I used to love writing reviews. When luxury travel and fine dining entered my world many moons ago, there was no going back. In those early days, I felt I owed it to the curious to tell of my experiences, good and bad, by way of a review.

This was in the earliest days of the most infamous review site of all, Trip Advisor. Now considered both a blessing to some establishments and an absolute curse to others, Trip Advisor became the most used and abused portal to anyone inclined to place their thoughts in front of whatever audience they could capture.

Fake reviews are so commonplace now that it's impossible to know what is real and what are lies. Sometimes all the glowing and gushing about somewhere is quite manufactured. Friends of the proprietor, or staff.

Many smaller operators without a big budget marketing spend still rely on the site as the "word of mouth" for potential travellers to discover them. Reviews remain possibly the single most influential component on a traveller or a diner’s decision to take the punt and give an establishment a go.

What astounds me today is just how many have jumped on the review bandwagon. Nowadays, everyone likes to give their two cents worth. The power of the pen, to voice their opinion or, far more commonly, rant and rave, turning attention away from the topic at hand and head down a different tangent, going on the attack against whatever individual or business the media has placed endless attention on.

I won't deny, I do still read reviews. I read reviews of the latest wine vintages from my favourite producers, by my preferred wine scribes. By now, after over thirty years of collecting the good drop, I know which of those have a similar palate to mine. These are therefore always dependable.

I like to peruse reviews of new and established restaurants. It’s where it's quite easy to see the real from the fake. Amongst a sea of glowing five-star reviews there will be a single one-star condemnation, where not a single redeeming feature was found by the writer. Often this is followed by a response from the restaurant owner, where they reveal that there was no reservation in the writer’s name on the evening in question. And a polite "please contact us so we can discuss with you further".

There is one expression that has been bothering me, I could even say infuriated me these past few months. It appears so often that it is laughable.

I know you would have seen it. Often...

"...it did not disappoint"

Proof of the prevalence of reviewers and just how much they read so many other’s reviews, this single expression has become the most often used to describe…well, just about anything.

I find the expression extremely annoying, not just because it is so common, but because of the negative connotation of it. Think about it. Just the mere use of it is negative. As if to be disappointed was expected. What a surprise that the experience "did not disappoint!" Honestly. What hope does an establishment have if the customer fully expects to be displeased?

Check some of these classic examples below.

I have an inkling you will start to be annoyed by its usage too. I also know you’ll look out for it now, as I’ve opened a can of worms. An earworm of the page, as you have it. I guarantee you will see it constantly.

Are we that robotic in our writing as to not find another expression? Why not simply say that the experience was good, rather than not disappointing? That's the thing about reviews. The more of them there are, the more same same they become. The less surprising they are. The more non-revealing they are. The more irrelevant they are.

People increasingly make their decisions based on reviews. It’s not changing anytime soon. This is such a shame. If you study a review carefully enough, you can see that most are similar, many don't even bring up the topic at hand - just look how restaurant reviews don't contain descriptions or praises of the food. They are more about how great a particular staff member was, or something about the establishment itself.

I no longer write targeted reviews. There’s a multitude of others doing that. Since media opened up to public comments (essentially a small kind of review), the barrage of negativity has increased and is on full, ugly display.

I do feel sorry for these sad negative people. Expecting disappointment. What a way to live.

Reviews are, more than ever, giving mixed fortune to an establishment. Best advice: ignore trawling through one to decide whether to attend somewhere. Make your own mind up. You'll be all the better for it. Just give it a try. Then only write about it if you have a very positive experience. One out of the box, something exceptional. After all, that's what an establishment wants. Just don't be that negative cookie-cutter person who is SO surprised that it "did not disappoint!"