Fifth of parents fear they’ll be ‘priced out’ of entertaining children over the summer holidays, new research by Trustpilot reveals

LONDON, UK - August 31, 2023 - New data from global review platform Trustpilot has found that difficult ‘Davids’ take the top spot when it comes to those names leaving the most one star ratings - with names traditionally associated with men more likely to air their grievances than those associated with women.

In an era where online reviews now help guide what we buy and from whom, Trustpilot has analyzed its platform which hosts more than 213 million reviews to reveal the nation’s loudest complainers. Analysis of UK reviews on the platform has found that names traditionally given to men make up nine of the most frequent one star reviewers, with Davids topping the list, having left 20,020 such reviews since the platform first launched in 2007. 

Paul and John are the second and third biggest providers of negative feedback, with 19,562 and 18,632 single-star reviews apiece. Seventh-placed Sarah is the most prolific traditionally-female name, with Emma following behind at number 14. 

A deeper dive into the loudest voices across Trustpilot’s retail categories found that these names have emerged as the most prolific voices of criticism, holding businesses accountable and influencing thousands of consumers’ decision-making, by posting reviews across a range of retail sectors - including Electronics and Technology, Home & Garden, Money & Insurance, Shopping & Fashion and Beauty & Wellbeing.

But, where David tops the list across Electronics and Technology, Home & Garden and Money & Insurance, people named Sarah are the biggest complainers across Shopping & Fashion and Beauty & Wellbeing categories.

Carolyn Jameson, chief consumer and trust officer at Trustpilot, said: “Despite 73 percent of consumer feedback about businesses being positive, 14 percent still give a one-star review of their experience with businesses on our platform. It’s vitally important that businesses engage with the negatives, showing consumers that they are keen to rectify the potential issues and improve from the feedback they receive. 

“Consumers don’t expect businesses to be perfect, but they do want them to care and to make them feel valued and listened to. With the right approach, businesses can turn Difficult Davids into Satisfied Susans, who are among those who write the most positive reviews.”

Top reviewers’ names leaving the most one-star reviews in the UK:

To find out more and read the full list, visit our blog.

*Reviewers on Trustpilot do not need to use their names as display names to use Trustpilot (e.g. many use simply “customer”). 

-ENDS-

Methodology

Insights were drawn from aggregated consumer review data held by Trustpilot. The lists of top complainers, reviewers who left 1-star reviews and top praise-givers — reviewers who left 5-star reviews — were generated using Trustpilot display names, broken down by market. Each review’s status had to be active (no deleted reviews were included) and encompasses all-time review numbers. This data was pulled in May 2023.

About Trustpilot

Trustpilot was founded in 2007 with a vision to create an independent currency of trust.

A digital platform that brings businesses and consumers together to foster trust and inspire collaboration. We are free to use, open to everybody, and built on transparency.

Trustpilot hosts reviews to help consumers shop with confidence and deliver rich insights to help businesses improve the experience they offer. The more consumers use our platform and share their own opinions, the richer the insights we offer businesses, and the more opportunities they have to earn the trust of consumers, from all around the world.

Over 213 million consumer reviews of businesses and products of over 893,000 domains have been posted on Trustpilot, and those numbers are growing by more than one review per second.  

Trustpilot has over 850 employees and is headquartered in Copenhagen, with operations in New York, Denver, London, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Berlin, Vilnius, Milan, and Amsterdam.