Page 37 - Sandy Jackman Pantai Hotel

Bitchin’ & Moaning
ARE YOU LOOKING TO BE CREATIVELY INSPIRED?

By Judith A. Habert

Help I Can’t Make a Decision! and physicians. I discovered that some of my favorites had horrible rat-
ings. Oh no! How could this be? Was my taste so wrong? Had I been
fooling myself all these years into believing that I was smart enough to
Technology has affected so many different parts of our lives, but it was make my own decisions? Well, I investigated a little deeper and learned
not until recently that I realized how far reaching it truly was. It has something I never knew, and wondered if others knew this?
gotten to the point that we now find it very hard to make any decision If you go to one of your favorites and look at their reviews there may
without relying on our iPhones or iPads. be 8 or 10 and maybe overall your favorite received only a 2. How can
It used to be that we would decide what restaurant we wanted to eat that be, you may ask? Well, go down to the bottom of the page and in
at based on recommendations from friends and relatives who had a light gray text it will say something like “18 other reviews that are not
previously tried these
restaurants and raved
about the food and
service. What movie did
we want to see? Again,
we would hear from
our circle of friends and
decide based on their
reviews. Which Doctor
should we use? Well
that was often decided
by our parents. Doc-
tors would be passed
on from one generation
to another. I went to the
family practitioner that
took care of my mom
and dad. When did all
of this change?
In 2014, when my
daughter and I are out San Diego
and about in a part Woman
of town that we are
not familiar with, and
we need to stop for a
bite to eat, I will spot
a cute little restaurant 37
and suggest that it
might be a good place
to try. I cannot even
get the full sentence
out of my mouth when
out comes the iPhone
while she logs into Yelp
and within 2.5 seconds
decides if we should or
should not eat there. Her decision is often harsh. If the rating is not at currently recommended” If you click on that link you will find a lot more
least 4 out of 5 and there aren’t at least 20 reviews she steps on the reviews which are not included in the vendor’s final rating. In some
gas and off we go searching for a place with a better rating. cases, the non-recommended reviews may all be positive 5-star ratings,
When we decide to get our hair or nails done again, the same procedure yet since they were not included in the final ratings, your favorite only
occurs. Thinking I must be a dinosaur in the methods I use, I sit there received a negative rating of 2.
in silence and allow her to make these rash decisions based on other So I had to query Yelp as to why this was. The answer made me even
people’s opinions. I rationalize this in my mind by saying, okay this isn’t sadder, “We use automated recommendation software to showcase the
really any different than taking the opinion of my friends and family as to most helpful and reliable reviews among the millions that are submitted
which restaurant to eat in or what salon to use, or what doctor to trust, to the site, but even some legitimate reviews don’t make the cut.
only now I have a much larger circle of “friends” to share their opinions We do not have the ability to manually showcase reviews that aren't
with me. Then some doubt starts to creep into my mind. When I relied recommended. Keep in mind, however, that the recommendation
on my friends and family, at least I knew that we had similar tastes and softwares (their typo not mine) applies the same objective standards
values. I don’t know these strangers with names like Sally P or Peter T. to every business and continually revisits each review to reevaluate its
I suppose I am as guilty as everyone else since I (too) started doing the determination.”
iPhone search dance with just about every establishment that I thought I feel so much better! At least now I know that the decisions on which
about frequenting. A new restaurant, a nail salon, a dry cleaner, a hair doctor, lawyer, restaurant or nail salon I pick are not determined by
salon, a lawyer, a doctor….Oh wait! I suddenly realize that I was start- strangers I never met, instead these choices have been placed in the
ing to trust total strangers with some very important decisions. qualified hands of automated software. Oh how I love technology! I
So I decided to do a bit more research. Instead, of randomly looking up think I will revert back to the olden days and next time I will give that
a vendor on the fly with my iPhone, I opened Yelp on my computer and cute little restaurant a try.
went to some of my existing favorite restaurants, salons, nail places