may carry BBB accreditation, which involves background checks, adherence to BBB standards, and an annual fee. Many entries also include customer ratings and reviews.
How BBB handles negative reviews: The BBB complaint form asks for specifics. Is the filer trying to warn others or seeking resolution? The BBB investigates and decides whether to get involved. It also runs a review system using a five-point scale and lists the number of complaints lodged in the past three years, which are available to read. Complaints must meet company standards. The BBB also accepts reviews for accredited businesses.
Pros: Goes beyond customer reviews by accrediting and grading businesses; serves as a repository for consumer complaints. Clear and transparent.
Cons: Some businesses have relatively few customer reviews.
What else to know: Compared with many others, the BBB provides one of the most clearly defined systems for evaluating companies. It doesn’t guarantee a company’s product or service, but its primary purpose is to help consumers avoid bad choices.
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Yelp
Launched in 2004, Yelp started as a consumer review site and has expanded into additional services. It went public in 2012.
Today Yelp users rate businesses and can view prior reviewers’ opinions. While Yelp covers many business types, it highlights reviews for plumbers, restaurants, home services, delivery services and Black-owned businesses. Yelp has faced numerous lawsuits alleging false reviews—both fabricated positives and negative posts from competitors—and accusations that advertisers receive preferential treatment through the suppression of negative reviews.
What’s rated? Nearly every kind of business.
Who’s doing the rating? Registered customers.
How it works: Look up a business to see star ratings and user reviews.
How Yelp handles negative reviews: Yelp allows businesses to reach out to consumers who leave negative reviews, giving an opportunity for updates and potential resolution.
Pros: High traffic provides a more reliable sample size. Broad selection of businesses.
Cons: Persistent concerns about fake reviews despite filtering algorithms. Some questions about whether advertisers receive favorable treatment.
What else to know: Yelp reportedly receives about 142 million visits per month from reviewers and readers, and lists roughly 487,500 businesses.
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Amazon Product Reviews and Ratings
Amazon allows customers to rate items they buy and read reviews before purchasing.
Sellers list products on Amazon’s marketplace. After buying an item through Amazon, customers are prompted to rate the product once they’ve received it. However, many shoppers use Amazon to research items and then buy directly from the vendor’s website; such purchases won’t generate reviews on Amazon unless the purchase was made through Amazon’s site.
What’s rated? Anything bought through Amazon.
Who’s doing the rating? Registered members who purchased the item.
How it works: On Amazon you’ll see star ratings and reviews for products you view.
How Amazon handles negative reviews: Amazon publishes an extensive list of review guidelines. It removes reviews—positive or negative—if they appear to come from an interested party, such as an employee of the seller or a competitor.
Pros: Huge audience gives a more representative sample. Has policies aimed at reducing deceptive reviews and offers Amazon Vine reviews from trusted panels.
Cons: Large scale also creates more opportunities for abuse; fake or paid reviews can still slip through.
What else to know: If shoppers research on Amazon but purchase elsewhere, their reviews won’t be recorded on Amazon.
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Google Customer Reviews and Product Ratings
When a business sets up a Google Merchant account, it can opt into Google Customer Reviews and Product Ratings. Google’s customer review appears on the merchant’s site after a purchase.
If you buy from a company enrolled in Google’s program, you can opt in to receive a follow-up email with instructions for reviewing the purchase. The process is intended to reflect the full buying experience. If you used your Google account during checkout, your public Google profile information may be associated with the review. Users can delete their individual reviews if they choose.
What’s rated? Products or services from participating merchants.
Who’s doing the rating? Verified customers who made purchases.
How it works: If you shop via Google Shopping or on a merchant’s site that’s part of the Google Merchant program, you’ll see Google ratings and reviews there.
How Google handles negative reviews: Merchants can interact with reviewers, who must provide an email address to leave a review. Google has a nine-point policy for inappropriate reviews but relies on merchants to identify and report violations. Google might not remove a review if it doesn’t breach those standards, and it encourages businesses to respond directly to the reviewer to try to resolve the issue.
Pros: Reviews are tied to purchases, reviewers aren’t anonymous, and contributors are requested to follow standards. The process considers the overall buying experience.
Cons: Merchants sometimes complain they lack recourse when they believe reviews are unfair. Google’s system is largely algorithm-driven and relies on merchants to flag problematic posts.
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Facebook Business Page Recommendations
In 2018, Facebook changed its “business reviews” process to “business recommendations” in an effort to reduce disputes over fake and negative reviews.
