Researchers estimate that it’s up to 25 times more expensive for a company to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one, making ongoing investments in consumer satisfaction a priority. There's nothing more disheartening to a local business owner than receiving a very negative review — and given that as little as 13% of consumers will patronize a business with a 1- or 2-star rating, there may be nothing more important than the owner taking every possible step to resolve negative reviews with speed and skill.
Negative reviews don’t write themselves. While looking at restaurant reviews recently, I came across an owner-consumer interaction that perfectly encapsulates the typical steps that take a transaction from bad to worse. It serves as a diagram of how these costly scenarios begin, proceed, and escalate, ultimately resulting in permanent damage to the company’s reputation.
The blame isn’t one-sided, and my goal here isn't to make the customer or the owner out to be "the villain." Rather, I'd like to point out key elements that actually worsen the situation, rather than improving it. Both owners and consumers sincerely want to feel satisfied, and the good news is that, in most cases, the only thing standing in the way of this is responsible communication.
Let’s take a look!
Image courtesy of Blake Patterson on Flickr.
The key to the "Food Truck Fiasco"
This story begins at a family-owned Philly Cheesesteak food truck that signed up to be a concession at a festival in the Southwest. One customer describes what happened on the day of the event this way, with my interpretation to the right:
|
Key to Review |
|---|---|
| Grabbed "The Storm" (cheesesteak with green chiles) for $9 when they were parked outside the bike and brew festival. | Customer sets the scene for his story. |
| The woman told us it would take 20 minutes, but when we arrived back it took at least an additional 15 minutes to get our food. I'm sorry, but 45 minutes wait for a sandwich simply isn't acceptable. The sandwich was super small for the price, I could've eaten 3 of these things easy and I'm not a big person. I expect more for a $9 sandwich |
The legitimate complaint in wait time, improper expectations being set, food portions, and pricing. These are honest grievances. |
| from a crappy concession trailer with zero overhead. | The revenge. Customer vents his disappointment with cutting, dismissive language. He insults the business. |
| EDIT: Like several other Yelpers, I had originally rated them higher, but reduced my rating after I received a nasty email from the owner shaming me for my feedback. Seriously, that is how you treat customers after making them wait 45 minutes for a super overpriced sandwich? If you can't handle honest feedback, then you should probably find another line of work. Keep it classy, [name removed]. |
The worst possible outcome: owner's response leads to consumer editing his original review to dock stars and complain of a second bad interaction with the business. The customer is permanently lost, and the world is informed. |
The customer’s complaints are certainly understandable: he was honestly disappointed that it took so long for his food to be ready and then felt the portions were overpriced. It didn’t help matters that the staff over-promised and under-delivered in estimating the wait time. Up until this point, the consumer is blameless. But then he makes two mistakes:
- He makes no mention of voicing his complaints to the owner or staff in-person, at the time of service.
Upon receiving his small sandwich after 45 minutes of waiting, it would have taken him just one minute more to say, “I really want to speak the owner about this. I’m not happy with what just happened.” It’s the customer’s responsibility to speak up on his own behalf — to the let the owner know there is a problem for him to resolve. - Having failed to take on the responsibility of voicing his complaints directly to the owner at the time of service, the customer then vents his feelings to the world in the form of a negative review.
Not only this, but his remarks about a "crappy concession trailer" are mean-spirited, showing zero respect for the reality that this is, in fact, another human being’s livelihood. Being dismissive of someone’s job is uncivil, snobbish, rude, etc. Using language like this is unlikely to make friends, and is unlikely to bring out the best in the owner whom he is now, in fact, goading and insulting.
Regardless of the customer’s tone, the owner’s job is to be professional at all times. I’ve seen adept business owners handle even the rudest customers with a skill that leaves me in awe, but in this case, the owner of the food truck went down the worst possible road. Far from remedying the initial negative review, the owner’s response brought the customer back with further negativity, including taking off stars. Here’s how the owner responded (Eds. note: original spelling and grammar intact), with my interpretation on the right:
Owner's Response |
Key to Owner's Response |
|---|---|
| 5/23/2016 I'd have to say, I'm shocked and appalled at this "customers" behavior. However, if you look at his profile...it is really not all that shocking. Many businesses have felt the wrath of this poor shmuck. And just so everything is clear and on the table...I'm copying and pasting our so called "nasty" email we sent him. You can be the judge: | Calling your customer names and trying to shame him is the worst possible way to begin an owner response. |
|
Hello,
I am one of the owners of [business name removed]...along with my wife and father in-law. I just wanted to take a minute to help you understand the impact of your publicly posted criticisms. |
The owner's job is to apologize, not to correct or instruct the customer. |
| First, you should understand that we are an 8 by 16 truck that was inundated with 100's of orders all at once. Simply put, we did the best we could to get your sandwich out as fast as possible. With the space we have, grill size, etc...we can only do so much. | It is not the customer's job to be understanding about the business's limitations or problems. He expects to receive service. That is all. |
|
We tried to be as honest and as accurate as possible with regards to wait time.
