How to Deal with Negative Reviews of Your Business
How to Handle Negative Online Reviews of Your Business
In any public-facing business, it’s bound to happen: no matter how hard you work to please everyone, eventually you’ll end up with negative reviews. Whether a food order was incorrect, there was a pricing dispute or personality clash, or any number of other hiccups in the transaction, negative reviews can feel personal and hurtful. But try to view the experience as a learning opportunity and do your best to resolve the issue professionally. Keep these points in mind as you decide how to deal with negative reviews.
1. Treat it as an opportunity to demonstrate your customer service skills.
The customer may not always be right, but they do deserve a respectful response. Be apologetic about any unpleasant experience, no matter how trivial or inaccurate you think it is. Thank them for bringing the issue to your attention so you can deal with it in an appropriate manner. Always use a professional and neutral tone.
2. Don’t engage with Internet trolls.
Occasionally you might get a negative review from someone whose intent seems to be solely to slander your business, make untrue accusations, or blow an actual event out of proportion. In this case, use the same type of language you would for real customer interactions, but keep your communications to an absolute minimum. Encourage the person to provide contact information or offer an individual’s phone and email for them to reach out to you, and cease all public contact.
3. Remember that others are watching.
Even if you can’t salvage the relationship with the customer who had the initial problem, being helpful and tasteful in your response to a negative review can significantly boost the trust of other potential customers who see your response. When people research your company later, seeing that you address all negative product reviews in a timely fashion can go a long way toward improving their opinions of you.
4. Examine the claim and your business and make changes as needed.
Perhaps the worst part of dealing with negative reviews is that often they have a grain of truth in them that we don’t want to acknowledge. But when someone points out a flaw, it’s good practice to be self-reflective. Is this an aspect of your business you struggle with? Do you or your staff have room for improvement in this area? Use the feedback as a wake-up call and make a genuine effort to do better in this area for the future.
How damaging are negative customer reviews?
While a poor review or rating is no walk in the park and no one wants bad reviews pulling down their average rankings, you shouldn’t spend too much energy worrying about them. Today’s consumers are getting more and more technically savvy and they often recognize a troublemaker when they see one. As long as you make it a point to respond quickly to each review, you shouldn’t be too distraught over receiving a negative one.
Of course, striving to provide top-notch customer service in the first place to avoid customer complaints is your number one goal. Make it easier to do so by ensuring you have the very best equipment to serve your customers. Contact a Gold Medal representative today for a personal consultation on our commercial popcorn machines, cotton candy machines, and other concession equipment.