Online user feedback is as vital to choosing care as it is a restaurant

Not only do people expect to be able to read reviews, they also expect to be able to leave their own comments about their experience - good or bad - on all sorts of things. Holidays, restaurants, even a view on that ill-fitting pair of jeans that you've just purchased that claimed to make you look 10lbs lighter, but don't.

Yet we've been reluctant for too long to make public comments about care for the elderly or for children. But these loved ones are our most precious commodity and we expect and want the best possible care for them whether it is provided in the home, a care home or with a childcare provider.

Attitudes are changing and more and more people are using review websites to check out other users' experiences. They are making review websites part of their decision-making process.

We have all read the horror stories of poor care, abuse and neglect, but the vast majority of care is good. Indeed, only one in eight reviews left on Good Care Guide are negative; the rest are usually positive, providing feedback in areas where improvements could be made. The latest survey carried out by one of the most regarded independent Trip Advisor-style online review sites suggests parents rate the quality of childcare in this country highly, despite it being seen as expensive.

Of course, it is still incredibly important to visit a care home or nursery; read the latest and previous inspection reports; ask lots of questions; speak with the manager, staff and other families; sample a meal and much more. But reading the genuine comments of other users helps to build a better and contemporary picture of the quality of the provision.

Unfortunately, not all care providers see user reviews as a positive reflective tool and do not actively invite parents and users to leave reviews.

But here's one example of a nursery that has welcomed the idea of open feedback and has received 55 reviews on Good Care Guide. Reflections in Sussex also provides an interactive dialogue with the parent: welcoming, fun, friendly, excellent standards.

Isabel's eldest son joined Reflections at six months old and left just before he started school. "As parents, we were impressed from the minute we stepped into the building for the first visit. The staff are very involved and have bags of knowledge and energy. The management work closely with families and have always been professional and flexible. Our experience with Reflections could not have been more positive. We have a new baby and are really looking forward to him joining Reflections soon."

And here's the reply from Reflections: "Many thanks for the lovely comments, Isabel. We are looking forward to welcoming your new baby too :) And we still miss A. at Forest School. Best, Martin."

It is widely recognised that the organisations and brands best placed to win and retain business are the ones that engage with their users and communities. They listen the hardest and react fastest to what their customers and users have to say.

The quality of early years and childcare services is paramount, as is the safeguarding of our children. Regulators of care already look at comments left by users of the provision they are inspecting, but Ofsted could make much more of comments made by parents online. The reviews build up a picture of quality over time, not just based on a judgment made at the time of the inspection visit.

From the childcare providers' perspective, the more families using care trust providers of care, the more likely they are to stop researching and choose them with confidence (and then subsequently tell others how happy they are with the service).

On most review sites, providers of care have the opportunity to respond to comments, offering solutions to an issue and reassuring parents and users that they will take their comments on board. Vindictive comments from disgruntled staff, competitors and users with a grudge are very rare. These kinds of comments are flushed out before being posted. Every effort is made to ensure that all comments are genuine and meaningful.

Training managers and staff on how to encourage users to post reviews online should be as important as giving them the skills to sell childcare places and show prospective parents around the nursery. Reviews are an effective marketing tool and savvy businesses already embrace the concept. Perhaps the care sector should catch up and learn a thing or two from businesses that use customer feedback and reviews as an online reputation audit.

Sharing is caring. By sharing views about care providers - from the quality of care and staff to the facilities, surroundings and, of course, value for money - a forum for honest, impartial reviews of care can help other people choose the right care for their family.

Denise Burke is director of United for All Ages and Good Care Guide