As for the quality, we certainly want our customers to enjoy our food. This is why we cook to order, and try to maintain a level of freshness that other trucks may not. Given that you didn't like it, we would have preferred to have a chance to make the situation whole. However, you clearly chose not to afford us that opportunity. |
An explanation of the business's goal to provide quality product is good, but the real gem here is the owner's pain that the customer didn't complain in person. This is the owner's honest disappointment. |
| In regards to "no overhead." Well, that's just so far from accurate it made our heads spin. Perhaps consider: food costs (certified angus beef is not cheap), labor for our employee, propane, the generator rental fee ($200), the city temp license fee, the fire inspection fee, fees to do the event itself, the gas to tow and run the gene, water....I could go on, but hopefully you get the point. |
The customer may be ignorant of how the business operates, but this is not the time to explain its costs. You haven't yet earned the customer's friendship or empathy. He's going to walk for lack of an apology. |
| Lastly, on a more personal level, you should understand that we worked two 14 hour days for this event. We have a 10 month old son that was at his grandparents, suffered from great separation anxiety, a cried himself to sleep both nights. We finished cleaning at 1 am this morning only to wake up no your negative review about our "crappy food truck." |
This is completely over the top. Customers do not want to hear about crying babies. They are paying for service, not sob stories. At the same time, the owner admits he's stung by rude language. This is real. |
| Overall, my ultimate goal with this note, is to help you better understand the impact of your words. And to understand that we are hard working people, who genuinely care about our business. When you are unhappy with a level of service, please, by all means, contact them privately and at least give them the opportunity to make the situation right. Criticizing them publicly gives them absolutely no chance to do that, creates a lasting stain on their hard work, and potentially takes food out of their children mouths. Had you contacted us, we would have offered you a free meal at our regular location or refunded your money. |
The closing sums up how wrong and how right this owner's mindset is. He is totally wrong to believe the purpose of an owner response is to correct his customers. But, he's totally right that the lack of opportunity to respond well to an in-person complaint is a major pain point for his business, and millions of other businesses, too. |
Reading between the lines of the owner’s response, a picture emerges of a business that underestimated how busy it would be at an event and did not have adequate cooking facilities or staff to fulfill orders within a normal timeframe. This was the initial mistake that set the stage for all that transpired. Unfortunately, the owner then worsened the scenario by making the following additional mistakes:
- He confused his business with himself.
Learning not to take business criticism personally is Reputation Management 101 for all owners and staff, and it can be the hardest instinctive mindset for anyone to overcome. If you’ve put your heart into your business, it is genuinely challenging not to view criticism as a personal attack … but you mustn’t get stuck there. You’re offering goods and services; paying customers expect to receive them. Business is transactional, not personal, and the customer is not signing up to hear about your fatigue or family problems. All this customer wanted was the sandwich he ordered. This is not personal. - He refused to accept responsibility for the customer’s bad experience.
The response penned by the owner is not an admission that the customer’s legitimate dissatisfaction stemmed from poor planning or poor execution on the part of the business. The owner refuses to say, “My fault, I’m sorry.” - He failed to see the owner response function as his last chance to save a bad situation.
He views it as a place to justify himself by correcting the customer’s attitude, expectations, and sentiments. Once the negative review has already been published, the owner response function is likely the only life preserver left.
Given the costliness of replacing a lost customer and the way a negative review can cost a company future business, the owner response field is not a platform for a lecture; it’s a platform for making the greatest possible effort to make amends. - Finally, the owner devolved into personal insults, betraying a fundamental lack of professionalism.
A business is professional. A customer is just a person. Even if your customer cannot utter a single sentence without using colorful expletives, professionals are meant to be trained to communicate in business-appropriate language at all times. What this owner has done is to reveal to the whole world that he refers to his customers in insulting terms if they have a complaint. Once anyone reads that, they know not to expect empathy if they encounter a problem with the business.
Perhaps the most powerful element of the owner response function is that it is not just for a single customer to read, but for all future customers to read. Respond well, and you may not only win a second chance with the customer, but also prove to all future potential customers that they will be treated with respect, empathy, and fairness by your company.
