Sunday, May 13, 2012

Recommendations

I'm filling out a customer satisfaction for a grocery store, and it asks me how likely I am to recommend the store to family or friends.  And, of course, the answer is "highly unlikely".  Not because there's anything wrong with the store, but because why would I recommend a grocery store?  I go there because they're near me and sell groceries.  If you're nearby, I'll say "That's where the nearest grocery store is."  If you're not nearby, I'll assume you want to go to one of the multiple comparable stores that's closer to you.

A website that sells undergarments contains very detailed descriptions of its bras, and solicits user reviews. The reviews include a checkbox for whether you'd recommend that bra to others.  But why would I recommend a bra to others?  Even if it works fantastically for me, that's meaningless to other people.  It's such a person item that I would never presume that my experience is in any way applicable to others, or vice versa.

This is something I've been noticing an awful lot lately - reviews and feedback asking you if you'd recommend the thing in question to others, without any regard for whether recommending that genre of thing is even appropriate or relevant.  What's up with that?

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