It seems like everyone needs a “like” button these days. A recently had a full batter of tests and appointments with his medical team. It was a long day, and we met with several specialists, as well as his team coordinator and main cardiologist.

Now, all these people and this facility are at the forefront of developing treatment for his and other congenital heart diseases, not just locally, but worldwide.

So I was a little surprised when we weren’t even in the parking lot yet when my phone started blowing up with aftercare surveys. Every diagnostic area, every diagnostician, every doctor, and every team that we met with wanted us “to answer a few questions.”

We clicked on a few but A said it best when he said, “They’ve kept me alive this long. I think they’re doing a pretty good job.”

Every single time I go through the self-checkout at the local big box store, I get hit with a “how was your visit today?” screen. Right off the bat, I dislike shopping there in general, but I can’t argue with the convenience, especially during these last few weeks of end of the year projects, parties, and trips that require snacks.

Since everyone else is in the same boat, odds are that I probably haven’t gotten exactly what I wanted, I’ve been rushing to try to get it home quickly, and I’m irritated that I had to make the trip in the first place.

I feel justified in giving every single one of my trips in the last few weeks a single star. I also feel like I’ve been there enough times to make that one-star rating statistically significant. To date, I haven’t noticed one single change, nor has anyone asked for the reason behind my low rating.

Almost every shopping trip where I get checked out by a human ends with them handing me a receipt with a website or a QR code to scan to let them know how they’re doing. I’ve never taken the time to fill one of these out, and over the years, I’ve never noticed any significant changes in any shopping experience. Usually, if I have a negative experience, it’s with the quality of a product, and it’s significant enough that I will probably stop shopping there.

I doubt that my responses to an online survey would net the kind of change I’m hoping for, and besides has anyone ever actually won the $250 shopping spree that we’ve been entered to win?

If I have a bad experience with personnel, I’m also unlikely to continue shopping at a store, but will most likely start shopping online.

This happened with a particular underwear store where the second I walked into the place, not only was I overcome by their many perfume offerings which they sprayed liberally everywhere, but I felt pounced on by the sales folks.

Now, I know they work on commission, and I’m sympathetic to that, but especially when it comes to my under clothing, I really prefer to shop without assistance. I’ve also discovered that they have a wider selection online, so it’s win-win all around for me.

But, even online shopping has its drawbacks. I purchased shoes from an online retailer, and I was extremely happy with them, so I decided to order another pair in another color. This time, I got lucky because they were on sale. When the shoes arrived, however, even though the box said my size and the stamp in the shoe said my size, they were probably about three sizes too small. I took a comparison picture and sent it to the company. I was unhappy to hear that sale items are final and they could do nothing to help me. So, I took to their Facebook page to vent and to advise other sale shoppers what could happen.

The next day, I received a note from Facebook that the administrators had blocked my comment. So, I went back and posted the text from the customer service department. Again, my comment was blocked.

Well, they’d lost my future business for sure.

A few weeks later, I just happened to see another comment on their page from another customer who’d had the same experience. I chimed in on her comment, and sure enough, the next day, both of our comments were gone. The company still has a “five star” rating on these shoes.

In this day and age, does any of this rating and reviewing and satisfaction surveying really mean anything? Technology has made it easy to collect this information, but it doesn’t seem like it’s making any real changes, especially in the retail world. It’s been going on long enough that if any of the data gathered was significant, my experience should have changed a while ago.

If a company is still in business, and their goods or services are still selling, that seems to be enough of a sign that they’re doing it right, or at least not screwing it up that much.

In cases of professionals, particularly teachers and medical professionals, while there are no doubt a few rotten eggs, most of them are affected by things beyond their control, like staffing shortages and administrative decisions that have little to do with the boots on the ground challenges they face daily. Requiring these people to maintain a five-star satisfaction level, on top of probably barely holding it together most days seems like a recipe for disaster.

At the end of the day, personal interaction is going to make a bigger difference than any survey I ever fill out. I’m going to try to do a better job to tell someone to their face that they’re doing well. If they’re not, and I can offer a tactful, constructive criticism, I will try to do that as well.

Otherwise, if I continue to make appointments for a service or patronize a store, well, that’s all the rating they’re going to get from me.

Liz Pinkey’s column appears on Saturdays in the Times News.