Crafting a powerful owner response
If the food truck owner were my client, this is a sample of how I would have helped him respond, with my key on the right:
Owner's Response |
Key to Owner's Response |
|---|---|
|
Dear Jim, I hope you can find it in your heart to accept my apology for the poor experience you had on the day of the event. This was totally my fault. |
Greet customer personally, if possible, and begin with a sincere apology. Take responsibility for your business, as its owner. |
|
I underestimated how swamped we would be and would have hired extra staff for the day if I'd realized 10,000 people were attending. This was our first time doing this event, and my failure to correctly predict the number of orders we'd be filling is what led to you waiting 45 minutes for your sandwich. |
Where possible, explain how the mistake happened. Validate the customer's experience by expressing empathy for their situation. Be accountable for any errors. |
|
I wish you'd had the chance to talk to me about this in person at the time, but I realize it may have been too hectic to reach out to me that day. I would gladly have given you a full refund or a free cheesesteak to try to make up for the inconvenience. |
Encourage all readers to believe that, if a problem occurs, you would love to have them speak directly to you or staff about it right at the time of service. Since the presence of the negative review means an in-person complaint likely never happened, offer an appropriate means of atonement and a guarantee of a better experience, if the customer will give you a second chance. |
|
Again, please accept my apology, Jim, and please give me a chance to make it right. Thank you, Bill Williams |
Close with a repeated expression of your sincere regret, your offer to make things right, and an identification of yourself as the owner of the business. |
Contrast the owner’s real response with this sample suggested response, and you are likely to come away with a completely different, more positive impression of the business. A few quick suggestions for coming across well:
- Keep length reasonable; don’t write a novel
- Beware of sounding like you’re on your high horse; use common, neighborly language
- Make sure you’ve apologized
- Where appropriate, explain what went wrong and describe any steps you’ve taken to correct an issue
- Extend your offer of something nice to try to make it better
- Welcome further feedback; it could lead to the reviewer updating their review with positive sentiment
Those are quick tips that should immediately help you to improve your reputation in the eyes of all who read your owner responses. Ready to dig deeper into developing a powerful, permanent mindset for all future tough transactions? Read on.
3 empowering tactics for better reputation management
Every business encounters criticism. Meet this reality better prepared with these three tips:
1. In business, we wear the mask.
When your spouse tells you're inattentive, when your friend points out that you chew with your mouth open, when your children berate you for not letting them adopt another dog, it’s personal. It’s your privilege to respond with tears, embarrassment, a lecture, or whatever you feel you need to express at that moment, reacting to personal criticism in your private life.
In business, it’s different. In a civil society, and particularly in a business setting, it’s simple reality that we tend to suppress strong reactions and strong words for the sake of professionalism.
If you feel the color rising to your face when a customer insinuates that you actually founded your whole company for the purpose of ripping him off for $9.99, try picturing in your mind the image of the most serene, inscrutable face of a statue you’ve ever seen. Perhaps it’s the face of the Buddha, or a classical Greek god, or a Tlingit totem being. Imagine donning that mask, like a zone of safety, between the disgruntled customer’s business complaint and your personal life. It’s cooler behind the mask and you can respond to almost any commercial criticism, knowing your personal feelings are completely safe behind the barrier you’ve established.
2. Muster empathy to integrate as much of yourself into the interaction as you feel comfortable with.
Now that you’ve tried on the mask, and you’ve got your worries, your insecurities, loves, family, and everything else personal safely behind its barrier, see how much of yourself you feel safe putting outside the mask for the world to see.
Your life may feel too divided if your business and personal worlds are kept 100% separate, and you may not be able to pour the full passion of your heart and intellect into the business you are building if you have to be a statue at all times. Some customers may be so irrational in their expectations or conduct that the only way to manage them is with a marble coolness or a wooden face, but hopefully that will be the exception. For most customers, this technique will help you integrate your genuine human feelings into a situation in which distress is being expressed.
Picture a person you not only really love, but also of whom you feel protective. For just a moment, substitute that special person for the complaining customer. Imagine that it is your grandmother who had to wait in line for 45 minutes (she might have gotten heat stroke), or your nephew who was still hungry after being overcharged for lunch (he’s had trouble getting up to a healthy weight), or your spouse who was treated rudely (how dare someone disrespect him/her), or your friend whose product broke after a week of use (she can’t afford to replace it). Suddenly, that customer is transformed from an unknown complainer into an important person who deserves fair, empathetic treatment.
Integrate as much of the empathy you’d feel for a friend or relative as you can for the customer. The health of your local business, and your good feelings about the way you conduct it, depend upon turning as many unknown neighbors as you can into loyal customers and, hopefully, friends.
3. Master catching complaints before they become negative reviews.
It may seem counterintuitive to want to receive as many complaints as possible, but when you consider that they are your best safeguard against the publication of negative reviews, making your business complaint-friendly is incredibly smart! Implement these tips:
- Install visible in-store signage detailing options for requesting help with a complaint. Wall signs, window signs, signs on counters, tables, menus, aisles, print materials, and company vehicles can all alert customers to complaint-receptivity.
