Ratings trick you, and how

Picture this – 100 people book tickets for a stand-up comedy show. 40 people were in a bad mood that day due to xyz reason and ended up rating the show as average. The rest of the 60 people rated it from neutral to very good. What happened to the ratings of the show. Well, it was average and for someone who is booking the show again will freak out after seeing the ratings. Did you realize what happened here? The problem was not in the show but how the audience perceived. And my friends, if we go only by ratings, we might miss something great which we would have thoroughly enjoyed because we have started relying so much on ratings, we don’t want to be proved wrong anyhow.

Imagine if the show was average, however for some reason the ratings were 5 stars, we would have been more disappointed post watching it.

A long, long time ago, we used to go on vacations, eat at restaurants that were on our way or may be recommended by a friend, buy clothes that fit us and approved by our friend/family members without ever worrying about ratings.  

Today, even if you want to read a book. buy a mini gadget, bring a pet or book a hotel in an exotic location, well the location is also in the radar of rating business, you won’t spare a dime unless you make sure you have the backing of ratings with you. We as consumers of everything, don’t want to settle for anything that is less than a 4-star rating. Our world is governed by ratings. While ordering something to eat, we first look at ratings, filters already being applied, we know the algorithm will satisfy our taste buds better than what we expect it to be.

So now do you feel happy these days when you look around your materialistic acquisitions and feel satisfied that most of your acquisitions are 4 stars and above? Imagine once we have smart eyewear which can show the ratings of the product we are looking at, what will happen to the products which will be low rated, do they stand a chance in the world of rating mania?

When ratings are so hyped, then comes the race to get the highest ratings. Yeah, beg, borrow or steal, not literally but yes, we have the influencers who can make that happen. Eventually if the product or service is good, it will shine and there is no need to add that extra layer of influencers, however we are an impatient lot. We get everything within 10 minutes in India. So, who cares how the product or service actually is. Speed wins and nothing else matters.

So, what can you do to not get carried away by the ratings too much? Well, you can start reading the actual customer complaints and feedback splattered on review sites. A lot can be understood about a product or service by going through the actual customer complaints. They can help you make the right decision unless you are on a review site to register a complaint yourself!

Secondly, you can ask your friends if they have been using a product or service because then you would have access to the actual user base, whom you can trust and make an informed decision.

Lastly, you can trust your own instincts sometimes and just go with the decision. Unless a huge amount is at stake, you can experiment with new products or services and add to the reliable set of user bases who can help others decide.  

Well, you can rate this article and let the ratings decide the readership or just give it a chance to reach the audience organically, totally up to you!