Why Customers Aren’t Speaking Up - and Why Online Reviews May Be Misleading

January 30, 2025

When we realized that none of our clients, coworkers, family, or friends were leaving reviews for restaurants, hotels, taxis, or clinics - despite having plenty to say in private - we knew we had to dig deeper. This revelation, paired with the common claim by businesses that “we don’t need mystery shopping; we follow online reviews,” became the driving force behind our latest research.

We wanted to answer two key questions:

Are customers actually complaining about bad service or products?
Do they leave reviews, and if not, why?

Statistics from a few years ago already revealed that only 4% of dissatisfied customers complain directly to a business. Instead, they share their negative experiences with 10-20 other people. But we wanted to go beyond these numbers and understand what’s happening now.

Customer Experience: A Business Priority, But Are Reviews Enough?

With Customer Experience predicted to be a top priority for businesses over the next five years, we divided our research into key industries where customer interaction is direct, and service quality can make or break loyalty:

Hospitality: Bars, restaurants, and hotels
Private Clinics
Taxis: referring to modern businesses established in the past 5-10 years that prioritize transparency by allowing customers to view and leave reviews

Although we suspected most people don’t leave reviews, the numbers shocked us. Only 1% of respondents leave reviews on Google, and 15% leave them on other sites or forums. Yet 83% share bad experiences with family and 90% with friends.

Why Don’t Customers Complain On-Site?

When our respondents were asked why they avoid complaining in person, common reasons included:

"I can’t be anonymous."
"I’m embarrassed and don’t want to cause trouble."
"I’m afraid of a negative reaction from the employee."
"It takes too much time."
"I don’t want to get the employee in trouble with their manager."
"It’s easier to just never visit again."
"It doesn’t make sense; nothing will change."

In private clinics, we discovered an additional layer: respect for doctors often deters complaints. Similarly, some clinics ask customers to leave reviews on tablets handed to them by staff, creating pressure and making feedback less authentic. Restaurants have adopted similar tactics, presenting online review tools with the bill and waiting for customers to complete them on the spot.

Are These Reviews Reliable?

Another issue is the misuse of satisfaction tools, such as touchscreens in retail stores, which are often “reviewed” by children randomly pressing buttons or someone in a bad mood. How can businesses filter legitimate feedback from noise?

Additionally, some review platforms overwhelm customers with lengthy questionnaires. This complexity deters honest feedback, with many opting to give a quick 5-star rating instead of providing thoughtful input.

Why Mystery Shopping is Still Essential

Our findings underscore a key insight: online reviews are highly subjective and often influenced by mood, taste, or external pressures. In contrast, tools like mystery shopping provide objective, fact-based evaluations, unaffected by personal biases.

It’s alarming how many businesses claim they don’t need mystery shopping because “they haven’t received complaints.” However, relying solely on online reviews - or worse, assuming no news is good news - leaves companies blind to critical service gaps.

With industries and competition evolving rapidly, especially in areas like online shopping and food delivery, the “moment of truth” in customer interactions - whether on-site or online - can be the ultimate game changer.