In a new study, credit card company Capital On Tap looked at how we feel about leaving negative reviews on TripAdvisor, Google or other online services. They looked at generation differences in particular, which lead to a surprising outcome.
Looking up a business has become an automatism for many amongst us when we’re choosing a restaurant, hotel or tourist attraction and people’s reviews and scores are thus directly impacting our decision-making. Everyone tends to set a minimum score when looking for new places to visit – for some, it may be 7/10, for others 9/10. One thing to keep in mind, however, is the fact that many amongst us may be more eager to leave a bad review when we’ve had a nightmare experience than a good one when we were actually content.
According to the study, Gen Z’ers don’t hesitate to leave a negative comment online. Whether they’ve visited a shop, restaurant or something else, 61% of those aged between 16 and 27 said they regularly leave a bad review. Millennials, however, were the least likely to do so. Only 52% of those aged between 28 and 44 have already done so in the past. Gen X and Boomers both came out at around 53%.
Asked why they’ve left a bad review, 72% of those questioned said it was because they had a negative product or service experience. People indicated to be more inclined to do so about a big company than about a small business. On the other hand, 84% also said they would be willing to leave a positive comment if they were happy with a business.
Recently, actress Millie Bobby Brown – part of the Gen Z generation – also spoke about leaving (bad) reviews on a podcast called Table Manners, hosted by Jessie and Lennie Ware. She talked about using a pseudonym when doing so.
“I think it’s important. Here’s the thing: my whole life is people criticising me, so I’m gonna give it back to you sometimes”, Brown explained. “I’m a Karen. I do think it’s important to know where you went wrong and there’s always room for improvement.”
