Some say, “all publicity is good publicity”, but is it really always the case? Certain reviews can significantly affect how people view the company, which is why they might not appreciate the negative ones very much.
Redditor u/albanska recently told the ‘Anti Work’ community about a company asking her to delete a negative review she left. The woman didn’t hold back from saying exactly what she thought of the workplace after it rescinded a job offer, leaving her jobless and furious. Scroll down to find the full story below.
Reviews can significantly alter the way a person sees the product or the company, whether for the better or worse
Image credits: Sora Shimazaki (not the actual photo)
This person left a negative review after the company rescinded a job offer
Image credits: insidecreativehouse (not the actual photo)
Image credits: albanska
Customer reviews can influence the way others view the product or business
Not everyone is equally affected by what other people think; however, the majority seems to be somewhat easily influenced. For example, when it comes to buying products, as much as 95% of consumers take reviews into consideration, according to 2023 data. Nearly half of buyers trust online reviews to the same level they would a personal recommendation.
But reviews can influence not only people’s buying decisions, but the way they evaluate other things, such as businesses as well. Recent data revealed that nearly three-in-four people say positive reviews increase their trust in a company, while negative ones can make as much as 94% of customers avoid certain businesses.
The National Strategic Group pointed out that consumers typically write reviews when their experience with the company evokes a heightened emotional response, whether it’s a positive or a negative one. (It also revealed that negative ones are written more often than their more cheerful counterparts.)
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
Research shows that people become susceptible to social influence at an early age
Nowadays, it’s pretty safe to assume that people are somewhat easily influenced. With the rise of social media and influencers, they tend to follow certain trends and are inclined to try out something they saw others do, buy, eat, etc.
According to Forbes, roughly 50 million people consider themselves influencers; and Instagram reportedly is the main platform for their marketing. Morning Consult pointed out that 50% of Millennials trust influencers they follow when it comes to product recommendations (in comparison, they trust roughly 38% of their favorite celebrities).
Research shows that people become susceptible to social influence roughly at the age of 12. But how does influence work? GRIN suggested that influence can be an unconscious act, which helps people feel secure, as they make choices that were made by others before them, allowing them to fit in. Moreover, individuals might give in to others’ influence because they have a hard time making decisions, fearing that a wrong one can lead to a waste of time and resources.
Reviews similar to the OP’s can warn others that this company can rescind a job offer, which might result in not only wasted time, but loss of a job as well. That is likely one of the reasons some people in the comments encouraged the redditor to leave the review up there.
Image credits: Ivan Samkov (not the actual photo)
The OP shared more details and thoughts in the comments
Fellow redditors also shared their opinions and suggestions in the comments
