Sometimes I feel like if I do so I’m basically serving as an ad, and I don’t really care for that, especially if later I find that the business was scummy in some ways (which is often the case, especially later as it changes leadership/ownership).
If you do, how do you deal with it?
You should trust that ads are going to be dishonest in one way or another. If you, personally, discuss your opinions and experiences of certain good and services with other people, you know that you may at least be honest, if you want to. And in doing so, you’re likely helping people make better choices with their money.
I needed some physiotherapy last year, and the first clinic I went to tried to handle me like I was a cog in an industrial complex: get done with him fast, don’t listen to his feedback, wait I forgot to ask what did his doctor diagnose but whatever we’ve only got 25 minutes. The therapists at the next clinic (one of them had to take medical leave, so I was assigned to a different one two weeks in) properly took their time to find every contracture, listened to me, offered longer sessions and was cheaper. Shittalking the first clinic and recommending the second one is only positive for everyone. Except for the asshole who runs the first one.