“Your experience matters to us, Ellen.”
“We’d love your feedback.”
“Did your recent purchase go well?”
I’ve rung my super fund, collected a parcel from the post office and bought a new pair of walking shoes. Now I flinch every time the email notifications ping with yet another company asking me to review their services or products, even with the most minor interactions.
Why do we now have to review everything we eat, see, do and buy? When did that become a thing? It infuriates me every time one of those seemingly innocuous emails drops into my inbox.
Maybe I should start asking for a review of how I went at a photoshoot, or rating the performance of the people I have photographed.
“Your opinion matters to us.”
Are you sure about that? Do you really want to know when I bought that hydration pack that all I was interested in was getting in and out of your store in less than 10 minutes? Not sure who would find that interesting or useful information.
Don’t get me wrong, some reviews are useful. I will admit that when planning a trip that I Google the best coffee wherever I’m going, because good coffee is a crucial part of a successful road trip.
And perhaps if I had done some research we would have stayed elsewhere than the middle-of-nowhere caravan park (“Really poor experience.” “Worst place I have ever been.” “Nasty.”) that turned out to be not so flash. But I had a good laugh reading the reviews online while a faint sewage smell wafted over the dusty campsite.
Online booking and shopping are great but just because my email address is now in your system doesn’t mean I want to hear from you – ever.
It doesn’t matter how fresh in my mind my recent purchase is, I’m not going to review that magnetic phone vent holder, 1,000 miles an hour tape, nor my doctor.
Because no one else is going to care what I think on any of the above.
