We all do a great deal of shopping sight unseen.

We love to go to new bars and restaurants.

We need home repair work done by a professional and dont have the slightest idea who to hire.

A man looks dissatisfied as he takes a bite out of a burger.

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What do we do?

We go to online review sites.

But how reliable are all those customer reviews and ratings?

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The answer is different depending on which review website you use.

No Interest Til Almost 2027?

Not to mention the wide range of policies, procedures, and quality controls.

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Here are some things to think about when trying to determine how much to trust customer reviews and ratings.

Theyre well-established enough to have a track record and a deep well of information.

Weve checked their policies and practices to help you use them smartly.

The BBBs basic purpose is to accredit businesses for an acceptable level of competence and integrity.

It hasStandards of TrustandBBB Accreditation Standards, making it the most serious of all rating services.

Companies can receive a BBB Accredited Business if it meets the standards.

The BBB specializes in general contractors, lawyers, auto repair services and restaurants.

Whats rated?Home construction, repair and maintenance services; lawyers; auto repair services; restaurants.

Whos doing the rating?The BBB and customers who are registered users.

How it works:Look for a specific business or search by the bang out of service youre seeking.

Many also have customer ratings and reviews.

How BBB handles negative reviews:The BBB form for filing a complaint asks for details.

Does the complainant want to warn others about the bad experience they had?

Or are they requesting help resolving a conflict?

The BBB then looks into the complaint and determines whether to get involved.

The BBB also offers a review process, working on a 5-point scale.

The complaints do need to fit the company standards.

The BBB also accepts reviews of accredited companies.

Pros:Goes beyond customer ratings by accrediting and grading businesses.

Also a clearinghouse for consumer complaints.Reliableandtransparent.

Cons:Some businesses have a low number of customer ratings.

It began publicly trading stock in 2012.

Today, Yelp users rate businesses and can see how those businesses have been rated by past reviewers.

Whats rated?Almost any kind of business you could think of.

Whos doing the rating?Customers who are registered users.

How it works:Search for a business and find a list of recommendations with star ratings and reviews.

Pros:Enough traffic from users to offer a more reliable sampling.

Vast selection of businesses.

Cons:Some complaints about fake reviews, despite an algorithm designed to filter them out.

Some questions about preferential treatment for advertisers.

There are approximately 487,500 businesses listed on the site.

Companies sign up to have their products and services listed in a search on amazon.com.

Whats rated?Anything purchased via Amazon.

Whos doing the rating?Registered members who have made a purchase.

Pros:Massive audience means a more reliable sampling.

Haspoliciesto discourage misleading or manipulative reviews.

Also offers Amazon Vine reviews from trusted panels.

Cons:Massive audience also means more opportunity for abuse.

Despite efforts,fake or paid reviewsstill slip through.

The Google customer review appears on the businesss website after a purchase is made.

The review process is designed to consider the entire purchasing process.

Users can then go into the individual reviews and delete them if you wish.

Whats rated?Products or services from businesses that participate in the program.

Whos doing the rating?Registered customers who have made a purchase.

Pros:Designed to consider the entire purchasing process.

Google has a nine-point standard for inappropriate reviews, but depends on merchants to report them.

Whats rated?Any business with a Facebook Business Page.

Whos doing the rating?Any registered Facebook user who visits a Business Page.

Pros:Easy to engage with the business and other reviewers.

Not anonymous, which discourages fake reviews.

Cons:Reviews arent vetted or managed.

No easy way to know if a review is authentic.

Originally designed as a subscription service, it is now free to the public.

Any work done around the home that you are willing to pay someone to do is covered here.

Whats rated?Home maintenance and repair services.

Businesses get info about how to contact you.

Pros:Detailed ratings based on criteria such as price, responsiveness, and professionalism.

Customer reviews are vetted.

One of the first nationwide home service recommendation sites.

HomeAdvisor provides consumers with recommendations for home maintenance and repair services.

For consumers, HomeAdvisor offers a fixed-price tool: You set the price for your job at the outset.

How HomeAdvisor handles negative reviews:Here is where Home Advisor stands out.

It posts an email address [email protected] for customer complaints.

HomeAdvisor says a company receiving frequent complaints can and will be removed from its list of capable professionals.

Pros:Cost estimator and how-to home-repair videos.

Good policy for handling customer complaints.

Companies with frequent complaints are removed.

Cons:Includes only businesses that pay to be listed, which could limit your selection.

There are few complaints from consumers.

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor, created in 2000, is a travel accommodations ratings and booking service.

Tripadvisor also offers booking services to all of the travel accommodations it has listed on its site.

How it works:slide in your destination and search criteria to get recommendations with star ratings and reviews.

How Tripadvisor handles negative review:Tripadvisor encourages businesses to contact customers who are unhappy with their travel experience.

Pros:Detailed ratings and recommendations based on criteria such as cleanliness, best value, price and more.

Transparency about policies and practices.A systemfor discouraging fake reviews.

At 860 million reviews, an extensive database.

Cons:Not many.

Most complaints involve the booking services it offers, not the rating services.

What else to know:Tripadvisor has 860 million reviews of 8.7 million travel accommodations.

It claims 463 million visitors per month.

Kent McDill is a veteran journalist who has specialized in personal finance topics since 2013.

He is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder.

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