When I write a review, I want to give 3 stars to most products, products that are good. I want to reserve 4 and 5 stars for things that exceed expectations. But when I read a review, I want to see 5 stars. Anything less than 5 stars means something was wrong. Why did the reviewer hold back? I think it's mostly because there are so many products with 4-5 stars. It makes products with just 3 stars look bad, even if it's 3.5.
For what it's worth, my interpretation as a writer is what the websites meant. Here are Amazon's labels for stars:
1. I hate it.
2. I don't like it.
3. It's okay.
4. I like it.
5. I love it.
Even closer to my interpretation is Yelp's:
1. Eek! Methinks not.
2. Meh. I've experienced better.
3. A-OK.
4. Yay! I'm a fan.
5. Woohoo! As good as it gets!
I don't think I've ever had anything where afterward I said, "This is as good as it gets." Still, if I leave fewer than 5 stars, I'm sure the proprietor would feel hurt and wonder what went wrong.
I don't remember where, but I read from a blog article that 5-star reviews are unreliable, when used by the general public, due to ignorance on how to properly rate.
The proper way would be to ditch 5-star reviews in favor of just "thumbs up" and "thumbs down", youtube-style
For what it's worth, my interpretation as a writer is what the websites meant. Here are Amazon's labels for stars:
Even closer to my interpretation is Yelp's: I don't think I've ever had anything where afterward I said, "This is as good as it gets." Still, if I leave fewer than 5 stars, I'm sure the proprietor would feel hurt and wonder what went wrong.This is one reason I don't usually write reviews.