I was reading the Time Out Guide book I had for my trip to Stockholm at the weekend on the flight home as I had to fill a couple of hours and not surprisingly there were no English lanuage newspapers at the airport ( which is a fact not a complaint – see below on that point!).  I was glad I had not read it in full before I travelled though. In the restaurant section they handily reminded me about the incompetent “Swedish chef” in the Muppet Show with his imcomprehensible accent which must be really really annoying for the wonderful real Swedish chefs out there.

How easily are swayed by what others say?

A friend recently told me about a workman she had hired to do some handyman work on a recommendation from a colleague with the warning ” he is really good but can be a bit grumpy”. She was prepared for his grumpyness and was surprised and delighted that he was totally charming while working for her.

And I regularly read the reviews at www.tripadvisor.com before booking a hotel.  At the start we actually changed bookings on the strength of reviews but I am more cautious now and try to read between the lines and balance the good reviews against the bad ones to find some middle ground. As a regular contributor myself I try to ensure that any bad points are explained in context. It is not really helpful for example for a reviewer to complain that a 5star resort is “expensive” – duh? Or that brands from home are not available locally – surely  the point of travelling is to broaden the mind and experience ( as at the airport)?  But hotel managers have the right and opportunity to comment on the reviews but they should not just post a cut and paste response to all bad reviews like I saw for one hotel.  I passed that one  over !

It is generally accepted that businesses need to work hard to keep abreast of what their customers are saying about them and work harder still to maintain a good reputation.

But what about individuals – small business owners ( like the handyman) or employees even? Getting meaningful feedback can be very helpful  and using that as a basis  for doing more of what you are good at ( and less of what you are doing badly!!) is advisable.

But a word of warning – weigh up good and bad feedback against each other  balance it and to put it into context . In other words don’t rush off to improve on something that only one person out of many thinks needs improved.

And be careful how you talk about others -  out of context that grumpy comment could have cost the handyman a customer. When it comes to visiting new places or hiring new workmen – try to start out without bias and as my Mum says ” take as you find”.