Has anyone been able to resist the urge to read online reviews? If curiosity killed the cat, I can only assume that the swagger and self-confidence of modern cats is the result of an evolutionary advance that has not occurred in veterinarians. I can\u2019t image a house cat feeling the weight and emotional turmoil of a bad online review the way I did. Despite the important and well-meaning advice to \u201cnot let them get to you,\u201d it doesn\u2019t really fit with my well-trained empathy.<\/p>\n
If like me you\u2019ve fallen down the rabbit hole of online reviews, I\u2019d like us to consider a new coping strategy\u2014an all-out boycott.<\/p>\n
Reading my own reviews was completely unproductive as I couldn\u2019t separate myself from my emotional reaction to them. Instead, I tried to focus on a colleague\u2019s reviews to see what I could learn. Buried deep in heaps of love and equally zealous hate, I did see some areas for growth. I know this particular colleague tends to use technical language and has been working on communication. The accusations of \u201cacting superior,\u201d \u201cbeing condescending,\u201d and \u201cmade me feel stupid\u201d certainly reflected that weakness but in the most unconstructive and cruel ways. Knowing that person was already aware of this weakness and had been trying to improve, I couldn\u2019t find any new substantiated information that would help them grow and improve. Then there is the second-hand review \u2013 the \u201ctelephone game\u201d of a review written by a concerned family member or friend who did not even have a first-hand experience but still seems to feel the need to express their opinion.<\/p>\n
Where did the trend of reviews come from? Why do we review everything from our Starbucks barista to a new outlet cover from Amazon to our neurosurgeon\u2019s recent surgical procedure? When we first learned to do background research for a scientific paper we were taught to evaluate and determine the reliability and value of different sources\u2014books, articles, scholarly journals, research papers, etc. In the world of reviews, we have little information to evaluate the source of the review. We meet clients briefly, oftentimes for only a few hours over the life of a pet. We have only impressions of them based on their attention to detail and expressed commitment for their animals but is that enough to judge their competency to evaluate our medical services?<\/p>\n
After taking the red pill and adventuring in the surreal \u201cwonderland\u201d of review, I\u2019ve decided on another path: not to read, write, click on, or give any further consideration to online reviews. None of the available sources of reviews, whether it be social media, search engines, or other websites, add value to my decisions. Instead, I will talk to my friends, family, colleagues, and other trusted resources for personal recommendations for restaurants, doctors, dentists, dog groomers, a new carrot peeler, etc.<\/p>\n
If we can\u2019t truly rely on reviews, how do we get that critical feedback we need to evaluate and update our services? Well, it\u2019s time to find new productive and constructive ways to gather, evaluate and respond to feedback! Ideally, we would all ask for comments at the time of services when everyone\u2019s memory is fresh. Now that many of us have started to email or even text communications to our clients, it is easy to add a link to a feedback survey. Online survey forms are often free or low-cost, easy to use, and can be compiled and analyzed to pick up trends very easily. This allows clients a chance to vent in a private forum so you can filter that feedback into a constructive and, therefore, productive format for your team. Consider sending out annual feedback requests to clients and\/or your staff.<\/p>\n
Turn off reviews where you can, set up autoreplies and instead gather your feedback from trusted sources. Don\u2019t take the red pill or the blue pill, fall down the rabbit hole, or even spare a glance into that looking glass ever again!<\/p>\n