Those leaving 1 star blank reviews understand the system. They know precisely that although their blank review holds no legitimate weight, it’s harder to dispute. Since they have said nothing in their comment (because they didn’t post a comment) their review can’t be flagged for inappropriateness or offensiveness.

Now it could be flagged for being “off-topic“. Unfortunately, depending on who is reviewing those “flagged” reviews only about 5% are removed.

So yeah, I’m not a fan of blank reviews. I feel if you are upset with a company, have not received the service you thought you were paying for, or their product or employee just weren’t helpful…you should leave a review that reflects that. And that company should be able to respond accordingly.

But leaving a blank review…shouldn’t even be option.

Oh, and the fact anyone can leave a review regardless if they are a customer or not makes any online review system allowing such actions to be worthless.

Reviews should only be allowed from those that actually bought something. Allowing anyone to review a product or service without being a customer creates a system that can be manipulated. A system that can be used as a weapon to put a company out of business or help another gain an unfair advantage in the marketplace.