The Future of Reviews

As many of you know, I'm a big Yelp!-er.  Not much is better than crafting a well-written and witty review of an experience or establishment, posting it for the world to see, and then getting strangers to comment or click on whether they thought you were funny, relevant, a good writer, etc.  I love it.

I came across an article today about the future of reviews becoming a 2-way street.  Did you know Uber drivers rate all their patrons?  I did not.  If that's no big deal to you, did you know what Uber drivers can decide whether they want to accept or decline your request for a cab?  And that they will often do so based on the review other Uber drivers have given you?  I especially did not know that.

Can't say that this information really changes anything for me; I like to think I am a good patron, polite, respectful, and live up to my end of the consumer bargain most of the time.  But if you are someone that throws up in cabs, doesn't tip or leaves crappy tips, is rude to service staff, no-shows on reservations, trashes hotel rooms, doesn't pay bills...you could end up in a world of trouble if you are no longer allowed to patronize certain establishments or utilize services.  To be honest, I think that's totally fair.  It's sad to me how selfish and rude people can be to others, especially to food and retail service.  The only one I can't get behind totally is tipping; I think you should always tip, but by definition a tip is something extra--if someone doesn't want to or wants to leave less than the standard 20%, I don't know that it's fair to boycott them.  At the same time, if I were a server or cabbie, I would love the chance to refuse the no-tipper too!

Interestingly, I posted this article to the Yelp! talk threads because I thought it was interesting for reviewers to consider being the ones reviewed, and because Yelp is mentioned a few times in the article.  One immediate response was: why do you care what any employer besides your own thinks of you?  Fair point, I guess if you are one of those people who thinks its weak to care about what anyone thinks of you...but I also think there is something wrong with a person who is so self absorbed they don't care what anyone else thinks of them, particularly as an excuse to behave poorly and tell yourself it doesn't matter what others think of you, as long as you know how great you are.  Poppycock! Personally, I want a reputation among friends, family, and even strangers that I don't suck as a human being.  That's just me.  It's especially important to me if these people offering products and services I want to consume have the option to tell me to pound sand...or worse leave me to stand outside Pizza Luce at 2:15am freezing because everything is closed and no one will pick me up if I'm a turd!

Here is the full article if you want to read more about the future of reviews.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141018152152-1665462-yes-uber-drivers-are-rating-you-welcome-to-the-future-of-reviews?trk=tod-home-art-list-small_1

P.S. Is my blog becoming a total hack that I keep finding other people's articles and posting them on my own blog and feeling like I did a good job?