This is a question that I have to deal with more often than I ever expected. The businesses that I do business with are family-friendly and strive for excellence. But.... there will always be a bad review. Even if you do everything right. Something will go wrong and someone will be having a bad day. This article if from a marketing company that deals with restaurants, specifically (which in my experience, have a greater likelyhood for getting a bad review than anyone else as there are so many factors that go into the dining experience). What DO you do when you get a scathing review?
In today’s age people like to hear about a place before they try it. Big review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google+, and Facebook have allowed their platforms to be the sounding boards of the internet where people can see all reviews at the click of a button. Most business owners view review sites as the enemy. However, they aren’t! In the past year about 75% of reviews that have come through our system are positive reviews.
You want to embrace your online reviews and encourage your customer to write reviews about your establishment. This way when the negative review that does come in the other 25% of the time does come in you have a nice cushioning of positive reviews behind it. These negative reviews are bound to come in at one time or another as the world does not operate perfectly and we as humans are bound to have off days. So in preparation for this we suggest you do the following 4 things to help combat the negativity that is posted about you.
Claim Your Profiles
You want to claim all of your profiles. Let’s face it, the world can be a cruel and harsh place. Last thing you want is a negative review you can’t respond to… or even worse your competitor claiming your place and marking it as permanently closed. Not saying they will but coming from a company that has seen it happen, it can and you want to be prepared. Each platform has either a contact email or phone number in which you can get in touch with their representatives to help you claim all pages.
Address the Pain Points
When addressing a negative review you want the customer to know you heard their concerns and issues (even if you do not agree with them). If there is a valid reason you do certain business practices and feel the customer will gain insight feel free to write it, but do not make it look like an ‘excuse’. The last thing a person with a bad experience wants to hear is an ‘excuse’ as to why they had a bad experience.
Be Brief and Polite
Being too wordy gives you more ‘rope to hang yourself with’. Be brief, address the pain points and apologize where needed. Always ‘thank’ the customer for their feedback even if it is negative. Responses like ‘we encourage feedback’, ‘we cannot fix what we don’t know is broken’ and ‘your feedback will help us become better’ show the customer that you truly care about your business and how people perceive your restaurant.
Offer a Solution
Solutions should always be made off-line. Meaning you should never offer a giveaway or freebie of any sorts on a public forum. This will help promote more negative feedback in hopes of getting something free. This is something we do not want! Kindly let the customer know to contact you at the business so you can gain more clarity and insight on the situation. When the customers calls is when you can offer them something for their less than stellar visit.
The long of the short - do not ignore, do not give away something free (publically) for negative publicity, and ask your happy customers to review you!