How to Respond to Bad Reviews That Are Wrong on Facebook

Online reviews on sites similar Google, Facebook, Yelp, and Tripadvisor requite people a way to share their experiences non only with businesses but with fellow consumers, also.

Consumers rely on these reviews in order to notice great products, services, and brands. This makes information technology extremely important for companies to learn how to respond to negative reviews, especially in situations where these reviews might impairment their brand reputation.

• 94% of consumers say that a bad review has convinced them to avoid a business.
• 53% of customers expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a calendar week. But 63% say that a business has never responded to their review.
• 45% of consumers say they're more than likely to visit a business concern that responds to negative reviews.

The takeaway: respond to negative reviews before they bulldoze your customers abroad. Practice this and consumer perceptions immediately amend, making it more than likely that people volition come up and visit your business organization locations.

As for what to do with positive or neutral reviews — aye, they also warrant a response. Think of information technology every bit an opportunity to reinforce and spotlight the things customers already love most your company. (Not to mention, it's the polite thing to do.) For tips on what to practise with positive feedback, read our guide on Positive Review Response Examples for Any Make.

Need help navigating the frequently treacherous waters of negative online reviews?

To help yous respond to reviews better, we looked at 200,000 review responses in the ReviewTrackers database, harnessed our ain natural language processing engineering, and combined these responses' best features to come upward with powerful examples and templates you tin utilize to respond to negative reviews you lot may have received.

In addition to the templates, nosotros scoured the Internet for nifty real-life examples of companies that know how to answer to negative reviews.

Downloaded the report? How to Interpret Your Reputation Score

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

Responding to negative reviews is hard. Bad reviews hurt and sometimes they can be downright cruel.

While it's natural to get upset well-nigh your negative reviews, information technology'due south of import non to lose your cool or feel like retaliating. In many cases, it'southward wise to step away from the keyboard, then that your emotions don't dictate what you're going to write in your response to the review. Be sure to get yourself to a calm mental state first, so that you can reply in a professional manner.

Here's a template that you tin use to learn how to answer to negative reviews:

Honey [Proper name OF REVIEWER], thanks for sharing your feedback. We're sad your feel didn't match your expectations. It was an uncommon case and we'll exercise better in the future.

Please feel gratuitous to accomplish out to [INSERT CONTACT Data] with any further comments, concerns, or suggestions yous wish to share. We would dear to make things correct if y'all give us some other chance.

Plain, how yous respond to negative reviews will vary from situation to situation, merely think of the in a higher place template every bit an all-purpose one. Information technology's a slap-up starting indicate that can serve as the foundation for a great response.

Let'due south pause this down further by examining what's oft said when companies respond to negative and positive reviews.

While businesses do apologize, it'due south merely a relatively minor part of the response (13%). Why? Because it can sometimes come across as unprofessional to be overly apologetic.

Instead, brands focus on their commitment to service, customer experience direction , and "next steps" (due east.g., how a consumer tin contact them directly).

The template above applies a number of the best practices in responding to negative reviews.

Best Practice ane: Accost the Reviewer

Your customers want to be heard individually and addressed personally. So don't forget your salutations and, if possible, avert the generic "Beloved guest," or "Dear client."

Co-ordinate to online reviews statistics, 76% of all reviews are either Google reviews or Facebook reviews. This means you can usually go the name of the reviewer and employ it every bit a mode to farther personalize your response.

Best Practice two: Say Thanks

Show customers that your company appreciates and values candid unsolicited feedback . Always remember to say thanks in responses to reviews (fifty-fifty the bad ones).

Here are some variations where saying "give thanks you lot" goes a long fashion:

"Thank y'all for your review. I'm pitiful to hear you had a frustrating experience, simply I really appreciate you lot bringing this effect to my attention."

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We're sorry you had a bad experience. We'll strive to do meliorate. "

"Thank you for letting united states know about this. Your feedback helps the states practise better. We are looking into this issue and hope to resolve it promptly and accurately."

Best Practice iii: Apologize and Sympathize

Saying deplorable shows that you care near your customers and that you're non too proud to own upwards to your mistakes.

