How to turn a bad review around?

It’s the silly season and when things get a bit crazy it’s hard to be perfect all the time.

So you got a bad review! Can anything be done?

Well you could go down route of trying to get it removed, or you could just write a response.

Look at these two examples to the same review.

“I recently took my children to get their Santa photo taken at your mall and was very disappointed with the service. The young staff were dismissive and rude; getting a santa photo is expensive exercise and I walked away feeling really ripped off”.

Response 1: 

Thank you for your comments however this is an extremely busy time of year, what do you expect 5 star service for you and your brood. There are lots of places to get Santa photos taken, next year go elsewhere.

Response two: 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Getting a santa photo is one of the joys of Christmas, so it’s disappointing to hear we didn’t offer you a great experience. I’ll talk to my staff and relay the feedback and come up with some changes to enhance the experience for everyone.

How did each response make you feel?

The first response makes you feel angry; however if you run a Santa photo booth at Christmas you’ll probably be empathetic, but the vast majority of people don’t, and they will feel taken aback at the abrupt comments. Their empathy is for the reviewer.

The second response, takes the negative comments and deflates them. The issue is acknowledged, the response is empathetic. It doesn’t offer compentsation or gush with remorse; it doesn’t launch into how the young staff are to blame. A simple acknowledgement that it was disappointing, that expectations were not meet and some actions to how they might improve the service for everyone.

Why the Santa example? 

As an accommodation owner you have a different experience to reviews that the average joe bloggs.  You’re like the person who also runs a santa photo booth. Your natural empathy is towards the person receiving the review, because you understand their frustrations and experiences.  This response is however not as the average customer sees it; they side more naturally with the reviewer, because again this is persona who is most similar to them.

How to respond to negative comments

When you get a bad review, the best possible action is to respond, but beware that your response can inflame or deflate the review. Write what you want to say on a piece of paper –  leave it overnight and bin it  in the morning, then write the polite response that’s required.

It’s not as satisifying, but it’s the right call for your business.

Need help with a tricky response. Send it to us!

Sometimes you just don’t know what to say. We’d be happy to help write a response for you, just send your tricky review to keepusbusy@fossick.com