- Signage can include a complaint hotline text message number and phone number, both of which should be regularly monitored for activity.
- One recent survey found that 57% of consumer complaints revolve around poor customer service/employee behavior. This means that the quality of your hiring and training practices are the key to ensuring satisfaction. Go one further. Be sure all staff are trained to resolve complaints or escalate them through a defined hierarchy (manager, owner, etc.).
- Instruct all staff who deal with the public to invite complaints with clear language, like “Was there anything you couldn’t find, anything we can do better, etc.?”
- Be sure your website is mobile-friendly and includes a visible complaint form.
- Gather emails at the time of service and email customers shortly thereafter to request feedback, both positive and negative. Follow up quickly on any negative experiences and make every effort to remedy them.
- Assign a staff member for each store who regularly checks popular social media sites for mentions of your business and who is empowered to reach out any time negative sentiment appears.
- Document all complaints, identify patterns, and implement solutions. Your complaint document will be an absolute goldmine for resolving common problems before future customers experience them.
- Consider purchasing paid products that help you analyze your social media opportunities and manage your reputation. Followerwonk and GetFiveStars are good places to start. Don’t leave things up to chance — know your stats and actively control the conversation that’s happening about your business! Be as connected and engaged with your consumers as you possibly can.
Speaking of GetFiveStars, I highly recommend taking the time to read the series of articles they’ve been publishing regarding the subject of consumer complaints, including some really insightful surveys. My favorite tip from co-founder Mike Blumenthal is this one:
“Make a complainer feel like your most valued customer because, in some ways, they are.”
Happier endings for everybody
The art of customer service is one you’ll be training yourself and your staff in for as long as you serve the public. Even if you’ve made every effort to catch complaints on the spot, no method is foolproof and every business is almost guaranteed to have to deal with a negative review here and there.
Some customers will not speak up for themselves, even when expressly invited to do so, because they are shy, dread confrontation, or are so accustomed to being treated poorly that they don’t believe their voice will be genuinely heard. They may utilize online reviews as a substitute for having to "make a fuss" in person about their dissatisfaction.
Then there are those truly awful customers no business can avoid. They may have entitlement issues, unrealistic expectations, unpleasant personalities, or even have made it a life practice to throw tantrums in hopes of receiving free stuff. They may utilize online reviews as a place to spew rude language and invent false accusations because they have personal problems.
No business is immune to either type of customer, but if you plot out your company’s reputation management course, you can weather most storms and end up looking like one smooth sailor! Your plan might look something like this timeline:
I continue to be amazed at how many negative reviews slip through and sit unanswered on major review platforms, raising doubts in potential customers’ minds and giving a neglectful impression of the business.
With the right mindset that delineates comfortable boundaries between your personal and business worlds, cultivation of empathy, a clear plan, and concentrated devotion to staff training, no business need suffer dread of negative feedback, and can, in fact, view it as a powerful resource for making meaningful improvements pre-guaranteed to resolve existing issues. And when those negative reviews do squeak through your process, a beautiful, professional response can write a happy ending, just like this one:
*Review star screenshots used in this post from Yelp.
Have you ever turned an unhappy customer into a satisfied one? What happened and how did you do it? Do you have techniques/mindset/tips to share?
Just basic customer service. If someone has a problem, hear them out. Don't get emotional about it, this is business.
When they state their grievance, ask them how you can make it right. Then work from there. You can't win them all, but you'll keep all the reasonable customers/clients.
Pro Tip (for readers): It helps if you've built a rapport prior to an issue. If you both like to fish, work it in there. Otherwise, empathize as much as you can.
This is pretty basic stuff. Though it's still kind of uncommon. Customer Service is generally handled in the first year of a BA degree (along with law and accounting).
Most people just start a business, when they find their thing. That tends toward the rocky side of things.
I learned from a sales guy to ask the other party if what I've proposed seems fair. One word. It makes all the difference.
"Does X seem fair?" Really like that, Travis. Good language. If the customer agrees, he has now established in his own mind that he's received fair treatment. Excellent tip. Thanks for sharing it.
