Handling Negative Online Reviews:
Online reviews can make or break a business. I had a situation where a negative fb review was getting a lot of attention and comments on my Facebook, but by addressing the issue openly and profession...
Forum Discussion
We've got a combined 201 reviews between Facebook and Google. Unfortunately, our customer experience occasionally falls short, resulting in a negative review. I utilize ChatGPT to keep the review concise and professional. Usually, a negative review is due to something we just couldn't work out with the customer, despite trying to make concessions, offer discounts, and resolve before it gets to that point. I'm so invested at that point that it's hard to maintain professionalism and not just air the whole back and forth and show the world what a difficult piece of work the client was.
- Respond promptly and politely
- I apologize for the negative experience
- Address the issue and that we are taking steps to prevent that in the future
- Offer to take further communication offline
Usually, this is the type of response I provide. To be honest, I judge other businesses' responses to a negative review - if they respond professionally and promptly, they're a company I would feel comfortable doing business with, despite a negative review.
I like the suggestion of using ChatGPT it helps take the emotion out of the response. It's so hard to read the negative reviews and not feel like EVERYTHING is crashing down.