Even if it's not your fault, say sorry anyway. This is a neat opportunity to establish and strengthen trust betwixt your company or brand and the customer. Besides, people often become turned off by brands that are too perfect or besides proud to repent.

Only like the residuum of the response, keep your apologies short and sugariness:

"We apologize that our service did non satisfy your expectations."

"We're and then deplorable that your experience did non lucifer your expectations. This is on us."

"Nosotros set a high standard for ourselves, and we're then distressing to hear this was not met in your interaction with our business."

Best Do four: Take Responsibility

Don't make excuses. Even if what happened was an uncommon instance, an isolated instance, an unfortunate incident, an off day — acknowledge the customer'due south experience. At the same time, provide reassurance that you hold yourself to high standards.

Some things you tin say:

"I'1000 so sorry. We're usually known for our exceptional attending to item, and we regret that we missed the mark."

"Nosotros e'er aim to deliver a great experience, and nosotros are gutted when we don't come across expectations. Cheers for taking the time to bring this to our attention. We will employ the feedback to make us better and to ensure this doesn't happen again."

"Cheers for posting a review and nosotros're sorry to hear that your experience was non upward to standards. Nosotros would similar the opportunity to talk and investigate your feedback farther."

Best Practice 5: Make Things Right

When dealing with negative feedback, try to avert cookie-cutter responses that practice not resolve or address any specific bug raised in the review.

Include details about the customer's experience in your response (when relevant), and communicate any changes or improvements you accept fabricated or will make as a result of their feedback.

If there'southward cipher you can exercise to fix what happened, here'south a compelling way to respond to the reviewer, take ownership, and hope to make things right in the future:

"I apologize on behalf of anybody at [Visitor Proper noun]. Please know that your state of affairs was an exception. Every bit you tin come across on other reviews, we are known for taking ownership and caring deeply virtually our customers. We tin can't gear up the past simply y'all have my personal delivery to improve the style our staff serves every client. Until then, please accept my sincerest apologies on behalf of anybody on the team."

Best Do half dozen: Take the Issue Offline

It's always all-time for you and your customer to talk directly most the trouble they had and take the issue offline. This saves any farther embarrassment on your side of the result and prevents interference from outside sources. For this reason, yous should provide direct contact data for customers in your review response.

Hither are some things you can say:

"We would like the opportunity to investigate your feedback farther. Please could you contact me at [Email Address] or call our team at [Telephone Number]? We'll piece of work with you to resolve any issues every bit chop-chop every bit possible."

"We are pitiful that your experience at [Company Name] didn't quite match your expectations. We would love to know why, and so that we can evangelize a meliorate experience next fourth dimension. Yous may reach us anytime at [Email Address] or [Phone Number]. Once again, thank you for your feedback!"

All-time Practise 7: Enquire for A Second Chance

Don't slam the door on negative reviewers. Instead, extend a (digital) hand. Invite them to come back and when they do, welcome them with open arms.

Not simply does this create an opportunity for you to change the chat; it too establishes confidence in your ability to deliver an feel worth raving (instead of ranting) almost.

Some things you lot can say:

"Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention. I'm very pitiful we failed to see your expectations. I would appreciate another chance to earn your business. Please telephone call me or enquire for me adjacent time you're at [Company Name]."

Existent-World Examples of How to Respond to Negative Reviews

There isn't ane perfect mode to answer to a negative review. The fact that numerous brands have found unlike means to create dandy review responses show the opportunities bachelor to winning dorsum unhappy customers. As you read each example, find that they use a number of the best practices listed to a higher place.

Responding to a Negative Eating place Review

Restaurateurs know that succulent food doesn't always guarantee a 5-star review. Take notes from this heartfelt response to a review that commented on other aspects of the dining experience.

Why it works: In the response, the restaurateur acknowledges that the guest's experience "could've been better." The response also offers ways to deliver a ameliorate or more than satisfactory feel side by side time — while keeping the tone polite and professional. Also, past highlighting the upstairs seating, the response not just offers a solution to this diner, simply as well offers a tip to prospective diners who may be reading this review in the future.

