Negative reviews happen to every business. They can bring about frustration, anger, and sometimes tears. The negative review could be from a current customer or even a competitor that is hiding under a fake name. Whatever the situation, it is time to take action to not let that negative review tarnish your reputation!
When potential customers Google your business, they are looking for bad reviews because they want to see if they can trust your business or not. When that bad review comes in, the very first thing you can do to salvage your reputation is to respond.
1. Respond to the review
Absolutely respond to the review, but try to avoid getting emotional and arguing with the customer. It’s hard to win an argument with a frustrated customer, so try to turn things around for them. Remember, everyone can see your response! Here is an example of an appropriate response:
Hi Sam. Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry you did not have a good experience. We appreciate you coming by and want to hear more from you. Please email us at [your email] so we can get more detail. Have a great day.
2. Figure out if there is authenticity in the review
It could be a competitor or an ex that is trying to wreck your company. Do a check and see if this person is someone who has actually visited your business. Luckily, if the reviewer is fake, there are steps that can be taken to get it removed from your page.
Go to your Google My Business profile and click the reviews tab. Find the review and click the three dots on the right. Choose flag as inappropriate.
Report the review but make sure that you have responded to it as there will be some delay.
Choose this post contains conflicts of interest and click submit.