When the one star shows up on Google, my heart sinks every single time. I start thinking of what I did wrong, and shame and embarrassment settle in. Then I read the review and found that the customer didn’t read the instructions on the bag. They thawed out the pierogi first before boiling them. In all caps, the front of the bag says, ‘DO NOT THAW,’ and the customer proceeded to thaw first before cooking. What in the world!!! Then, my shame turns into frustration.

I know the feeling all too well because I experienced that multiple times.

The real question is, how do I respond to that review?

Other times, we truly did mess up. We need to fix what we did wrong. How do you do that properly and how do you respond?

How to Respond to Negative Reviews as a Business

Different responses are needed for different types of reviews. Some will need an apology, while others need a quick ‘thank you.’ Here are some ways to respond.

Apologize.

Let’s face some facts. We are human and make mistakes. Sometimes, we may have served a customer wrong, or your staff did, and the customer will give you a negative review. Some will tell you personally, and others will find a need to write that negative review.

Reply with an apology below the review and offer to fix the problem in that response. Make this public, as the customer was also vocal about the problem. This will tell others that your business will meet the customer’s needs and do everything it takes to fix the issue.

Reply Later.

If you have a negative review that is full of anger and maybe even unfair, wait to reply. Why? When we respond immediately, our emotions can get in the way, and we will try to defend ourselves. Instead, we want to make sure we don’t miss what the customer is trying to say.

Ask yourself several questions by taking the feelings out of the picture and looking at the facts.

Are there any points this person makes that we can make small improvements in the company?

Are there any points that need to be ignored, and are they just preferences? Those are not services you offer; they’re just opinions, and that’s okay.

Once you have analyzed the review, lead your response by always thanking the customer first. Then, follow up by fixing any issues as needed. Ask customers for feedback on how you can make it better for them next time. This may be valuable to you as customers may have good ideas for solving the problem.

Choose not to respond. 

Sometimes not responding is the best response you can give.

I ran a pierogi business, and during the holidays, we sold out of pierogi pretty quickly. Some days, we had hundreds left, and others, we ran out by 2 p.m. There was no way of guessing what would sell and how many pierogi were needed for the day. We did our best to ensure we had enough.

One of the reviews we received was from an unhappy customer who didn’t receive vegan pierogi that day when our hot bar had sold out. I could not do anything about it as we were extremely busy and could not physically meet the demands of all the customers in the shop. I offered the customer a second solution to their problem, which they did not want. I remember explaining what was happening in person to the customer, but they were unwilling to understand. They proceeded to write a review. In the review, the customer sounded like a 3-year-old who didn’t get their lollipop at the bank. The review explained itself without my response.

Moments like those when you know you did everything you could to keep customers happy, there is nothing you need to do with that review.

Solve the Problem.

When you receive a negative review or comment, solve the problem at hand with compensation. There are four ways to do this:

• Refund

Do this when the customer already brought their item home. It wasn’t what they expected and it is not working for them. Some items, like food, are not returnable, so a simple refund is sufficient for them.

• Offer a gift card

This is a great option if your customer is in front of you and you would like to compensate for their wasted time or just go above and beyond for the mistake made.

• Apologize

Sometimes all we can offer is a simple apology. Customers will not want anything from you because they do not plan to return. Acknowledging the mistake is all you can offer.

• Offer free item

It is easy to miss something in a food order, especially if you are really busy. Often, at our pierogi shop, we offer a free drink, cookie, or extra pierogi with the customer’s meal. Typically, the customer does not expect that and is very happy to get to taste another item on the menu.

About Negative Reviews

One of the biggest impacts on small businesses is negative reviews; unfortunately, we can not avoid them. I wish the negative reviews people write could be fixed in person, or customers would just write a simple email, and we could solve the problem that way. Most negative reviews are an easy fix from the owner, and we are willing to do that in a civil manner.

I appreciate customers who contact me personally and let me know of an issue. That way, others don’t experience that same issue. This would be a better solution than making it public and ruining the company’s ratings, which are inaccurate representations of who we are.

We can only do our best to improve our company ratings, and hopefully, using one of the above concepts will help eliminate some negative responses.

Coaching

After 8 years of owning my own company and walking through seasons of pain, success, loss, and motherhood simultaneously, my experience has brought me to what I do today. I want to help other small businesses succeed and not do it alone.

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