Responding to a Negative Hotel Review

When a loyal customer expressed her disappointment with her anniversary stay at the Stamford Plaza in Brisbane, executive assistant manager Dale John wrote a pitch-perfect response.

Why information technology works: The response addressed the reviewer and started with a "thanks." It was too very specific about the customer'southward experience and provided detailed information on how the hotel planned to resolve certain issues and maintain its standards.

Responding to a Negative Healthcare Review

For healthcare providers, information technology'southward a little bit trickier to craft responses to negative patient reviews .

With the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is designed to safeguard patients' health data, healthcare marketers must exist able to respond without referring to any specifics about medical care or the patient's identity, which could be construed as "patient data."

You can read more than here on how to craft HIPAA-compliant review responses , simply here's a great example in action:

Why information technology works: The review response addresses specific problems without breaking confidentiality. It also communicates the provider'due south concrete programme to make things correct. ("We recently hired a consultant…")

The response likewise wisely offers to take the conversation offline — demonstrating the provider'southward genuine desire to engage with the patient and solve the trouble.

Responding to a Negative Financial Services Review

Negative reviews can also hit banks and financial services providers. By replying ASAP, you tin minimize the possibility of other potential clients existence swayed by the original reviewer'southward experience.

Why it works: This review response feels sincere instead of defensive. Sometimes, simply thanking the customer for their unsolicited feedback and apologizing tin go a long way. Have note, once more, of the offer to take things offline and talk over the issue privately.

Responding to a Negative Review of a Veterinary Clinic

Here's another instance of how to answer to negative reviews. This time, it'due south from a veterinary dispensary, a business organization in an manufacture in which emotions tin can run high, especially in times of a pet's health crisis.

Why it works: Pet owners tin exist extremely vocal and opinionated. There will always be people who are going to be convinced that their vets are simply "in it for the money" and don't really care about the welfare of their animals. In response to the negative Facebook review, Forest Grove Veterinarian Clinic posted a classy reply that highlighted the company's values while likewise straight addressing the customer'due south feel.

Travel and Hospitality Negative Review Response Example

JetBlue Airways' Twitter account serves as one of the company'due south main customer service channels. When a customer named Esaí Vélez complained (politely) nigh his backseat Idiot box not working, JetBlue responded within minutes.

Why information technology works: The swiftness with which JetBlue responded is impressive. While it'south a response to a tweet instead of to a review, the brusk respond finer displays sympathy while likewise offering a solution (or at least a genuine endeavour to make amends).

Says all-time-selling author and customer service skilful Chip Bell: "In the customer's listen the clock starts when he or she posts a negative review, and your reputation drops with every hour you delay providing a response. Bad reviews that remain unanswered point to other customers you are disinterested. It also fuels the perception that the negative report by an aroused customer was probably accurate."

(More) All-time Practices When Responding to Negative Reviews

With templates and examples in paw, it's fourth dimension to put your own review response programme into action. Before solidifying your own response methodology, it'southward important to proceed three things in listen.

1. Answer in a Timely Manner

Co-ordinate to customer reviews data: 53.3% of customers who have written reviews expect a response in vii days or less. That'southward a short time frame, especially for busy executives and teams who have a lot on their plate managing other things to keep the business concern operating.

With a reputation management software platform like ReviewTrackers, you can set up review alerts and then y'all are notified of new reviews as they come in. Also, yous definitely don't want to be manually logging in and out of business concern review sites — so utilizing a comprehensive review response tool may be useful when handling multiple pieces of feedback.

Remember: the clock begins ticking one time reviews are posted, and customers are waiting to hear back from yous.

2. Assign Buying of the Procedure

Information technology's important to identify people in your arrangement who will exist directly involved with online review management and with responding to bad reviews. This tin exist catchy because online reviews live at the intersection of marketing, operations, social media, and client service: there are plenty of stakeholders at this stage.

Typically speaking, we meet that co-operative or location managers, marketing teams, employees who monitor social reviews, and client service staff are the people who are put in charge of review responses.

