We live in a world where our society has a voice: we have the right to talk, take pictures, interact with others and create positive or negative buzz about experiences with businesses we patronize.
It is a reality that some people just want to complain. No matter how perfect your business is, regardless of how amazing your customer service is, you will still encounter less-than-complimentary reviews from time to time. Unfortunately, negative feedback that you don’t deserve. Don’t take it personally, though. The reviewer is only responding about their experience with your business just as they would with any other. It is definitely is not a reflection of you as a person.
Use these tips to handle negative comments and reviews the best way possible on Social Media like Yelp and Facebook:
- Always keep calm. Avoid a screaming virtual match even if the review is completely wrong. It is expected for you to feel angry and even defeated, but you have to remain professional and remain above any negativity. If you think a review violates Yelp’s term of service, you can flag it for evaluation by their support team.
- The good thing about Yelp is that they give you the option to respond to a user either publicly, or privately. After a bad review, it is a good idea to first upload a public reply and send the reviewer a private message separately. Personal greeting and an apology can supplement a thoughtful public response for everyone else. Through this, you can minimize the fallout from a bad review by being calm and considerate while still making an effort to show goodwill to the reviewer.
- Do better business, and the public will notice. Despite the unavoidable negative reviews, providing quality service or products is the mark of a truly world class business. Be consistent and active in reading and responding to every review as it will provide you insights on how well your product or service resonates with your customers.
It is a given fact that Yelp can sway the opinion of the online community toward your business, yet don’t be offended once you get a negative review. The key to enduring negative reviews is just to remain professional, be attentive to your customers, and learn from their feedback. Every company has to deal with negative comments; you are not alone.