Facebook Business Page recommendations appear when someone visits a business page and clicks the Reviews section, where they can answer “do you recommend?” with a yes or no. Those responses are summarized into a rating similar to the old system, and ratings are calculated from prior responses.
What’s rated? Any business with a Facebook Business Page.
Who’s doing the rating? Any registered Facebook user visiting the Business Page.
How it works: You’ll find an average star rating plus comments and photos in a Business Page’s Reviews area.
How Facebook handles negative reviews: It largely doesn’t. Facebook doesn’t remove reviews; a business can only eliminate negative feedback by turning off the Reviews feature on its page.
Pros: Easy to interact with businesses and other reviewers; not anonymous, which can deter fake posts.
Cons: Reviews aren’t vetted or moderated, making authenticity hard to verify. Some pages have low activity.
What else to know:Facebook reports 2.89 billion monthly users, and estimates that one in three users visit business pages to find products and services.
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Angi
Angi, previously Angie’s List, launched in 1995 to provide ratings and recommendations for home and yard maintenance and repair professionals. Once a subscription service, it’s now free to consumers.
Angi highlights plumbing, handyman work, lawn care, roofing, electrical and remodeling on its homepage, though you can search for other home-related services. Any paid home project you might hire for is generally covered. Contractors can list for free but pay for each lead they receive. Consumers submit job details and receive a list of businesses; when they select a provider, that contractor gets the consumer’s contact information to offer a quote.
What’s rated? Home maintenance and repair services.
Who’s doing the rating? Registered customers.
How it works: Enter details about the job you need and receive a list of businesses with star ratings and reviews. Businesses receive your contact data to follow up.
How Angi handles negative reviews: According to the Angi site, reviews aren’t posted until vetted by an algorithm or human reviewers. Companies can’t remove negative reviews but may contact reviewers to try to resolve issues.
Pros: Ratings include specifics like price, responsiveness and professionalism; customer reviews are vetted. One of the first nationwide home-service recommendation sites.
Cons: Because you must give contact information, you may receive many calls, texts or emails from businesses responding to your request.
What else to know: As Angie’s List, Angi was among the earliest national home-service recommendation platforms.
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HomeAdvisor
Originally ServiceMagic, HomeAdvisor started in 1998 and was later acquired by the same company that owns Angi.
HomeAdvisor connects consumers with home maintenance and repair professionals. Contractors pay to be listed (roughly $300 annually) and also pay for each lead. For consumers, HomeAdvisor provides a fixed-price tool: you set the job price up front and interested professionals will contact you if they’ll do the work for that amount. It also features how-to videos and a True Cost Guide estimating project expenses.
What’s rated? Home maintenance and repair services.
Who’s doing the rating? Registered customers.
How it works: Set a price for the job you need and receive responses from interested companies, each with star ratings and reviews.
How HomeAdvisor handles negative reviews:HomeAdvisor stands out here. It provides a customer complaints email — [email protected] — and humans review those complaints. Resolution is sought between the customer and the contractor before a negative review is published. HomeAdvisor notes that companies with persistent complaints can be removed from listings.
Pros: Cost estimator, instructional videos, and a solid complaint-handling policy. Firms with repeated complaints can be de-listed.
Cons: Only includes businesses that pay to be listed, which may limit options.
What else to know: The BBB gives HomeAdvisor about 2.95 out of five stars; complaints mostly come from contractors who say leads don’t justify the cost. Consumer complaints are relatively scarce.
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Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, launched in 2000, focuses on travel accommodations, reviews and bookings.
Tripadvisor includes reviews of hotels, vacation rentals and restaurants, and rates airlines, car rental companies, cruise lines and other travel services. It also recommends activities. Tripadvisor doesn’t solicit businesses to be listed and doesn’t charge for inclusion. It also offers booking services for the accommodations it lists.
What’s rated? Travel accommodations and services: hotels, vacation rentals, restaurants, airlines, car rentals, cruise lines and more.
Who’s doing the rating? Registered customers.
How it works: Enter a destination and filters to get recommendations with star ratings and user reviews.
How Tripadvisor handles negative reviews: Tripadvisor encourages businesses to reach out to dissatisfied customers to try to address concerns.
Pros: Detailed ratings and recommendations based on factors like cleanliness, value and price. Transparent policies and practices, plus measures to deter fake reviews. With 860 million reviews it has a vast database.
Cons: Few. Most issues relate to its booking services rather than its rating functions.
What else to know: Tripadvisor hosts 860 million reviews covering 8.7 million accommodations and claims 463 million monthly visitors.
Kent McDill is a veteran journalist who has specialized in personal finance topics since 2013. He is a contributor to Savinly.
