Got a bad review? Here’s how to handle it

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Online reviews can make or break a business. Get too many and customers searching for you online will turn away.

Those with a Google Business Page will have reviews front and centre. These are critical to business success.

“If your question is, ‘Do reviews affect my business?’ then the answer is, ‘Absolutely.’ People are hanging on to every word of that review,” said Seth Owens, then-senior account executive at Podium, a customer interaction platform, told CARS.

And a bad review is inevitable. An expert offered suggestions for turning their frown upside down.

Whether the customer perceives they received poor service, bad repair or defective product, the issue can’t be swept under the rug, observed Jennifer Filzen, owner of Rock Star Marketing.

“They need to be addressed because there are two audiences reading those reviews: The people who initially wrote those negative reviews, and potential clients who are checking out how you respond to negative reviews,” she explained.

The offered four steps to guide your reply to the dissatisfied customer.

First, apologize and sympathize with the reviewer. Acknowledge the customer’s concerns, even if you believe they’re unfounded. The feel they had a bad experience, so show sympathy. Something like, “I’m sorry to hear about your bad experience,” can be a simple enough approach. A more positive approach may include a response like, “Thank you for letting us know about your experience.”

Then, add some marketing to your response. Explain you’re not known for such an experience — in fact, you’re known for more. You can say something like, “We’re normally known for our exceptional attention to detail and we regret that we missed the mark.”

Third, move the conversation offline. Provide the customer with an opportunity to speak to someone at the business by offering contact information.

Finally, keep the response short and sweet. There’s no need to drone on. Filzen noted that by adding more to the response, you risk saying something that could further upset the customer. There’s also no need to ask questions — any further details can be acquired by an offline conversation.