Whoever steps upward every bit the head of your review response programme should empathize the guidelines of each review site, transform the collected feedback into valuable insights for your company, and — perhaps most important of all — brandish the right tact needed to address complaints and correspond the brand well.

Read more: Brand Management Skills: How to Be a Adept Brand Manager

3. Create a Review Response Policy

If your company operates in multiple locations, chances are more than one person volition be assigned to respond directly to online reviews.

This makes information technology crucial to accept an organization-broad policy that guides your visitor on how to respond to negative reviews every bit well every bit positive ones.

Your policy should encompass things similar what language and tone you should utilize, what the timeline is for getting back to customers, with whom the reviews will be shared in your organization, when practise escalations become necessary, what the ideal response rate is, and other items that may bear upon how your company handles reviews.

How to Reply to Neutral Reviews (3-Star)

As you might expect, neutral reviews usually combine positive comments with negative feedback — which means that yous'll accept to accept what you tin can from the sections above and determine review response techniques virtually applicative to your state of affairs.

Frequently, however, neutral reviews are brief and lack details. They happen because customers don't feel strongly enough either way to describe their experience in great detail.

If that is the example, here's an advisable way to respond to neutral reviews:

Dear [CUSTOMER NAME], cheers for your review. We would love to hear more almost your feel, so that we can use your valuable feedback to deliver an even meliorate experience next time. Please accomplish out to [CONTACT INFORMATION] with whatever farther comments or suggestions yous wish to share. Again, thank you lot for taking the time to review our business!

With a template in mind, you should turn your attention to the details that make a smashing neutral review response in the eyes of the customer.

All-time Practice ane: Equally E'er, Say Thank You

Before you write out the residuum of your neutral review response, kickoff the correct way by showing appreciation for the time the customer took to write the review.

Best Practise ii: Reinforce the Positive

If the iii-star review contains positive feedback, be sure to call attention to it by mentioning information technology in your response: "Nosotros're glad to hear that the quality of our product matched your expectations."

Even if the review includes a critical annotate, beginning your response with an affirmation of the review's positive aspects. (Research shows that readers are more likely to absorb ideas in the showtime 100 words of a text block.)

Best Practice iii: Address the Negative

If you receive a neutral review with negative feedback, acknowledge the specific bug the customer had with their feel. Y'all may as well event a brusque amends and provide a brief caption of what happened.

Best Practise 4: Take It Offline for More Details

If y'all're asking the customer for more details, practice so with the intention of taking it offline. That way, you lot can investigate the situation more thoroughly while preventing details of a possible negative experience from condign public. This is besides a dandy customer experience management tactic.

You tin can say something to the effect of:

"Your business means a lot to united states, and then if y'all ever have additional feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out via [your contact information]."

Examples of How to Respond to Neutral Reviews

Many brands excel at responding to positive and negative reviews, and at that place are a select few that nosotros found that proficiently navigated the tightrope of responding to a neutral review.

Take a expect below and meet why these companies succeeded in their responses.

Responding to a Neutral Review of a Salon

Kréme de la Kréme Nail Lounge is the recipient of numerous positive reviews on Yelp. Angela T., the business possessor, takes the time out to thank Yelpers who put in these good words for her.

When this neutral review came along, Angela responded with:

Why information technology works: Her review response reinforces the positive ("So glad you enjoyed the cupcakes and liked our jewelry…"), while too providing information that's useful to the customer who wondered about the price, also as to readers of the review who might exist curious why the nail salon's prices are slightly higher than that of her competitors.

The response also gives an idea of the great lengths the business goes to in order to provide quality services and products.

Responding to a Neutral Restaurant Review

Etta in Chicago received this three-star review on Yelp, and what followed was an ideal response, penned by general director Adam Scholten:

Why it works: Like the review itself, the response is short and simple. Adam thanked the client for his honesty, but besides expressed his eagerness to investigate the affair further and so that the restaurant can deliver a better dining experience next time.

Read more: Eating place Reputation Management in v Steps

Responding to a Neutral Retail Review

Another good example of how to handle a mixed or neutral review is from Joseph D., the owner of Flowers for Dreams in Chicago.

