reviews

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I’m Surprised Every Time I’m Asked For More

When I’m asked for my input, I’m always surprised more is expected of me.

I'm surprised every time I'm asked for more

We’ve all heard the statement, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” Usually we make that statement because there is more to be done than we had initially thought.

… Like when a friend asks you to help him move out of his small apartment, in your mind you estimate a quick job, thinking it will be simple. So you agree to help.

But when you get to his apartment, you’re surprised. Nothing has been packed and your friend doesn’t have enough boxes. This means that the truck will not be loaded in a neat uniform, stacking format. Odd shaped individual items will create a haphazard, uneven load … and the move will take twice as long as you thought. 

This type of scenario happens to us repeatedly. And we are surprised every time.

As much as we don’t want it to happen, we can’t seem to learn from the previous experiences.

There have been times when I’ve gotten a phone call asking if I would complete a short survey. They promise it will only take five minutes … but it never does. 

Then they ask you to use only the words they give you to describe your answer. So your answer isn’t really how you feel. You want to answer “fine” but they will only accept “substandard” or “outstanding”. “Fine” doesn’t fit with either of those two options.

What bugs me is I fall for these asks over and over. I’m surprised every time and have to slap myself on the back of the head because I’ve gotten sucked in once again.

Apps are famous for asking us to rate them. They offer 5 stars to pick from. But when you do, they take you to another page with a series of questions they want you to answer.

This week I got an email about a product I purchased from Amazon. I saw the five stars and, like some kid who’s repeated grade 9 math four times, I hit the star of my choosing. Instead of accepting my rating, I was whisked away to a site that not only wanted a star rating but also a title for a review.  

“Great”, I typed. But that was not enough. They wanted a picture of the item … probably a picture of me holding the item with a big smile on my face. 

They also wanted a review of up to 200 characters. Without providing all this information I was not able to submit my rating. 

I spent another two or three minutes trying to get around having to provide all their requirements and finally quit the rating review all together. 

What a waste of time. No one was satisfied. They didn’t get a rating and I spent way too long attempting to give one.

The worst thing is that in six months I’m probably going to get a request to rate another purchase or an app that I used … and I will have forgotten the whole experience, expecting to click on 4 stars out of 5 and be done. 

Here’s the thing: There is more to our life than we realize. When you put your faith in Christ, He accepts you as you are, but He will ask you to grow deeper with Him and it will require more of you. The difference is the more you get to know Christ, the more you trust Him. You will give more of yourself to Him because you want to. Giving to God comes from a desire to enjoy Him more.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has surprised you lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I’m Not Going To Read Anymore Reviews

If you have ever written a review of a service or product, this post may offend you. I’m just giving a general warning that may or may not apply to you.reviews

With the advent of the Internet and social media, it seems everybody wants other opinions on products, services or what they are going to be doing at 6:05 this evening.

It sounds like it might be a worthy endeavour but, let me tell you, it really is a waste of time.

When I get a notice that an app I use wants me to rate it, I always decline. I don’t give reviews, and I don’t often take surveys online.

The reason is it doesn’t really help anyone.

Have you ever been interested in staying at some resort or hotel, or even eating at a certain restaurant?

You go online to see what others say about it, and what you find is an array of responses that range from “absolutely the worst place in the world; do not go there; do not spend the money” all the way to “this was the best experience I have had in my whole life”.

The point is people see things very differently. People have different standards. Some people can figure things out easier than others.

… Of course the slew of spelling mistakes in these reviews take away from the confidence you might have in the expressed opinions.

I wish you could tell from the review what kind of person wrote the comment. I’m thinking maybe with every review you should have to fill out a mini IQ test.

The results could be listed at the end of their review so that the reader gets a better grasp of the intelligence of the reviewer and can take the review with a “grain of salt” (whatever that means … I know you know what it means).

Instead of an IQ test, they could use some algorithm to measure the number of spelling mistakes against the total word count to create a score for the reviewer. The higher the score, the more nuts the reviewer probably is!

I know I’m being a little overdramatic here, but today I was in the market for a sleep app for my phone and watch. I looked at several and narrowed it down to a couple.

Then I started to read the reviews … not helpful at all. I started talking to myself, actually arguing with myself on the pros and cons of the app from the reviews I read.

I felt a little schizophrenic.

One reviewer wrote that it was difficult to install the app. If you simply touch the price or the “get it” box, basically it gets installed on your phone. I’m not sure what that reviewer was trying to do. He did have a few spelling mistakes in his review though.

The problem with all these reviews is that even though you know half of them are completely worthless, they put an ever-so-tiny doubt in your mind which makes you hesitate taking a chance.

Here’s the thing: Everyone has an opinion of God. Some of those opinions can’t be trusted, but they can put doubts in your mind. The only way to really know God is to experience God for yourself. If you seek Him, try things His way, listen to His voice, you won’t have to rely on well-intended people who maybe should not be giving their opinion at all.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When has a review put doubts in your mind about God? Leave your comment below.