Reviews

Yes I agree it is frustrating. Also reviews on hotels which talk about the waiter who looked grumpy, the unreasonable guests, the missing light bulb etc. This tells us absolutely nothing about the service, the comfort of the room or the food in the restaurant. This is what we need to know to decide if it is somewhere we would like to stay.

I agree it is frustrating especially the hotel ones but I do read them if it’s a company I have never used .
I recently had problems with a sportswear company website a nightmare they ended up charging me 4 times with goods they were unable to provide refunds promised never materialized so numerous e mails to company unable to contact the by phone. I have now had to go through my bank to deal with them.
It was only the fact that the goods I wanted were for my grandsons birthday and time was getting short normally I would check the company out.
When I finally read reviews on the company there were numerous reviews where other people had had the same problems as myself.

I get annoyed with book reviews which go on about the condition of the copy or the time it took to arrive rather than commenting on what the book is actually about.

Somebody I know got a one star review of a book they had written because the reviewer's sister received a copy and the front cover was torn.

Indeed, you should never judge a book by its cover!

But trustpilot reviews are not meant to be written to 'Which?' standards. If that is what you want consult 'Which'

I certainly do not write a huge tract when preparing a Trustpilot review. I give the stars and then highlight the best parts, occasionally the failings, I resume people can work out by the number of stars I give what quality of overall service I received.

On books, it rather depends where you are reviewing the book. On Amazon, I think reviews should be short, may be only a few lines. When I buy a book I really have no interest in what other people I do not know thought of it. There is clearly a reason why I want to read it, and that shapes my buying decision. However it does help to know if the supplier was dilatory or rude, when I followed up a late delivery, or whether it was damaged in transit.

On a book review site, then obviously I want a considered literary review.

I don’t bother with reviews anymore, except on Tripadv***r, and then with caution.
Purchasers are hounded to give a review either before or just after they receive the item or service. With some sites you can’t review after 14 days, so in some cases you wouldn’t have used the item. That’s why some people review the postage rather than the item.
With some review sites eg MyB*****r, the tradesman can reject a negative review. The review site is paid by the tradesman so they favour their client not the reviewer.
As everything in life, sometimes you have to go with your instincts and sometimes you get it wrong and sometimes you get it right!

I dislike the reviews that are clearly talking about a different product.
One review of a book I wrote was all about the sound quality of the orchestra. It took me ages to get Amazon to remove it.