Uncrowd boss slams absurd obsession with customer reviews

The marks out of five that consumers use to rate practically everything contribute to the most misleading management information a business has at its disposal, according to retail analytics startup Uncrowd.

Founder Richard Hammond comments: “I’m sick to death of being asked to review and recommend things. Everything! I complained about something recently and then they literally asked me how happy I was with being unhappy. It felt like the plot summary for a Twilight Zone episode.”

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A poll of 1,053 consumers found that 52% totally ignore requests to feedback or score, 15% will only rate something if they are critical of it, 9% will only score if they feel happy and 24% will score something regardless of their impressions.

62% said that they had been asked whether they would recommend something inconsequential, including a phone service to change a direct debit mandate, a USB cable, toilet paper and a bag of pre-fried onions.

Hammond says: “A mark out of five might give a reassuring score if the right question is asked in the right time or place, but if fewer than a quarter of customers are responding accurately, it’s hardly the basis for a strategic decision or for celebration.”

The data, now routinely gathered online, in-store and by text message, is leading to a distorted, shallow and at times complacent impression of how customers feel about products and services, he argues. Some consumers complain of being asked more than 100 times a week.

He adds: “Often these results reinforce business as usual, which is particularly dangerous at a time when businesses are under enormous pressure. It’s the detail in the weave of customer opinion that really matters. My suspicion is that a lot of retailers are being literally damned with faint praise.”

“It’s absurd and reductive to think that our impressions can be boiled down to one of five options. Shoppers are often being asked to rate something complex. It’s a bit like asking ‘what do you think of Britain’ and expecting a one to five-star range to contribute to a better understanding of how to serve a visitor,” Hammond concludes.