Do Not Trust That Stranger’s 5-Star Review

Do Not Trust(trəst) That Stranger’s(ˈstrānjər) 5-Star Review(rəˈvyo͞o)

Go with your instinct(ˈinstiNG(k)t) over the wisdom(ˈwizdəm) of the crowd(kroud).

By Joanne(jōˈan) Chen

Last Saturday, I was desperate(ˈdesp(ə)rət) for Mozart(ˈmōˌtsärt) sheet(SHēt) music. It had to be for piano, and it had to be easy to play. Out of 84 options on Amazon(-zən,ˈaməˌzän), a book with 4.7 stars caught my eye — good enough for a 9-year-old’s music-class presentation(ˌprezən-,ˌprēzən-,ˌprēˌzenˈtāSHən). Later that afternoon, I needed to book a hotel for our summer vacation(vāˈkāSHən,və-) and I trusted the 1,310 reviewers(rəˈvyo͞oər) on TripAdvisor(trip ədˈvīzər) who gave my pick an average of four stars, along with a good number of “fantastics” and “wonderfuls.”

Dinner was a 4.5 star meatloaf(ˈmēt ˌlōf) recipe(ˈresəˌpē). And this weekend, with Memorial(məˈmôrēəl) Day sales(sāl) in full swing(swiNG), I will turn to an army(ˈärmē) of online reviewers who will help me bite(bīt) the bullet(ˈbo͝olət) and replace a toilet(ˈtoilit) that has mysteriously(məˈstirēəslē) begun flushing of its own accord(əˈkôrd). Someone else will have put the time in at Home Depot(ˈde-,ˈdēpō) so I don’t have to.

But which someone? Who are these reviewers I’m trusting with my purchasing(ˈpərCHəs) decisions, big and small? I don’t know for sure, and yet I feel completely(kəmˈplētlē) stalled(stôl) until I’ve scrolled(skrōld) through everything they have to say.

It’s not that I’m afraid(əˈfrād) of a little research. As a writer at Wirecutter(wīr ˈkədər), The New York Times’s product review site, I pore(pôr) over user ratings professionally(prəˈfeSH(ə)nəlē), though I don’t rely(rəˈlī) on them solely(ˈsōl(l)ē). For my review of foam(fōm) mattresses(ˈmatrəs), I focused my efforts on extensive reporting and slept on the mattresses myself. I analyzed(ˈanlˌīz) online comments(ˈkämˌent) to deduce(dəˈd(y)o͞os) trends(trend), and I certainly didn’t take stars at face value.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/25/opinion/sunday/five-star-customer-reviews.html