I'm very sure I'm not alone in this.  When I'm considering a provider I look at the more recent reviews (say for the past 6-8 months), looking for consistency of service.  But I especially look at the names of the reviewers becuase over time I have come to "trust" some people's reviews over others.  I also look for reviewers who have seen some of the same providers I have, and if their reviews coincide with mine, I attach more weight to them.  Crew's suggestion is very interesting, and certainly a good idea, but I question whether or not it would be helpful for the way I do my searching.  Again, I don't really know how other guys use TER data, and it may be helpful to many of them, certainly the newer members.

I don't know where the reviews would be placed, but I do have urges to tell people why I think a review is way off base or question the validity of people who only have one review.  Or those who give nothing but high marks to everyone they see (people have mocked those who've put on several 10s- once in a lifetimes- saying they must live more than one life).
I know we can say how we feel in the discussion boards, but not everyone knows they exist (I didn't discover it for months.  Maybe I'm just dumb). and having us review the review right there next to the profile is easier to cross reference and we wouldn't have to post links to the providers.