For the uninitiated, Glamorama is a Phoenix area food critic, who issued notice to JL Patisserie that she was going to do a review of their bakery. The problem is that Glamorama did not want to pay for anything.

The bakery refused, saying they couldn’t afford her. She showed up anyways and issued a mostly negative review. The bakery issued a well done response, and public opinion ruled against Glamorama. She has since issued an apology (story HERE).

This is why you shouldn’t trust influencers.

“Well, Frank, aren’t you an influencer?”

By definition, yes. But I’m a blogger, who predates the era of the influencer by a decade. I don’t expect anything and certainly won’t demand it. Goodness, I can’t even get my teeth fixed and I struggle to find housing.

But the problem here is that Glamorama isn’t the only influencer to use her platform with the hopes of getting free stuff. She’s just the latest to get caught doing it.

Let’s shift the focus back you.

When an influencer with an agenda publishes this kind of content, not only does it put an individual or small business in danger, it presents an illusion that an uneducated consumer could follow into to their own financial errors.

You might waste money on bad food. A bad power tool. There are Glamoramas out there selling cars and luxury vacations.

Don’t put the entirety of your spending decisions on the shoulders of a potentially dishonest influencer.

And companies need to bring their advertising back in-house. The era of the influencer has given us too many Glamoramas and its the consumer that literally pays the price.

Enough is enough.