Are you scared to receive low-score feedback?

“If you are unhappy with something at our hotel, please contact our front desk before leaving feedback on social media.”

This message was printed on a cardboard I found in my room at a four-star business hotel in Valencia, Spain.

The parents of one of my classmates were very demanding. He was terribly afraid of upsetting them with poor grades. One day I found him kneeling in a closed classroom in front of our maths teacher. My classmate did not shine this day, and he was begging her to raise his grade. The kind woman decided not to traumatise the child’s soul and agreed. I was ten years old, and I was shocked by what I saw. I felt utterly cheated.

Why do we love websites like booking.com or trustpilot.com? Because their business model is built on reviews that we trust. Or we believe we do. Until we find out that someone is manipulating the verbatim data.

If a business owner is afraid of getting a negative review, is there something wrong with the review or with the business?