Why it works: The review response takes responsibleness for an uncommon instance in which the blossom arrangement ordered by the customer kind of differed from the system delivered.

Joseph was quick to apologize, explaining that the product the customer received was not upwards to the business' usual quality standards. His response concluded with an invitation to privately talk over the matter in more detail and an offer to brand things right for the client.

How to Reply to Employee Reviews

Crucial to the success and growth of whatever organization is its ability to attract and retain the best talent. That'due south why it's so important for your leadership and Hour teams to embrace — instead of fearfulness — online reviews and public employee feedback posted online.

Responding to negative reviews on Glassdoor and Indeed tin can assistance a company ameliorate its online reputation, build a strong employer brand , and concenter more prospective employees in the future.

It'due south also an essential part of every successful employee retention strategy.

Consider these employer brand stats :

• 83% of candidates are probable to check a company's employee reviews and ratings when deciding on where to apply for a job.
• 84% of task seekers say that the reputation of a company every bit an employer is very important when making a decision on where to apply for a job.

Companies that respond to employee reviews provide job candidates with an extra measure out of reassurance, especially when they meet that you, as an employer, are active on employee review sites.

Past responding to employee reviews, you can support your employer brand monitoring strategy, drive appointment with employees, and back up efforts to improve the overall employee experience. Here'southward how to practise it properly.

Best Practice 1: Reply in a Timely and Organized Manner

The starting time stride to responding to reviews posted by employees is developing an organized style to do and then. Timeliness is crucial: whether it is one time a week or in one case a month, notice a cadency that works for your team'due south bandwidth.

Best Practice ii: Show Your Appreciation

When responding to employee reviews, make it a priority to give thanks the reviewer, regardless of whether they're singing your praises or highlighting areas for comeback.

All-time Practice iii: Respond Professionally and with Authenticity

The strongest responses to employee reviews show respect for the reviewer past addressing feedback in a manner that's professional person and authentic.

Best Practise 4: Take Action

Correct whatsoever organizational problems discussed in online reviews posted by your employees. Past using their reviews to improve the employee feel, you can build not but a strong employer brand simply besides a happier and more than productive workforce.

All-time Practice 5: Ask for More Feedback

Asking for more details can be tricky when you're dealing with employee reviews — which are anonymous on a site like Glassdoor. Yous'll want to respect that anonymity and encourage the reviewer to give individual feedback to your HR squad.

For example, an employee may experience comfortable offering negative feedback almost their boss while on Glassdoor, but not in person. Direct them to your Hr team then that you can get more details about their experience, just make certain they besides feel comfy.

Real-World Examples of How to Respond to Employee Reviews

The best responses to employee reviews are able to highlight or reinforce the positives, capitalizing on the opportunity to show how potent the employer brand is. Check out this instance from Genentech:

Equally you can see in the response, Genentech elaborates on the positive aspects of the review, noting, "We are delighted to hear that you value the efforts we have put toward creating an environment where everyone at Genentech can thrive."

The response too addresses the negative concerns, only not earlier showing appreciation for the positive feedback.

Hither's some other case, which comes from DocuSign:

Why it works: It'due south a short, simple response that shows appreciation for the time the employee took to write the review. DocuSign actually does this for every review posted on their Glassdoor profile, demonstrating that the company cares about its employees and their experience working there.

The key to responding finer to negative employee reviews is to acknowledge and try to empathize the individual employee experience. Doing then tin can even benefit your organisation, resulting in improved employee satisfaction and plentiful wins for your business.

In the example above, WillowTree doesn't sweep the rather hard concerns under the rug by ignoring the employee's comments. The response specifically addresses problematic areas brought upwardly and discusses what is being done to remedy them.

Read more than:The Complete Guide to Employer Branding

How to Respond to Reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook

Learning how to answer to negative reviews and taking part in customer conversations can take a very real and measurable effect on your business.

Keep in heed, nevertheless, that every single review site will have its own set of rules, terms, or guidelines for review responses. Make sure that the person assigned to respond to your reviews is enlightened of these rules.

How to Answer to Google Reviews

Reviews on Google show upwards in two places: Google Search and Google Maps.

