As a customer, I almost always read a company’s responses to reviews — especially negative ones. And quite often it’s not just whether they reply, but how they do it.
A thoughtful response can really win me over, while a generic or rude one does the opposite.
I get that replying to every review takes time. But if it can cost you clients, maybe it’s worth it.
Do you reply to reviews?
How do you handle replies in your business — and has it made a difference?
As a customer, has a company’s reply ever changed how you feel about them?
Both really. me as a customer would feel like the business cared about their customers and products. as a business it helps to know where thing are great and where improvements are needed
That’s a good point, Teri. I’ve been wondering how people handle short positive reviews like “Great service!” Sometimes it feels like replying to everything could get a bit repetitive, unless there’s some creative spin on it
If you only respond to negative ones, it just looks like you’re trying to justify yourself.
It’s also important to address negative reviews, especially if they contain untrue information.
You have to correct that immediately.
The only way to counter negative reviews is to ensure that positive ones outweigh the negative ones. So, actively collect positive reviews from your customers. A high overall average rating will then make the negative ones less noticeable.
There’s always a reason why someone gives a company a very bad review. Many people don’t realize that this can permanently damage the company’s reputation, which is often unfair.
Because these negative reviews don’t just disappear on their own.
And I agree, oftentimes negative reviews are not constructive, or worse still, flat-out false. So you as a business owner have to make things clear. And how you do it can actually either win over new customers, or push them away.
Has anyone here had a situation where responding to a bad review actually turned things around? For a customer or for your reputation overall?
This. Sometimes it’s better to leave a review unanswered rather than post a generic or defensive reply. I don’t say that a client is always right (most of the time they’re not), but a good company ought to take the high road and stay empathetic and professional.
Can’t come up with a specific example, but there definitely were situations when companies’ replies came across as off-putting.
I believe that true business is a lot like relationships. It takes efforts, good people skills, respect, but also boundaries. Negative feedback is not always intended to be rude, but can also be constructive. I actually don’t even tell people to like and subscribe, since I want others to be my judge and decide for themselves. I only offer, but not expect. I believe we all need to earn our followers.
So in my opinion, rude responses to negative reviews indicate to me that there may have been too high of expectations, whereas I don’t believe it is always meant to be personal when people disapprove. I think it’s common that people strive for too much success too quickly, without first preparing for possible disappointments. But if there was a hateful review, in which the criticism goes overboard, then I agree it is okay to set boundaries and say, “You are allowed to disagree with me, but I cannot help you if you are going to talk to me this way.”
Also, it’s off topic, but review systems can be tricky, since it is also common that they are fabricated. Not all, but many. A former website, FakeSpot, could detect whether or not negative reviews were removed from common websites, or if the reviews were fabricated altogether, but the website discontinued because of lack of fundings.
@Prevalent_Arts love this perspective, especially the idea of treating reviews more like relationships.
I also like your point about boundaries. It’s easy to say “always be polite”, but in reality some reviews do cross the line. It feels like that’s where things get tricky as sometimes a “perfectly polite” reply doesn’t even feel right in those situations.
Absolutely. I believe in still being polite, but not necessarily to just give people what they want in all situations. If a person’s negative feedback sounds constructive and just offering honesty, then I will offer understanding in return. But if they are just gonna put down, then I have to take care of myself as well by setting a limit.
Most if not all people want to know that they have been heard or read in this case. A thoughtful response without adding to the message can build trust if it is not the same boiler plate. “Your review has been read, thank you.” There are always exceptions and at times a need to elaborate, but for me most of the time less is more.
At Sotena.co we set up responding agents for all of our clients profiles. The AI responds to both positive and negative reviews in the tone and voice of the business and you’re super important to respond to them. It reinforces their decision to work with you and deeper review and increases the likelihood of getting referrals from those individuals that are actually leaving the review
As a highly rated notary public business in brampton, ontario www.mymobilenotary.ca responding to negative reviews is essential. We occassionally come across competitor created fake reviews that google does not remove, so we make sure to address the vagueness, the genuinie care of who is reporting the review and how we can improve our service, even if it is a fake review (most of them are). This tells clients that we are taking accoutntability for a potenial gap in high level service, and adresses the issues of the client, even if they are not a real client.