Excellent article and as a restaurant marketing company we can correlate to the entire article. Our emphasis is on "Reputation Management" for all our clients as we have seen that this produces immediate results. We think that being a third party in the review process (the first two being the customer & business) we bring some objectivity into the whole game. We follow certain guidelines when it comes to managing these reviews
1) Always the customer is right and also acknowledge the fact that the customer has taken effort and time to air his/her reviews. So acknowledge all reviews positive and negative
2) For negative reviews do not get defensive and blame customers - put it in the right perspective giving some detailed reasons as to what went wrong and what can be fixed etc. Make sure that take the feedback constructively and see what can be improved
2) When it comes to Yelp always respond in private (for other platforms it is not possible) and go back to point 1
3) Try to win over the customer by apologizing (no matter whose fault it is) and offer them some kind of a discount/gift certificate - we have seen multiple times when you respond to negative reviews the customers would be floored given the fact that we acknowledged
4) For other platforms like Facebook, Google, TripAdvisor when you respond to negative reviews others who follow the threads/reviews take it in the right spirit - look at point 2 as your customers know that you are human and that you make mistakes. Owning them up and trying to fix them is what appeals to current and prospective customers
Again these are some guidelines and as always there are exceptions to the rule. You need to make sure that you catch the outliers and deal with it accordingly.
mKonnekt Team
Good Afternoon, Seshu!
What a fantastic comment. I think it's wonderful that you've take the time to list out some of your own company's guidelines for reputation management. Would you be willing to shed a little more light on this one?
When it comes to Yelp always respond in private (for other platforms it is not possible) and go back to point 1
Exactly what steps do you recommend your customers take to respond in private? I'd love it if you'd share more about this.
Thank you so much for your extremely generous and thoughtful comment!
Transparency for me is key.
Tell them why this has happened and what you are doing to fix it.
*Items received are wrong*
'Thank you for your order from 'Company' and your email.
Our sincerest apologies that an incorrect item was sent to you. This was an honest mistake made by the picker.
We will immediately dispatch the correct item to you. Please keep the original item as a way of an apology.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Kindest Regards
Company'
1. Problem addressed
2. Tell them why it happened
3. Make it up to the customer.
Much like what you have said Miriam, but letting the customer know every step that we will take helps build trust and understanding which in turn will lead to that customer using our business again.
Hi Glen!
From your example, I'm guessing you are talking about customers complaints, perhaps via a form or phone call? If that's right, I really like your advice about explaining step-by-step what happened, how you are fixing it and when the customer can expect resolution. Very professional!
This seems to be something that I have to train my customers on all the time. Sometimes people forget that when someone is paying for a product or service they have high expectations which when they are not met can cause issue with the customer.
I had a client personally who was very upset because their hosting was down for their website. Even though we didn't handle that part for them we were still the "tech guys" so they called us pretty furious.
We were able to diffuse the situation by listening to their issue, being empathetic about the situation and then calmly explaining that we don't actually handle that for them but we would be willing to do whatever we could to get a hold of their hosting company to resolve the issue.
It was important that we didn't make them feel silly for calling the wrong company and complaining and in the end they were very impressed with how professionally we handled it.
Completely worth the effort and we will definitely be keeping them as a client.
Hi Joseph!
This is a significant accomplishment,
"It was important that we didn't make them feel silly for calling the wrong company and complaining and in the end they were very impressed with how professionally we handled it."
A happy ending. It sounds like you've got just the right mindset for making your customers feel cared-for instead of merely 'handled'. Way to go, and I appreciate you taking a minute to share this real world anecdote.
Absolutely! Thanks again for the great post :)
Miriam,
Getting businesses to respect the power of reviews is a lot like getting kids to enjoy shots from the doctor. But—and you nail this perfectly in the post—by making reviews a priority, you are not only helping your brand get positive reviews, you're also ensuring that you (a) get fewer negative reviews and (b) nurturing a reputation that you care about the customer experience.
RS
Honored by your comment, Ronnel! I sincerely hope this post might make reviews a little less like a dreaded visit to the doctor and a little more like something any owner can manage. Thanks for taking the time to read and share these points about lessening negative reviews while nurturing a solid reputation.
Getting businesses to respect the power of reviews is a lot like getting kids to enjoy shots from the doctor. But—and you nailed this perfectly in the post—by making reviews a priority, you are not only helping your brand get positive reviews, you're also ensuring that you
(a) get fewer negative reviews and
(b) nurturing a reputation that you care about the customer experience.
Hi Miriam!!!
We move into the information age. And if we are not able to tell the truth to the client, believe that someone will do it for us, and that's never good.
And if what the client tells you is not what you want to hear your ears, do not be indignant, but to learn and improve what we can improve
Hi Ivan!
That's so true - complaints and negative reviews can be viewed as an exceptional resource for identifying issues that you then, hopefully, have the power to resolve before further customers experience them. Very smart point. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment!
The Art of Customer Service on display. This is an excellent example for anyone tasked with interacting with customers. Your "corrected" response to the original store owners post was spot on. Nice work!
Thanks, John! I've helped quite a few businesses develop this type of response over the years when faced with a negative review, and am a strong advocate for turning negative feedback around, if at all possible. Glad you like this post.
