[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"external-lt-951":3},{"payload":4,"id":45,"user":46,"level":52,"course":53,"activity":54,"activity_slug":55,"title":6,"topic":56,"tone":57,"stats":58,"created":60,"score":61,"is_favorite":62,"public":63,"is_external":62},{"text":5,"title":6,"answers":7,"questions":38},"When my friend Lina opened her tiny bakery, she imagined her biggest challenge would be waking up at 4 a.m. to shape dough. She was wrong. The real shock arrived two weeks later, when a stranger posted a one-star review saying the croissants were “dry as sand” and the staff were “cold”. Lina read it three times, then once more at midnight, as if the words might change. They didn’t. What did change was her mood, and—more importantly—her bookings for weekend brunch.\n\nOnline reviews have become the modern version of word of mouth, only louder and faster. A single comment can travel further than a neighbour’s recommendation ever could, and it stays visible long after the original customer has forgotten about it. For small businesses, this can feel unfair: they may serve hundreds of happy customers, yet one angry person can dominate the story. Still, reviews are not going away, and pretending they don’t matter is like ignoring rain because you dislike umbrellas.\n\nThe influence of reviews is partly psychological. Many of us trust other customers more than advertising, because reviews sound “real”. We also tend to notice negative opinions more strongly than positive ones. If a café has fifty five-star ratings and two one-star ratings, some people will focus on the two. They may even imagine the worst before they arrive, which affects how they experience the service. In other words, reviews don’t just describe reality; they can help create it.\n\nHowever, the picture is not entirely gloomy. Reviews can act as free market research. Patterns are especially useful: if several people mention slow service on Saturday mornings, that is probably a staffing issue, not a personal attack. Lina, for example, realised her team looked unfriendly during the busiest hour simply because they were rushing and exhausted. She adjusted the schedule, added one extra helper, and trained everyone to greet customers even when the queue was long.\n\nThe tricky part is responding. Some owners reply defensively, which often makes things worse. A calm response that thanks the reviewer, apologises for the experience, and explains what will change can reassure future customers. It also shows the business is listening. At the same time, businesses should avoid sharing private details or arguing about every sentence. The goal is not to “win” the comment section; it is to protect trust.\n\nOf course, not all reviews are fair. Competitors sometimes post fake criticism, and a few customers use reviews as a threat to get discounts. That is why platforms now offer reporting tools and verification systems, though they are not perfect. The healthiest approach is to treat reviews as one source of information, not the only one. Lina still reads them, but she no longer reads them at midnight. She focuses on consistent feedback, keeps improving, and remembers that a business is built on daily habits—not just on stars.","Stars, Scores and Small Shops",{"1":8,"2":13,"3":18,"4":23,"5":28,"6":33},[9,10,11,12],"She decided to stop offering brunch because it was too stressful.","She discovered that baking early in the morning was exhausting.","A harsh online comment upset her and seemed to affect weekend demand.","A customer praised her croissants and increased her confidence.",[14,15,16,17],"They are always more honest than advertisements.","They spread to many people quickly and remain visible for a long time.","They are written by professional critics with expert knowledge.","They only influence customers who already know the business.",[19,20,21,22],"Negative reviews only matter when they include photos.","Customers trust advertising more than what other customers say.","People usually ignore negative comments if the average score is high.","Even a small number of bad ratings can shape expectations more than many good ones.",[24,25,26,27],"She noticed repeated complaints, changed staffing, and trained her team to greet customers.","She removed all one-star reviews by reporting them to the platform.","She stopped reading reviews and focused only on her own opinion.","She offered discounts to anyone who left a five-star rating.",[29,30,31,32],"Reply politely, show willingness to improve, and avoid public arguments or private details.","Ignore all reviews so that customers do not control the business.","Respond immediately with a strong defence to prove the reviewer is wrong.","Share the customer’s personal information to explain what really happened.",[34,35,36,37],"Use reviews sensibly: learn from patterns, but don’t let them control everything.","The best way to handle reviews is to ask platforms to delete negative ones.","Businesses succeed mainly because of star ratings, not daily work.","Online reviews are mostly fake, so businesses should not read them at all.",{"1":39,"2":40,"3":41,"4":42,"5":43,"6":44},"What happened shortly after Lina opened her bakery?","Why does the writer say online reviews are “louder and faster” than traditional word of mouth?","What does the writer suggest about how people react to negative reviews?","How did Lina use feedback to improve her business?","What does the writer advise businesses to do when replying to reviews?","What is the writer’s overall message about online reviews?",951,{"id":47,"username":48,"first_name":49,"last_name":50,"image":51},23948,"harley-davidson","Harley","Davidson","https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocJD0KETXvAHpaISIfOtHmvNQSo2JhJOkmYOleW8KnChRvrtStjD=s96-c","B2","Reading","Long Text","long-text","Create an exercise about the impact of online reviews on businesses","Friendly",{"times_played":59,"num_favorites":59},1,"2026-05-24T09:28:31",null,false,true]