How To Reply To Negative Reviews

If you have an online presence and are doing a lot of business pretty regularly, you are inevitably going to come across some negative reviews.

It just happens.

It doesn't matter what your business model is or how amazing your product or service is... There are going to be people who feel the need to let other people know to steer clear of you.

Frustrating, right?

Sometimes these complaints are valid... An employee had an off-day and snapped at a customer. You actually genuinely messed up your service. A product is faulty. The truth is that we are human and we are not 100% perfect all the time, so these things happen.

You know what else comes with being human? Not getting along well with some other humans. Sometimes you just clash with a customer or they clash with you. We don't always vibe with everyone--and that's okay. It doesn't feel okay, though, when they choose to let the world know about it.

I once had a client leave a one-star review on social media for an account I was managing and when I asked her to elaborate on her complaint, she said she did not like the music that was playing in our store. Our service was great and we did exactly what we were supposed to--she just didn't like the music. So we got a one-star review.

Sometimes you get reviews like that one. Highly unwarranted, but there nonetheless.

Then there are times you get the negative reviews you might deserve.

And then, of course, the times where you get a negative review that you absolutely do not deserve, but you cannot divulge that information publicly. So you want to scream.

I worked in social media management for a tax preparation company and we would receive negative reviews when people filed late and had to pay fees. Somehow, their lack of knowledge on when they had to file (there are various deadlines for different types of filing before April 15) was our fault. But I couldn't reply to their review, screaming in all caps, "You didn't file on time!!!"

Aside from tax preparation, I have also worked in social media management in real estate, property management, and youth development--to name a few. And let me tell you... people are always at least a little passionate about their living situation, money, largest investment of their life, or their kids.

So long story short: I have dealt with hundreds, if not thousands, of people's passionate complaints on social media and through private review services. While handling a complaint in private is slightly different, it doesn't differ too much from handling one on social media.

The biggest difference is that you are not necessarily responding to a negative comment for the sake of the reviewer on social media... You are replying for the thousands of people who come after them.

Responding to negative comments and reviews gives you the chance to rectify a situation where you genuinely messed up or appear as the bigger person and a responsible company. You have the opportunity to impress future customers and clients--especially when the complaint is unwarranted.

If the complaint is warranted, the response is easy: genuinely apologize and make the situation right.

If the complaint is unwarranted, it gets trickier. Your emotions may be running high, because you are upset they are defaming you--which is valid. And you may want to reveal sensitive information--but you probably can't. And shouldn't. Do you want me to be known as the company that airs their customers' dirty laundry?

So what do you do when you run into a negative review or comment that makes you beyond angry?

In my experience, there are some steps you should take:

Step away. Breathe.

This is a nice moment to remind yourself that this person is a human. Try to distract yourself by doing some other work. Sometimes if I am especially frustrated, I write down the response I want to say (NOT in the reply box--never there--you do not want to accidentally post it) and then I delete it. Sometimes I do that two or three times just to vent.

Something to note is that you do not want to wait too long to reply. Every minute you leave the review unanswered, someone else could be reading it--and noting your absence.

Re-read the negative review or comment.

Okay now that you have had a minute to breathe, revisit the comment. Don't get mad again. Just take it in and...

Investigate the situation.

Find out if there is any merit in the complaint--no matter how frustrated you are. You need to understand the source of the problem and also if you need to resolve it. Sometimes firing a customer is necessary, but you need to know the difference between a customer you have to let go and a customer you should fight for.

Even if you determine that you won't fight to keep that customer's business, you still need to reply to the comment or review. So once you investigate the claims, you should...

Determine what information cannot or should not be shared.

In certain industries, you cannot reveal pretty much any information. Coming from the industries I do, I have a deep sympathy for you. When someone complains about your property managers evicting them, we cannot divulge how long it has been since they paid their rent or how much grace we'd given them.

So, trust me, I get the frustration.

But determining what you can or cannot share in public does help you develop a tactful, respectable response, so you can...

Apologize (unless it will make you legally liable).

I know, I know. They are wrong. But grin and bear it. Apologize...unless it could get you in legal trouble. A way around that is apologizing that they had that experience--without sounding trite.

But most importantly...

Make the person feel heard.

This is especially important if this is not a customer you are going to fire, and also conveys to future customers that you are taking note on your clients' experiences.

It also goes a long way with the angry client or customer.

A little trick here... And how I managed to get several angry clients to return to a company the following year... Let them know you will be addressing this concern in a company-wide training (if you have that option), because it is absolutely unacceptable they had that experience.

But here's the kicker: whatever you say... do it.

If you say you are going to let the owner or your manager know, then let them know. Make sure you are reporting.

If you have the power to address it in a training... Do it. Or make sure the person responsible for assembling the training has the information to go over in the customer service portion.

The last thing you want to do is be dishonest.

But ultimately you want to...

Offer a solution.

If there is something you can do to rectify the situation, do it.

If you are an employer, please allow your customer service reps or social media managers--whoever is responsible for replying to these comments and reviews--some form of freedom in what they can offer these people. Maybe it's a discount, refund, or free product.

Whatever it is, offer it. Unless you are firing the client, but even then you should consider offering it. Again, this is for the future viewer--not the commenter.

And lastly...

TAKE THE CONVERSATION OFF SOCIAL MEDIA.

This is perhaps the most crucial piece of information in this article, because some people just want to complain. But we don't want them to have a whole conversation on our page about how they dislike us.

So we need to offer them a way to vent to us off social media and away from public eyes.

If you have not already, set up an email (or dedicate someone's email to) specifically receive customer complaints or inquiries. You should probably not call it "complainers@yourcompany.com", but Customer Service or Public Relations always looks nice.

This is, of course, depending on the size of your company and the frequency you receive these comments.

Replying to negative reviews is an art, so practice it!

Ultimately, if you are going to be the one replying to negative reviews and comments on your social media, you should practice how you are going to respond. Perhaps draft up a few responses that you can mold to fit different scenarios (try to avoid blanket responses).

Remember to act with grace and show off your best customer service!