Miriam,
Thank you so much for writing this piece. I now have another great reference for my clients when they are ready to explode after receiving a negative review :). We have received one negative review in 7 years of business and the response you crafted for me was a great example of how to remain calm and polite when addressing an unreasonable customer.
Hey Joy!
That was my pleasure, and I'm so glad this piece will serve as a resource for your clients. It should definitely show them why exploding is not a financially sound option, and hopefully point the way to a response they can feel proud of. Very honored to have you pop by, Joy!
Hi Miriam,
I'm in total agreement with all of this! I only wish it was easier to educate some of the folks we work with on the importance of staying in-front of their reviewers. We haven't yet discussed customer empathy (as you've eluded to in this article), but we've had numerous conversations on how reviews can make or break a local business (with the statistics to support it). For those of us in the digital marketing world it's common sense, but I've noticed SMB owners can be lackadaisical (at times) of their online reputations. Do you have any advice on how to educate business owners on why they should be monitoring these things?
Hi Paul :)
While cultivating owner-to-customer empathy is my favorite approach, some business owners my find that a little outside of their comfort zone, but nearly every owner understands hard numbers. If generating good will doesn't feel like enough of an inspiration to keep the owner engaged in reputation management, these numbers might:
Some studies indicate that it costs 25 times as much to earn a new customer than it does to keep an existing one happy. Ergo, responding to both negative and positive reviews saves money. Everyone likes that idea! It's financially sound policy to manage one's reputation
Another study indicated that 40% of potential customers form an opinion by reading just 1-3 reviews. Ergo, if they are neglected negative reviews (lacking an ameliorating owner response) then the business could be missing out on nearly half of its potential new customers. That same study (from Bright Local) indicates that people look at star rating more than any other factor while making a judgement. In the story here in my blog post, we saw the customer actually DOCK stars after having a second bad experience with the business, so that's pretty detrimental. By the same token, I have seen countless customers come back and INCREASE stars after an owner fixed a problem through outreach. So, again, it's just financially sound to manage these situations.
If you've got some clients with whom you are finding it very difficult to motivate, I recommend pulling together a sheet of stats from both the Bright Local Consumer Survey and Get Five Stars complaint series (both linked to in my post). Give the sheet to the owner and let the numbers do the talking. I've yet to meet a business owner who didn't understand that kind of math :) Hope this helps!
20 minutes + 15 minutes = 35 minutes, (not 45)
Ha! I noticed that, too, Nate. I guess the customer felt like it had been 45 long minutes, to the point of forgetting math. Good catch! Do you have any tips to share with our community about reputation management?
I think you did a great job outlining it. It's really simple, but hard to do sometimes. People just want honesty. If you mess up, own up to it. Take responsibility. Everyone can identify with making mistakes. We get peeved when people deny their culpability and only take action after they've been hauled out on the carpet, which always feels disingenuous. Where are the "hey, we really screwed up, and here's what we're doing to make it right" moments? They happen, but too infrequently. Be gracious, be humble, be transparent.
Thanks for a great post that goes to the heart of a very touchy subject. Having working with many small businesses, I know how difficult it can be for owners to know how to manage their reputation online. I'll definitely use this article to refer to folks who are trying to figure out how (or whether they even want) to take the leap into proactive reputation management.
Great to hear, Kaitlin! And, I do think that Local SEOs can be a valuable influence and resource for the business owners they serve when negative reviews happen. Rather than the owner simply dashing off his/her first reaction, there is a second set of eyes to look at the situation and develop an owner response that the business can feel good about in the long term. Very happy to know you found this good enough to share. Thank you!
The last time I did it was a few days ago, when I had a conversion on twitter with a customer who had left the service almost 2 years ago because of the fault at our end. I told him about the changes we have made since then. In the end he opened our website tweeted that he will give us the second chance.
Wow, congratulations, Shariq! That moment when the customer tweeted that he was giving you a second chance must have felt really great for your team. Your follow-through sounds like it has already paid off. Very nice example. Thank you for sharing it here.
I was jumping for joy after reading that tweet :
I'm jumping for joy with you! Well done!
Fantastic write-up and break down Miriam.
Great to see some of our GetFiveStars's research and thought process put to further use as well. Your outline of what happened, why, it's pro/con and then what should have happened through the review and response is so valuable. Awesome post, one every business owner can learn from.
Hey Aaron!
Honored to have you here! I seriously may be the world's biggest fan of that GetFiveStars series. Reading it engendered one of those priceless light bulb moments in which I realized how extensively our industry covers many aspects of reviews, but how little we all had been investigating the complaints that precede negative reviews. This is one of the things I love best about local: you can investigate it, of course, from a 'big picture' vista, but sometimes taking a granular approach to finer details can yield major insight. You guys have totally done that with the surveys and opinions in your complaint series. Super job, and thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this article. Best wishes!
