Online Reviews: The Unseen Power Shaping the Fate of Businesses in the Virtual World

“It’s unbelievable what’s happening in the retail world,” exclaimed my friend, his eyes wide with surprise.

Curious, I asked, “What’s going on?”

I have lived the day where extortion is about to become legitimate, and the future of many businesses lies in the hands of a few manipulators and greedy liars...!!

“Please relax and tell me what is going on”, I replied, losing my calmness and patience.

My friend started telling me stories about how some customers, while they cannot agree on the price of a good or service, start threatening to go online and leave negative and destructive reviews about the place they are visiting!

Even more, some people leave such negative reviews online without buying the product or service, although they are treated with much respect and professionalism. Then, they ask their friends to go online and create false reviews about that business, regardless of their actual experiences.

There have been many situations where customers refuse to listen to the voice of logic and reality, accusing retailers in derogatory statements and assuming that all retailers are conducting bad business.

In contrast, nowadays, with more regulations in place and intense competition, together with the will of retail business owners and their employees to remain in business and acquire some market share, they conduct the utmost professional and ethical business practices to maintain their clientele and expand.

In a time when more and more goods and services are offered online or where reviews and customers’ experiences are published online, this virtual world has become an unethical arena for biased opinions, misconduct, and slander while hiding behind a screen and staying anonymous.

It is a world where genuine human interactions and exceptional shopping experiences are replaced by a few greedy, parasitic consumers who are ignorant of the reality of the modern world, who come from a background of oppression and marginalized life, where their voices can never be heard, and they will never be seen.

Then, they arrive in the new world, astounded by the freedom of expression and human rights; unfortunately, they miss such an opportunity and attempt to ruin the better world they chose to live in.

Although there are still a few who are leading this way of abusing freedom, it is more painful when we experience and suffer from the attitude of people who are born and or descended from long-time immigrants, whom we consider more aware of the new world life and possess pleasant manners. Still, they practice even improper behavior towards retail businesses, wrongly assuming that those who are providing them with the service are inferior to their status, especially when they are later immigrants... simply because they always fail to listen.