Do you believe everything you read? What tall stories have you heard

flightholiday


Joined: 19/07/2007
Posts: 3217

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 17:50

Frequently people tell me that web services like Trip Advisor give a good/bad review or something else give another viewpoint on a service/product. I constantly say that it might be very biased and in real terms out of date.

Today I received the following email:

Dear Hotel Owner,



Reviews about your hotel can make or break your hotel's success.

If you don't enough positive reviews on Expedia, Google, Tripadvisor, Yahoo Travel and other such sites, you are losing the game.

If you have negative reviews about your hotel, you are at serious disdvantage.

Allow us to manage your reviews:

1) Our US-based, native English writers will create most effective management response to the negative reviews about your property.

2) We will also assist you in getting more positive reviews on all top portals.

3) We will monitor your reputation to ensure that you get more positive reviews.

Respond today to protect your reputation on Internet.

Regards,

Kavita Sh....

martinD41


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 3001

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 17:58

The one I remember best was "It's 100% safe to Buy pre74 Turkish title" the last part of the story had been left out...It should have said "If you are a Turkish Cypriot"

matula


Joined: 07/07/2008
Posts: 647

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 18:06

Heard one about someone going to build a huge hotel in Kyrenia with a ghastly statue of Cleopatra as it's main feature!

martinD41


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 3001

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 18:25

A brand New Airline ,with "NO" Aircraft

spider


Joined: 03/01/2009
Posts: 5527

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 18:30

All of Cyprus is in the EU...









Spider X

Jeannie


Joined: 04/08/2009
Posts: 3283

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 18:35

Well, I heard, some 20+ years ago that direct flights (by that, I mean non-stop) would be starting "next year" from the UK to Ercan.



Course, I'm not sure how true it is

flightholiday


Joined: 19/07/2007
Posts: 3217

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 18:43

I think you are missing my point which is that people are actualy asking/paying people to lie to you about "the truth"

So when you read review sites etc. give them less trust than you would a newspaper article (and who trusts them to be unbiased).

CJtill


Joined: 02/05/2008
Posts: 836

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 19:21

If you get the time have a good look at some of the, so called, quality giveaway magazines, which you can pick periodically at supermarkets. The journalist\editor gives a sparkling review of a certain business and then you turn over the page and, lol and behold they have taken out a half\full page ad.

Now the question I have always wanted to ask is ....was one dependent on the other?

Any ideas

Michael

deputydawg


Joined: 30/03/2010
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 19:48

Jeannie. I still await the arrival of Freddie Laker cut price flights definitely approved and due in the early 1970s along with a water pipe from Turkey !

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 20:01

Jeanne. The direct flights will be happening soon.

Jeannie


Joined: 04/08/2009
Posts: 3283

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 20:07

deputydawg - I'd say that Freddie Laker's cut price flights will arrive before the water pipe from Turkey

deputydawg


Joined: 30/03/2010
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 20:13

Advised today that the difference between websites http and https is that http is insecure and only to use a credit card on https sites as the "s" denotes secure. This may be an urban myth but in my case I never use credit cards. Anyone know if there is merit in taking any notice of this for those who do buy on the net ?

deputydawg


Joined: 30/03/2010
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 20:17

Jeannie. Are you pouring cold water on my pipe dreams or telling me I am kite flying ? (maybe both)

Jeannie


Joined: 04/08/2009
Posts: 3283

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 20:22

deputydawg



Both





















































































































































Sadly

Jeannie


Joined: 04/08/2009
Posts: 3283

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 20:23

Oops - sorry; don't know what happened there.

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 20:26

Msg 15

Stretching a point there?!



Richard

martinD41


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 3001

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 20:29

"The Talks", there is ,"light at the end of the Tunnel".....Must be Infra-red .....

flightholiday


Joined: 19/07/2007
Posts: 3217

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 23:26

Michael / Corrine Msg 8 - from experience they punt round just as much with people who could be interested such as anyone else who does Turkey as the person they went out on a tour with in Istanbul. The mag's and papers seem to have no honour in this regard.



BrianMsg 12 - this is no urban myth you should also look for a closed padlock showing in your browser (not on the webpage) - we pay a lot of money to keep you secure (that is what https does for you)

Marion


Joined: 06/03/2011
Posts: 1816

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 23:39

what an interesting idea that any of we journalists are guilty of fibs. Shame on you all. But...... bending the truth. Ads to back up articles! Let me tell you how it is for me (just in case you might be ingterested!

1. Yes Flight Holiday, you are right. to pay someone to paint a wrong picture is a lie.

2. I have done reviews of hotels etc here for a web page, and I think I am fair. I tell it as it is and try to be positive. For instance if the hotel is a long way from the beach , I say so, but point out that it has a beautiful rural setting etc. If the food is eco style, then I make it plain. You have to read between the lines that it is nut a fast food outlet, and if there is anything really bad (which I haven't found or i wouldn'rt do a review) then there is the argument from silence. One should emphasise what there IS so people can make a choice. I would like to think I am honest.

3. and i reckon I need to go to another page...............

Marion


Joined: 06/03/2011
Posts: 1816

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 23:43

3.ciont.... articles and Ads. Yes, bear in mind that all mags here (including |Living Magazine) near ads to cover expenses. I have done articles on places that I think are good, and quite often the owner is so pleased they will pay for an ad as well (but normally in a later edition). Or maybe they have placed an ad and I do a follow up from the customer point of view (and I try not to tell people I am doing a review - a bit of a silent Shopper, that's me).



so, I reckon that honesty is always the best policyh, but of course Flight Holidays - quite often if someone has a grudge they write a bad review on these blogs to try and ruin the place, and they often succeed. If someone has a greivance, then go to the hotelier first.