Awesome post Miriam ! According to me, transparency and better communication with customers(I mean less communication gap) is main things.
Hi Dilip! So glad you enjoyed this. I think your points are very good ones. Is there something particular you do in your workplace to foster better transparency and communication with customers?
I would also add that a negative review that results from a misunderstanding by a customer gives the business owner/manager the opportunity to inform future customers about what they should expect
Yes, hundreds/thousands of future potential customers will be reading the owner response. Your suggestion is a wise one, given that!
The advice of separating yourself from the business was great. Business owners put their blood, sweat, and tears into their businesses so any critique seems like a personal attack. Great advice!
Very useful post for responding to negative reviews.
Hi Miriam
We must look at the positive side of the critics ... are what really make you prosper
This is true, Luis. If we're smart, we can learn as much or MORE from our mistakes than we do from our successes.
Probably the best advice I got about responding to negative reviews is to keep it brief, address their concerns and then let them know their feedback will be reviewed at a senior level to determine the proper outcome.
I am always worried about how to handle reviews. This article was extremelyvinformitive. I own and operate a Gutter cleaning service in Atlanta. It is a very competitive market. In order to maintain our 5 star rating we do everything we can to please the customer. Thank you again on this thorough article
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Thanks, Randall, and that's wonderful if this article helped you gain a little more confidence about how to approach negative reviews in a positive way.
Awesome Post on Diagramming the Story of a 1-Star Review
This is a great post and very instructive. Thanks for the post. Long and detailed manual. I needed this.
I have a question but before I ask it I would like to give you some background information and my perspective.
It is however hard for service providers to be able to quickly assess competence levels of numerous customers and be able to appropriately communicate with them. I am actually talking more about virtual work here. I have been at the receiving end of great work with poor communication not because the organization is "bad" or incompetent, but because they did not expect my level of insight into the issues/tasks as they had a stereotype of their customers. As such this particular vendor struggled with my needs and communication was a real hassle. There were some things that came up which were subpar, but overall I did not feel leaving a non-stellar review would help the customer. The owner knew some of my feelings and they are learning.
1. Is the customer always right? Really.
2. Is it better to "vent" online when we are aggrieved or in private to the vendor? I would think public shaming is not really called for unless the vendor has blown it completely (Twitter and hashtags here I come).
3. Are there any review sites that "weight" negative reviews, considering the severely damaging effects it can have on a business?
Hey There!
Thanks for the thoughtful comments and questions.
1. In reality, of course customers are not always right (no one is always right) but it is nearly always a better business policy to make customers happy than to lose them. Example: I ordered a DVD from an online company. It arrived broken. I phoned them and they immediately replaced it, free of charge, and did not even require that I mail them back the broken copy. The upshot of that is that I'll order from them again, with confidence. If, however, they had accused me of breaking the DVD, charged me to reship it or refused to send me another, I would not ever order from them again. In truth, they had no way of knowing whether the DVD broke in transit or I broke it myself, or even if it wasn't broken at all and that I was getting a free second copy out of them, only to sell the other one on eBay! I wasn't, of course, doing any of these things, but the business had no way of knowing this, right? What the company has done is create a generous return policy that basically says we'll make it right if you're dissatisfied, even if we have to swallow the costs of that. In the long run, your happiness is more important that our fear that a few customers might try to rip us off.
The only time the customer isn't always right, in my opinion, is if they accuse you of something illegal. In an extraordinary circumstance like that, you need legal counsel.
2. I think it's always better to resolve issues at the time of service and would encourage both consumers and companies to make every possible effort to facilitate this. If you're the owner, that means honestly inviting complaints and acting to resolve them. If you're the consumer, that means making so bold as to tell the business to its face that you are dissatisfied. This is the ideal scenario. But, clearly the proliferation of negative reviews on the web proves that things often don't work this way, which then leads us to the power of the owner response.
3. I'm not sure I understand exactly what you mean by 'weight'.
Regarding your interesting story about customer service people not understanding the sophistication level of a given consumer, you've raised a really interesting topic. It sounds like you are actually helping the business owner learn something new about the needs of a segment of his customers, so that generous of you to communicate and smart for him to be open to learning!
This is so helpful. The worst part is that upset customers are much more likely to leave a review than happy customers unless you actively promote it. But if you follow up on bad reviews and make the necessary changes to ensure the same circumstances don't repeat themselves, you should be able eliminate them for the most part.
Hey Andy!
You bring up a good facet of this topic that I didn't even get into in this article: I've seen a few surveys that indicate that extremes motivate reviews (extremely bad service or extremely good service), just like you've mentioned. Let me dig one of these up.
