The Importance of Online Reviews

In today’s world, ordering online is a major key component in the world of business. As computers evolved over the years in shape, size, and power, we as a society now have access to whatever it is we want just by opening up a web browser or an app on our phone. Having things on-demand has become part of our lifestyle regardless of the industry. However, the quality of service is still valued by customers of all walks of life. Therefore, speed and quality of service both have the ability to make or break any business. The transportation and delivery industry plays a vital role in any company that sells goods online. From shopping on eBay and Amazon to getting our weekly or monthly groceries, ordering online is becoming a major practice in almost every household. It allows us to have more time to do things that will benefit our psychological and physical wellbeing. It’s not about being lazy, rather than using and managing our time wisely. With all that in place come the online reviews.

Reviews and ratings are more than just someone’s opinion about a company. As a collective, we now have the power to elevate or destroy a business by reviewing and rating the service of that business based on our personal experiences with that business. When we experience great and professional service from a company, then we give the business a high rating. If the service provided did not meet our standards, then we give it a low rating. Now even though we all have different expectations, tolerance and standards level, we can all agree that a high rating usually means that we can expect an amazing experience with the company we are doing business with. Which is why it is extremely important to read the reviews on any company prior to doing business with them as well as to take that one precious minute of our time to rate and review a company we had an experience with.

The rating and the reviews have many benefits for a company or an individual in a company. Companies with high ratings tend to have more returning customers and new customers comparing to those with lower ratings. On the customer side, the rating system is very important to us as it prevents us from dealing with a company that has a poor quality of service. Now we know that even in a good business, we may end up having a bad experience with an individual who themselves may be having a bad day, unknowingly transferring that negative energy to the customers they are providing that service. However, knowing that a company has a few bad reviews guarantees that we will have a negative experience with them. This is where I screwed up when I ordered a pizza online and did not look at the reviews for a specific restaurant’s location in the city I just moved to.

So some people have heard of Domino’s Pizza. They are a large chained pizza restaurant in the country. I received a gift card to use online, and to be honest, this was not the first time I ordered from them. At the previous city I lived in, I used to order from Domino’s at least once a month on the weekend and their service was amazing. They were always fast, and the food itself was pretty good. They always seem to get the order right. Not long ago I moved to a new city. I came home from work, and while using a reward app, I received a gift card for Domino’s Pizza. So I decided to use it right there and then. I went to place my order online. Since I already had an account with them as well as a credit card on file, I made sure to go in my profile and change the delivery address. Now, this is not the first time I receive deliveries in this new location, as I get my groceries and Amazon orders shipped to this new address.

Before I place the order, I added in the delivery instructions to come up the stairs and ring the doorbell or to call my phone if no one answered. This is something I write on every platform when I’m getting a delivery. So I went to the room and lay down, while my girlfriend was in the living watching a show on Netflix. She turned the TV volume down in case if I fell asleep and to hear when the delivery driver ring the bell even though anyone can hear the doorbell no matter where you are in my apartment. About an hour passed and no one came to my place. I checked my phone and notice the ringtone on my phone was on low. That’s when I saw a missed call from the driver. He left a voicemail and all I heard was “HEY PIZZA DELIVERY! DELIVERY HERE!” being repeated over and over. The voicemail lasted 12 seconds. This driver who was supposed to deliver my order barely spoke English and did not read the delivery directions properly. He never came upstairs and my girlfriend did not hear the doorbell. The last time someone delivered my groceries, that doorbell woke me up from sleep. So I know he did not show up. I called the store to get it re-delivered and after I explained to the manager what he needed to do to find my place, she contacted him and he finally found it. When he showed up, he attempted arguing with my girlfriend about the delivery instructions, saying “ADDRESS IS NO RIGHT,” and before leaving, he went on to call her "cheap" when he noticed that she wrote "$0" on the tip section on the receipt, not knowing that we were going to give him cash instead of charging the tip on the card. After hearing that comment, she chose not to give him the cash and he left without giving us back our receipt.

When my girlfriend called the store manager to report the incident, the manager herself was also very rude, had a hard time understanding her, and was rushing to get her off the phone, not really wanting to hear what my girlfriend had to say. She even went on to blame me, saying that I needed to check the address on my profile, which was written correctly, as it is in every address section in all my delivery accounts. The only thing they did correctly was getting the order right. The food was okay, a bit cold; however, the delivery process and presentation itself were just horrible. Both the driver and the store manager were extremely unprofessional, and seeing this was my first time ordering at this store’s location since moving here in this new city, I think it’s safe to say that it will also be my last time ordering from there.

Later on, we went to the Domino’s Facebook page, to leave a review, when we saw that this specific store had a 1.7 out of 5-star rating with many negative reviews on how poor their service was and how unprofessional the staff is. On Google, that store had a 3.0 out of 5 stars with a lot of 1-star reviews. Most of the complaints were about the attitude of the employees and the drivers. Needless to say, my rating and review did not help improve their stats. I took full responsibility on this, as I should have checked the reviews and pick a different store instead of going with the suggested location on the website.

For me, this was a learning experience. I usually don’t write any reviews, as I tend to just give 5 stars to any company as long as they get my order right and deliver it to the right place. This experience reinforces me now to always make sure not only to rate and review a company, but also to check their ratings and reviews. In my opinion, companies with poor quality of service need to either improve their level of service or shut down. When you see videos on social media where restaurant employees do disgusting things to the food that we buy, from wiping bread on the floor to spitting in someone’s drink, the thought of those things makes you think twice about eating from those places. Service starts with the attitude of the individual. When you go to a drive-thru and the employee on the other side sounds rude or aggravated, my advice is to then drive away and go elsewhere. Unfortunately, with the delivery of food, we can only make any judgment at the time of delivery and the professionalism of customer service when we call or email the company about a concern. I hope someday that the staff gets their act together, but as for me, if a company has less than a 4.0 overall rating with more than a few negative reviews, they are not getting my money.