A terrible online review – it feels like one of the worst things that can happen to a business. But is it?
Typically, online review sites do not let business owners remove unflattering reviews unless they violate the review site’s terms of service. But you can usually respond to them, and therein lies opportunity. Here’s a formula to help you respond in a way that adds value for your customer and your business:
- First, apologize. If your business is legitimately to blame for the customer’s experience, acknowledge it and tell her you’re sorry. If the customer is simply frustrated and using review sites to vent, apologize for her frustration and disappointment. Doing this validates the reviewer’s feelings and sets the right tone for your response. If a customer is angry enough to write a review, the worst thing you could do is deflect blame or dismiss her experience.
- Correct anything false or misleading. Sometimes, a customer makes incorrect assumptions about your business and then reacts negatively when he experiences the opposite. In those cases, share the correct information in a helpful way. Think of this as an opportunity to share information that could help others, and potentially defuse the reviewer’s negative feelings towards your business. If the customer is just trolling your business and providing false information to inflict harm, address that directly, but in a professional manner. This will ensure that other readers get the full story.
- Provide information that could have prevented this issue. Is there a policy that the reviewer wasn’t aware of that could have saved him frustration? Share any helpful information that could both explain the misunderstanding, and inform future customers reading the review.
- Make it right. Thank the reviewer for her feedback. Reassure her that you want to make it right, or let her know if you have taken steps to make it right. If you can’t address her specific issue, perhaps you can show that you’re making changes to prevent it from happening in the future.
- Take it offline if you can. Is further conversation needed? Ask the reviewer to reach out to you offline and discuss it further. If you’re able to resolve the issue that resulted in the review in the first place, ask if the reviewer will update his review if he is satisfied with the resolution.
The most important thing: BE HUMAN. Avoid using overly formal language, and definitely avoid cut-and-pasting the same response. Each reviewer will see their experience as unique, and you’ll only make the situation worse if you treat them like everyone else. Remember that there is another person on the other side of the review and that there are many more humans reading the review and your response to it.