Diffuse Bad Reviews with a Professional Response
Businesses need to respond to all reviews, good and bad. The good reviews are easy! Use the opportunity to highlight your relationship with the customer and how happy they are with your (amazing!) product. Bad reviews, however, we dread. Make the most of bad or mediocre reviews by responding in a way that neutralizes the bad and reinforces the good. Use these elements to make the most of it:
1. Find out what happened.
Know the full story before you respond.
2. Respond right away!
Account managers are emailed immediately when a Google review is received. Make sure to take five minutes and take care of it.
3. Use their name.
Keep it personal, not cookie-cutter.
4. Stay courteous and professional.
Some people get mean when reviewing. Don’t drop to that level. You can treat these responses like building a compliment sandwich: Two positives wrapped around a negative. Build a Bad Review Remedy Sandwich.
First slice of bread – A thank you (yes, a thank you!) for using your service and for sharing their constructive criticism so you can take action to correct the situation. Include positives. For example, if there were three parts (A, B & C) to their experience and only one went wrong, you could say, “We’re glad you were able to enjoy our (A & B) and are so sorry you had a bad experience with C. We appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention.”
Sandwich filling: Sympathize. We’re sorry you’re disappointed and did not receive our usual service. Ensure sure they hear that you are listening and understand their irritation. Briefly take responsibility and apologize for what went wrong that was in your control. It is amazing how people’s anger is diffused when you really listen and try to make it right. Give them a name and number to contact so you can discuss it further. A personal conversation may give you more information on how to remedy and eliminate the problem from happening again. Note: Make sure you don’t give a list of excuses or sound defensive.
Second bread slice – If there is a way to remedy the situation, you can offer that here. Also, invite them back. ‘We hope you will give us a chance to make it right in the future.’
5. Ask happy customers for reviews!
One bad review among many good ones does not carry much weight. We suggest sharing your Google Review link with customers via text when they give you a compliment after your usual high-quality service.
