Combating Negative Reviews Online
You work hard running your business and you pride yourself on your excellent customer service.
Then one day, out of the blue you see, or someone mentions that your company has a bad review on Google.
You read it and are outraged. How did this happen? Who is that person? What should I do now? First, it’s best to remain calm- as difficult as that may be.
Damage Control
If you don’t know who the person is, check your records to verify that. Unfortunately, we have seen companies get bad reviews meant for other companies with similar names or from people who just made a phone call and weren’t satisfied, and from unknown persons who gave you a one star rating with no detailed information.
Google makes it very difficult to remove bad reviews. Even a rating with no content does not violate their policies. Google policies don’t seem to stop or catch violations from those who post fraudulently.
Prepare your response and reply. A quick reply shows that you care about customer service. If it is a fraudulent review from an unknown person, mention that you are sorry for their dissatisfaction and say that you are unable to find them in your customer records. You can then flag that review with Google.
Show empathy for their issue. If the negative review is coming from a known customer, don’t make excuses for what happened.
Offer to fix the problem. Ask that they contact you directly by phone as emails can be misinterpreted. Once the matter is resolved, ask them to update their review.
Always Be Proactive
From time to time, Google your company. Look at your rating and read your new reviews.
Make an effort to ask for reviews in person when your customer’s projects are completed. Follow up in a timely manner by email. There are ways to make it easy for them to post a review. Train your staff with respect to proper procedures and emphasize good customer service.
Remember that positive reviews drown out the negative ones, so get as many positive reviews as you can as soon as you can.