As part of our recent move, we’ve had interactions with a number of service providers. As is now usually the case, we’ve been prompted to leave a review…
Most of the reviews I’ve left have been good. The companies concerned and their employees all delivered a service somewhere along the spectrum of good to great, and I felt it was important to take a moment out of the busyness and the chaos to say so. I find if I don’t do so while it’s fresh in my mind, I forget, regardless of whether I put it onto a to do list or not.
The one company who – glaringly – did not ask for a review, was the management agents at our last property. And, quite frankly, from our first encounter with them and throughout the five and a half years we’ve been in our previous property, they’ve been rubbish. I always presumed they must be cheap, although I never actually asked our old landlord quite how cheap, nor why he engaged them – while we had a good to excellent tenant/landlord relationship, we weren’t on those kind of terms!
Although the past few months have been unbelievably stressful, with the spectre of homelessness just around the corner, the line I’ve taken is that we’ve got through it OK and now live somewhere absolutely lovely, but Himself has not been able to be quite so sanguine. When the closing phases of our relationship with the management agents at our last property were as appallingly handled as all the others, he decided it was time to leave a review. When he pulled up the record for the management agents, he discovered that their rating was already only 1.9 out of a possible 5 🫨
Frankly, I’m not sure I could’ve chosen them in these circumstances. But our landlord did. Indeed, he’s also chosen them to handle the property’s sale. So I guess there genuinely are people who only care how much it costs them, not how good (or professional) the service is.
All of which makes me think it’s even more important to protect those of us for whom service matters, by leaving reviews – and not just good ones. I was ready to simply walk away and put those management agents behind me. Fortunately Himself knew that a negative review is possibly even more important to leave than a positive one, for its potential to benefit someone in the future from innocently making a bad choice.
Funnily enough, when I look back, I remember standing outside our old flat and wondering if there was a warning for the future in our early dealings with those dreadful management agents. So, this time, when I got that self same vibe about the management agents (and the owner) of the property we nearly moved to, I paid heed, and when an alternative opportunity presented itself… I pivoted.
How do you regard reviews – as a useful service or do you pay them no mind? Do you have a policy with regard to leaving reviews?
© Debs Carey, 2025
debsdespatches.com 
I don’t make a rule of reviewing, although sometimes I will if the service or experience leans heavy to excellent or unfortunately horrid. Reading about your landlords and management stories reminds me of some of my own and other family members experiences with property managers. I feel as if I hear/read more about the awful ones too much.
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How do you regard reviews – as a useful service or do you pay them no mind? It depends on the source of the review. If it is on Amazon it probably means nothing. If it is on a website for somewhere that sells clothes or shoes, I read and weigh what is said. If the review is on a bookstore website talking about a book, I usually take heed. I pay close attention to reviews found anywhere of movies or TV shows because I will not watch gory violence.
Do you have a policy with regard to leaving reviews? I don’t leave written reviews of anything anywhere.
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Deb, I’ll be honest, without being prompted, I’d probably not think about it either. Especially when you’re in the midst of stressful stuff.
The property management stuff came as quite a surprise to me. I guess I’ve been lucky. The people I’ve dealt with before on my rentals have all been exemplary, really high quality service, and very professional while still being friendly.
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Ally, the not reviewing of things used to be my norm. I’ve come to realise, since knocking round with small & solo businesses, quite how vital reviews are for not only their continued success, but also survival in the early stages. So, I’ve started to leave them, but only when my experience has been a good one.
But I understand why you’d not want to leave reviews anywhere – there’s always the worry that someone will take exception to them, or that another person will rely on it and then blame their negative experience on you rather than the actual cause. Or at least that’s why I used to avoid leaving them.
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I check the reviews for home goods and clothes I buy off the internet. It’s very helpful to find out what sheets wear well or fit our super-thick mattress, for example. Someone posted about how their fitted sheet was way too big and I immediately was like, “SOLD!” Sure enough, a perfect fit. Someone on social media also posted about how women who review products using their height, weight, and general shape are all destined for heaven, LOL. I generally only leave reviews if I really love or hate something.
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Autumn, yes I recognise those moments of “thank you, thank you, that was *exactly* the information I needed”. I must admit, while I so appreciate those who do so, I don’t review products by providing personal information about myself – there are limits, and that is a line I will not cross 😀
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I very occasionally leave a very positive or very negative review, but hardly ever. You’ve given me pause to reconsider, Debs.
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Sorry Jane. That’s exactly what Himself did to me, so I thought I’d share the love 😉
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I had the annual tuneup for my car last week. The staff were so pleasant and efficient that I gladly gave them a 5-star review. Maybe their desire to get a good review encouraged all that pleasant, efficient behavior.
I don’t mind giving a brief review if I feel I have an educated opinion. Often, though, I don’t know how to judge the product.
I do pay attention to reviews within reason. Movie and book reviews might give you a hint, but we all have different tastes.
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I leave reviews all the time! I depend on them whenever I’m looking for a place to eat/stay or a service, be it a tree cutter or electrician or auto mechanic. A few weeks ago I contacted a plumber without looking at his reviews (a rare misstep on my part) and never heard back from him. When I looked him up afterward, I saw his reviews sucked, so I called another plumber with excellent reviews. Sure enough, he was prompt, friendly, and efficient. Lesson learned!
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I sometimes leave reviews but when I recently bought some bricks from a big box home improvement store, I declined. 🙂
We are currently in the process of buying a car and I know we’ll get a survey when all is said and done. Although the salesperson has worked hard for us, his communication skills are awful. I am considering leaving him a decent review but following up with a personal email.
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Nicki, apart from the “can I be bothered factor”, I think it’s your last point which has kept me from regarding reviews as having much worth. But I see the situation changing, with people relying on them to make their decisions earlier. I know I can spend hours/day/weeks even going around and around when trying to pick a supplier, and while you can’t rely on all reviews being unbiased or honest, I think there is a balance of probability when there’s sufficient of them. So, I’m slowly, like the QEII, changing around to making the effort more.
Oh & I’m so pleased to hear that you found somewhere good for your car. It makes such a big difference not to have to worry about things that we rely on.
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Mark, this is something I’m realising. I know I’ve mithered away over decisions when, if I’d only looked at reviews, it would’ve helped. That said, they don’t always – I’ve lost far too much time on Amazon trying to work out where the balance falls with the massively conflicting reviews.
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Ah, now that’s an interesting one Janis. How do you balance the hard work with the ability to communicate – I mean, he’s a salesman, an ability to communicate well is pretty high up on the light of requirements I’d have thought. I think you’ve got the balance right with the process you’re considering.
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“Mithered” away…another new-to-me phrase!
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I’m glad you are done with that below-par management company, Debs, and that an appropriate review was left to warn others and perhaps (but probably not) inspire improvement. I tend to leave reviews when I am particularly delighted or disappointed in a product or service. When things are “as expected” I don’t usually take the time.
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I don’t normally review. If I have a complaint, I will tell the service provider directly.
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Delighted to be adding to your lexicon of British-isms Mark 🙂
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Christie, that’s me too. I suspect that’s why more & more providers are now sending out a prompt for a review.
PS: I am also glad to be done with them…
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That’s a very fair stance to take Rosemary. And there’s no doubting that the requests for feedback/reviews can be positively interminable!
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