Keeping Score

I looked up my credit score the other day. I won’t tell you what it is, because it isn’t really the point. It’s about scores, ratings and reviews.

Look, I’m not against the reasonable use of scores. I was never in favor of the abolition of grades in school, even when mine weren’t good. But almost every part of life has a number attached to it, and the credit score is just one. And it gets more complicated as we go along. We used to measure ourselves by height and weight. Now they check you for your cholesterol level and your percentage of body fat and so forth. It goes on and on.

If it isn’t numbers, it’s stars, or bullets, or light bulbs, or little men jumping out of chairs. Everything is rated.  And even if numbers aren’t used, EVERYTHING is reviewed. Doctors.  Plumbers.  Restaurants, Airlines, Hotels. Do the review sites themselves get reviewed? 

The only unfortunate thing about all this is, no matter how great a product, service, professional person, hotel, or restaurant is, there’s always someone who had a bad experience that one time, and posts an awful review which lowers the average. I’d love to become an eBay seller but am in mortal dread of getting bashed by someone who just doesn’t like the cut of my jib, or maybe is simply in a bad mood, and down go the numbers.

But don’t let that stop you from rating this blog. I’ll take an audience anytime, whether they cheer or boo. If you like it, tell your friends. Tell them even if you don’t like it – they may need a punching bag some day, too. We’re here to please.

Is that a little man I see, asleep in his chair?

There, now I’ve said it.