Yes, here's one: https://www.getfivestars.com/blog/survey-why-do-co.... That survey found that a whopping 1/3 of reviews stem from extreme experiences, either good or bad. To me, this says that business owners not only need to ward off as many negative consumer experiences as possible via strong employee training (including complaint resolution training) but that they also need to brainstorm something they can do that takes the customer by delightful surprise to motivate positive reviews.
I had an experience just like that a few years ago, at a hardware store of all places. My family had just moved and I needed all kinds of diverse items to get the new home set up. I went to a locally-owned branch of a cooperative and was really amazed not only at how many employees were roaming the aisles to offer assistance, but how the one I approached to ask where a product was located then insisted on helping me find everything on my list. It was like a throwback to a mid-century general store. What really capped it off, though, was that while I was shopping, I lost my scarf and didn't even notice I'd done so. As I was walking out to the car, a staff member came hurrying after me with the scarf, because he'd noticed I'd been wearing it earlier. You can bet I was so impressed by that, I left an absolutely glowing 5 star review of this business. A hardware store may not excite a lot of people, but the surprise/delight this one provided certainly excited me!
Happy you found this article helpful, Andy! I really appreciate your feedback.
I believe that if you educate your client in each level then it will provide more stable business. Explain each things with pros and cons, mainly if you are into Digital Marketing then give the realistic projection. That will represent that you are genuine and you care their business.
Mostly you lost the client because of "Result" Or "Trust level" Or "Communication gap" so i believe "educate" is sums up all the main points.
Hi Hiren!
You've brought up a good topic. I think digital marketers learn that they must focus on setting appropriate product expectations, and website pages or other online material can facilitate this. For local, physical businesses, this may be more of a challenge. When someone is in your dental office or restaurant, they are interacting directly with people rather than content, so it falls to the staff to set the expectations. This can, of course, be backed up with content on the website, but my guess is that it's what happens during the actual in-person transaction that leads to most complaints/negative reviews.
Interesting. Your comment has made me wonder how local businesses might do a better job of communicating correct expectations. Need to think about that. Thanks for sparking a good conversation!
Glad you find it helpful Miriam. I agree on physical businesses we need to think something out of the box as just you shared in the comment :)
Miriam, excellent and topical post.
This solution might appear too simple to be effective but we tell our clients to ask their customers how they did and that one question has dramatic and positive results. Car dealers, home service providers and others are getting immediate feedback allowing them to take immediate action and make changes to processes and prevent miscommunication, the cause of most negative online reviews.
Consumers don't need encouragement to share their disappointment however they do need to be prompted to share their experiences with others when they have a positive interaction with a "review-able employee". There are literally hundreds of tools to encourage clients to share their feelings and opinions online but in the end it's all about the experience you provide and your willingness to ask, listen and respond.
Simplicity = beauty sometimes, Owen, and I think your common sense approach shows wisdom! One thing that interests me is how to make reticent customers feel you GENUINELY want their face-to-face feedback. Some people have a deep fear of confrontation, even when they are justified and and even when they are in a business, rather than a personal, setting.
Personally, this has been something I've struggled with in my own life as a consumer. I've had a lifelong horror of making other people feel any kind of embarrassment and I feel shame when I see people behaving rudely or improperly, so I'd be one of those customers who would rather suffer in silence than speak up. However, I've worked on this since becoming a local search marketer, because I realized I am actually HELPING a business when I tell them something needs to be fixed. It's still not always easy for me to complain in person, though. I still kind of cringe inside when I call attention to rudeness, neglect or other forms of poor service.
Has your company arrived at any insight on this? What would you tell your clients to do to make a customer like me feel my feedback is priceless to the business? Any thoughts?
Hi Guys
My website with the keywords of "Web Design Dubai, SEO Dubai & Web Hosting Dubai". i had applied all the strategies of SEO but my site is still on 3rd page of google. Kindly guide me for the best process.
Thanks
Hi There!
The terms you are going after are very competitive ones, so what would be recommended in this case would be doing a complete audit of both your traditional and Local SEO to identify potential problems as well as areas of opportunity. Here's my earlier Local SEO checklist post (which also links over to our traditional SEO checklist) which should help you in your audit process: https://moz.com/blog/local-seo-checklist
If going through those 2 checklists does not help you weed out any issues or see areas where you could improve, your business would likely be best served by contracting with a very qualified SEO consultant who can create an advanced strategy in hopes of increasing your visibility for your core terms.
It's also important to remember that if you are a newcomer to a tough market, it's going to take both some time and a lot of muscle to start moving up in the ranks. You may need to invest in PPC while you generate momentum and, also, not overlook longer tail terms that may present more immediate, achievable opportunities. Hope this helps!