Bad Review; Good Opportunity for Customer Service

26 Jan Bad Review; Good Opportunity for Customer Service

You know the saying, “You can’t please all of the people all of the time?” No matter how hard you work, or how great your customer service is, there will come a time when it just won’t be good enough for one of your customers. With the abundance of opportunities to post reviews online, that customer can now tell the world how awful it was to do business with you.

So what happens when you do come across a negative review? Do you feel angry? After all, you remember the transaction happening much differently. Are you surprised? Maybe the transaction was with an employee and you knew nothing about it. Before you respond, take a moment to see the opportunity the review is offering you.

You may be wondering how a negative review, which can be read by so many people, could possibly be an opportunity. There are a number of ways this can be. First of all, most people are reasonable and realize that there are two sides to every story.  Use the negative review as a campaign for your company’s great customer service. The goal is to help them see that your version has merit. To accomplish this, do not argue with the person who left the bad review. Thank him/her for taking the time to leave the review. Emphasize that the poor service/product is not indicative of the way you normally do business. Here’s the opportunity ….. invite the customer back to give you the opportunity to earn his business back. By doing this, you will likely diffuse the situation. The customer may or may not return to give you a second try, but you are not just speaking to him/her. You are also speaking to everyone who has read the review. Someone who sees you take the time to respond to the review in a pleasant manner will feel that you care about your customers and will likely give your service a try.

Suppose a number of negative reviews have been posted. You look through and notice that they all comment on the same factor. For example, you own a restaurant and each review is a negative comment on the waitress. This gives you the opportunity to either provide additional training to the waitress or let her go. Look for patterns on where you can offer improvements.

Do not underestimate the importance of online reputation management. Reviews can and will be written at any time. Be vigilant in watching for any mention of your business name, your personal name, your product, etc. Social media is all about engagement so be sure YOU are part of the conversation! It can be overwhelming to keep watch in the vast world of the Internet.