Badly reviewed places – the conclusion

The very fact I stopped posting more updates to this project says enough. But I wanted to bring a little closure here. I visited a total of 3 “badly reviewed places”. These were some of the worst reviewed places in Barcelona according to Google Maps. The third one I never posted about because it was simply unremarkable, despite it’s1.9 rating.

At the start of this project, I was excited yet genuinely worried about what was coming my way. By the third one, I was quite relaxed. Not because I became comfortable with the feeling of uncertainty, but because none of the worst case scenarios ever materialised. No cockroach sandwiches, no 25 euro cocktails, and best of all, not once was a member of staff rude to me.

The conclusion is a short one, things aren’t as bad as they seem. People over react. Emotion fuels anger and over exaggeration. It also begs the question – Are our expectations simply too high?

But perhaps, I was lucky. Maybe, the sample size wasn’t big enough. But I just don’t see it. The places were average by all accounts. But average doesn’t deserve a 1.9, a 2.6 or a 3.2 Google Maps rating. Does it?

Looking at this a different way, does this rule of overreaction and “in the moment” emotional bias apply to highly reviewed places? Possibly. I’ve certainly visited a few 5* places which weren’t “exceptional”. And rumour has it that because Google Maps reviews are totally unverified, the “bring my business 100 5* Google Reviews” type market is in demand. Anyway. Food for thought.

Next time we use Google Maps to find a restaurant, bar, cafe or anything else, let’s not pay too much attention to people’s reviews or the overall rating. Maybe we can roll back the years and use our gut feel, our spontaneity and uncertainty and see if we are rewarded with a surprise. Another good reason to keep our phones in our pockets. An underrated skill this day in age. Unless, of course, you get a cockroach sandwich, that deserves a cheeky Instagram post.