I love to read negative reviews. My wife will tell you it’s because I’m a pessimist. I say because it’s where people tell the truth. Maybe I am a pessimist.

Here’s what I think each rating indicates:

*  Anger
** Frustration
***  Apathy
**** Dissatisfaction
***** Attachment

* ONE STAR

No question, one star reviews are the most damaging. Someone is upset, and they’re here to vent, and will probably bring in their personal problems. I’ve been there. And there’s not much you can do beyond damage control. Either you didn’t deliver at all what was promised, or this is just an angry person.

** TWO STARS

This is where I always jump to when reading customer reviews (on Amazon for instance.) These people wanted something and are frustrated you didn’t live up to their expectations. Here’s where you can learn what you did wrong and how you can do it better.

*** THREE STARS

Almost never find anything useful. Either it’s someone frustrated being generous or someone content but pessimistic.

**** FOUR STARS

This is where I go next after two star reviews. Here, you have people who are generally satisfied, but there is something they didn’t quite like. Often it’s a personal preference, but maybe you’re 90% there. This is where good ideas come from.

***** FIVE STARS

Skip this entirely. These reviews are either true believers, or shills. Mind you, I’m not saying you don’t want 5 star reviews, just that they’re not going to tell you anything useful.