To respond to Google reviews , you must be logged into your Google My Business (GMB) account (at present called Google Business organization Profile Director). From your GMB account, click the Reviews tab.

You tin click on the "Reply" button below each review to formulate a response. Based on the current Google review policy , you tin can also edit your response if it has a typographical error or inaccurate data, just try to keep those mistakes to a minimum.

Keep in mind that customers are told when a business responds to their online review on Google via email notifications. The business' response is published immediately and the email notification is sent to the customer 5 minutes afterward. The 5-minute delay allows the business to edit or make whatever corrections to their response later initial submission.

Businesses will exist notified of any new Google reviews that come in through their GMB notifications. Withal, it'southward important to note that brands with over 100 locations don't receive Google review alerts.

How to Respond to Yelp Reviews

You can answer to your Yelp Business organisation reviews through the Yelp for Business Owners page . Make sure y'all accept already claimed your business page on the site earlier getting started with responding to reviews.

To see your Yelp reviews using Yelp for Business Owners, simply log in and click the Reviews tab.

Apart from reading each individual review, you'll also be able to answer to your Yelp reviews with a public comment or a straight bulletin. Or you can simply press the Thank button to show your appreciation for customers who took the time to review your business on Yelp.

You tin can find these response options nether each individual review.

How to Reply to Facebook Reviews

Facebook reviews are activated past default when y'all create a business Page.

Any review, whether or non information technology includes additional text feedback, appears similar a post in the Reviews or Recommendations section. Y'all can reply to Facebook reviews and Recommendations the same way you can respond to comments on your Facebook Page or through your Facebook Business organization Director account.

Should You Respond to Every Single Review?

What is the platonic response rate? Should your business concern respond to every single review that comes in?

The short answer is: it depends. There are many factors y'all should take into consideration.

Call up About the Review Sites that Matter to Y'all

Not all concern review sites volition be highly relevant to your business. Understanding which sites are nigh impactful given your industry or business category volition assist yous determine the value of the reviews.

Hoteliers and hospitality executives, for example, should definitely have a plan in place for how to respond to Tripadvisor reviews . Restaurants, meanwhile, should respond to Yelp reviews besides as feedback on other popular restaurant review sites . For local businesses of all types, information technology makes sense to focus on responding to Google reviews .

Do your homework and become familiar with the most popular reviews for your blazon of business, and make it a priority to reply to those reviews.

Don't Reply for the Sake of Responding

Don't respond if you're just going to write the same generic "Thank y'all" bulletin  for, say, two dozen positive reviews. Take the time to personalize your responses and make them unique.

This also ensures that your responses will come across individual review sites' guidelines. For example, some sites (Booking.com, for case) don't approve of identical responses.

If you're responding to negative reviews, do and then to provide residue and limited your viewpoint in a positive style. Don't respond to arraign customers. Remember: how you respond to a negative review says more near your business than the negative review itself.

Take Your Review Volume into Business relationship

If yous take just four or five reviews on your profile, it'due south best to respond to every single one of them. However, you don't take to aim for the same 100% response rate if yous're consistently getting dozens or hundreds of reviews across multiple review sites.

Ratings-only reviews or comments that are v or half-dozen words long are not likely to brand a big impact on your online reputation. When deciding which reviews go a response, choose the detailed feedback that lend themselves to informative, expanded responses. You tin can utilise these types of reviews every bit opportunities to drive client date, also as highlight the strengths of your business concern.

Concluding Thoughts

Online reviews influence the manner customers think nigh your business.

Go on in mind that your reputation is shaped non only by what you say virtually the business organisation but likewise — and probably by and large — by what customers are proverb on online review websites.

While this may make you feel like you have fiddling command over how potential customers perceive your make, you tin can however actively participate in improving your online reputation. One of the best ways to practise then is by responding to your reviews.

By responding to positive, negative, and neutral reviews and past applying the best practices and examples outlined above, you lot tin make a positive impact on your brand reputation and even heave financial outcomes.

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Source: https://www.reviewtrackers.com/guides/examples-responding-reviews/