Introduction
Receiving a negative review can be like a kick in the teeth. It's especially hard if you feel like the customer is being dishonest or unfair, but it's still important to respond in a way that shows everyone that you're taking the situation seriously. You don't want anyone else to think you're ignoring your customers' feedback. If you know what to do, damage control can actually be easy! Here are some tips I've picked up along the way.
The best way to control the situation is to stay calm and take the high road.
It's important to remember that negative reviews are not a personal attack. They're just the honest feedback of someone who was disappointed in your product or service. To put it another way, they're part of the cost of doing business—all businesses have unhappy customers, and all businesses get bad reviews at some point (even Yelp itself!).
But it's important to keep a level head especially if you are dealing with someone who is angry or agitated by their experience. Here’s how:
Stay calm. It can be tempting to get defensive when someone accuses you of doing something wrong, but it’s better to remain relaxed and open-minded while they vent their frustrations.
Be open and honest about what happened—and why. You might have made an honest mistake, but don’t make assumptions about the customer's identity or intentions; sometimes customers are simply not happy customers no matter what happens at your business! Think carefully before making assumptions about the customer's motives (did they want something free?) or even his/her intentions (was he/she trying to be rude?). The more information you share upfront, the more likely it will be resolved quickly without having upset others further down line because no one wants their personal information spread around unnecessarily!
Losing your cool will only make things worse because you go from being the 'reasonable one' to being the 'bad guy' in the narrative.
Don't respond with anger, even if they are being overly aggressive.
Don't respond with sarcasm, or any other kind of humor that could be construed as insulting or condescending.
Don't respond with accusations and insults, especially if they’re unfounded.
Don’t threaten legal action (unless you actually intend to pursue it).
And definitely don’t use profanity in your response!
Try to understand where they are coming from but don't make assumptions about the customer's identity or intentions
Don't assume you know who the customer is.
Don't assume the customer is trying to hurt you intentionally.
Don't assume the customer is trying to get something from you.
Don't assume the customer is trying to get attention.
Don't assume the customer is trying to get revenge.
The situation may not actually be as bad as you think it is!
If a customer has written something bad about your business and put it up for the world to see, don’t automatically assume it means death for your company—it doesn't have to be that way at all. In fact, it's an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive and to earn a customer for LIFE.
Take some time to relax, then formulate a response that addresses the review in a positive way
Once you've determined how to respond, there are some general rules of thumb that will make your response more effective.
Respond within 24 hours.
Keep it short and sweet (succinct language gets your point across faster)
Apologize personally, not officially (e.g., "I'm sorry that you had this experience").
Offer solutions or explain why it happened (e.g., "We're working on improving our customer service").
Thank the reviewer for their time and encourage them to reach out if they have further questions or concerns (this will help you gauge how serious the problem is).
Offer an incentive in exchange for helping you improve your business (e.g., extra discounts).
If that isn't enough encourage them to take it offline and to reach out to you directly. Most of the time people behave more kindly when they feel listened to, so it's often better to engage with reasonable reviewers directly to remedy the situation.
A good response is good advertising.
This is a great opportunity for you to use the review to your advantage, by demonstrating that you are willing to own your mistakes when they happen, and then use them as an opportunity for improvement. It also allows you to take center stage as a business owner who genuinely addresses issues and cares about your customers.
Conclusion
I know that negative reviews are the worst, and hope that these tips will help you deal with them in a healthy way. Remember, negative feedback is just an opportunity to figure out how to improve your business!
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