Tall stories? Loads, but not enough room here! Maybe I could write a book and make some money, which is

more than I get normally!



REALLY, writing untruths benefits no one in the end - especially here in Cyprus. the place is too small.

flightholiday


Joined: 19/07/2007
Posts: 3217

Message Posted:
28/03/2011 23:52

Hi Marion Msg 19 - This was a blind offer to a UK company from the USA to write nice reviews for us in case people had written bad ones or not - probably for Kadir's in Olympos or the hotels we offer in Turkey. In otherwords "pay me a fee and I will write what you want and or blatant lies for you" - not your style I know.

Marion


Joined: 06/03/2011
Posts: 1816

Message Posted:
29/03/2011 00:27

I realised that tom. But a lie is a lie, and it is criminal to suggest earning money from telling lies. The world has enough of them for free. Maybe in this world of recession there are those so desperate to earn money they will stop at nothing, but people like this discredit all writers. We all get branded as twisters of the truth. |it is bad enough when journos make mistakes, but to deliberatley mislead to get money is awful. But, then isn't that what a lot of advbertisers do. u.K has a code which must be adhered to, but not everywhere. so often advertising is blatant fibs!

HairyPeggy01


Joined: 01/09/2010
Posts: 24

Message Posted:
29/03/2011 09:54

Lighten up, Marion. All businesses want to maximise their strengths and they would be pretty stupid to tell you the chef went crazy and chopped up a customer last week, or some other weakness.

Personally, I don't want every aspect of life to be regulated by politicians and civil servants, and that's one good reason why I moved here from the UK. i don't want to live in a brussels style society, where you can be imprisoned for failing to ticket your produce in kilos, or incur a hefty fine for mistakenly placing a baked bean tin in the container designated for paper, as you (unpaid) sort your refuse into nine different containers.

deputydawg


Joined: 30/03/2010
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
29/03/2011 10:50

Flightholiday. Thanks for the confirmation. My children bombard me with warnings about all sorts of things realising that I am not good at identifying what are scams. I have heard that debit cards are not acceptable to some organisations which insist on credit cards, for example, some car hire. I keep a credit card which I have not used for some 20 plus years in case ever faced with this dilemma. I now wonder if there are many people who use debit/credit cards not realising that some transactions can be so risky ?

Carndi


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 613

Message Posted:
29/03/2011 11:07

I was approached in my shop by a gentleman who informed me that his firm operated a store detective company and he felt I could use his services.

For a fee he would have a store detective come to my shop each day and spend some time looking for shop lifters and would send me a report each month.

I would not know when the detective would be visiting and would not even know when he was in the shop. All I would get would be a report.

For this I would pay 30 pounds a week.

After checking for the Candid Camera team and not seeing them I exercised extreme control and asked the gentleman to leave.

flightholiday


Joined: 19/07/2007
Posts: 3217

Message Posted:
29/03/2011 15:36

Brian Msg 24 - if you go to book on our web site we only have reputable affiliates who you can book even EasyJet and BA let alone car hire, parking, insurance etc and if we take your credit card for our own products as you will see we have SecurtryMetrics - who check the safety on our secure booking system on a frequernt basis. (SecurityMetrics - not cheap)

This means you should be happy and secure on http://www.flightholiday.co.uk or our other IAH web sites.



We are off the thread anyone else got relevant "Do you believe everything you read?" stories?

Marion


Joined: 06/03/2011
Posts: 1816

Message Posted:
30/03/2011 23:45

To get back on track for Flight Holiday's sake - I will give a brief and totally honest reply - NO!



By that I mean I don't believe everything I read, but for the life of me I can't remember any interesting stories in that connection, but surely someone has? But i would like to ask the ladies whether they feel that female intuition when they read something that doesn't ring true?

rowlo



Joined: 12/10/2008
Posts: 4796

Message Posted:
30/03/2011 23:54

i read my wifes diary last night , she tells lies ?

pollymarples


Joined: 08/08/2010
Posts: 1778

Message Posted:
30/03/2011 23:56

O keep getting e mails from people with exotic names telling me I have won a lottery I never even bought a ticket for (now this is what I would call lucky) or I can launder some money and keep a lot of it and no I don't believe everything I read. Anyway if you wash mney it falls to pieces, silly dea.

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
30/03/2011 23:58

Rowlo. What did she say?

shrimp


Joined: 01/09/2010
Posts: 939

Message Posted:
31/03/2011 00:53

deputydawg,message 24, just a word of warning, I went to use a card recently that hadnt been used for 18 months or so, and the hole in the wall swallowed it up.... when I went into the bank to ask why they said that as it hadnt been used for so long they were asuming it had been stolen...in future they told me to use it ,if only to pay for a cheap item just so it is always seen to be current..........

deputydawg


Joined: 30/03/2010
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
31/03/2011 01:32

Thanks for that Shrimp. I have a £11 plus credit, the same for perhaps 20 years, of course with no interest ever credited, and I have often wondered what might happen if I chose to use the card to test the system. I think you have supplied the answer. I much prefer to simply use a debit card but I am told that to hire cars etc nowadays it has to be a credit card and not even cash is acceptable presumably because they wish to make further debits without further signature in the case of damage to or loss of their vehicle. Overall I suspect that many companies, regardless of their product or service, insist on being paid by credit cards if this is financially advantageous to them. If you have any further advice in this respect I would be grateful. In the meantime I will do my very best to try and recall what the pin number, security number, etc might be ! Please bring back pounds, shillings and pence and the years when it was not necessary to be a smart arse to avoid a rip off.