What to do if you receive a bad review that isn’t true?

You stumble upon a review that someone complains and says bad things about you and your business.  Some of which, may not be true.  So what would you do if you receive a bad review that may not be true?  This is a tough question a lot of businesses are finding nowadays, especially online.

Reviews are a great way for a business to determine how they are doing and to better reach out to their customers or clients.  There are different methods on handling reviews.  Some, just let them aloneand learn from what the customer ways, others actually engage.  Which do you think is the best?  Easy question right?  Engaging is the best thing to do when monitoring online reviews and comments about your business.  So, when someone gives you a bad review, engaging them would be the best choice.  Don’t just let it blow over, for then other customers or potential customers will have a bad idea about your business.  Though, time consuming this may become, this not only helps your reputation but also shows true quality about your business.

Scenario:

Honest Review.

Say Johnny Apple Tree writes that your service stunk like a skunk and gave you a poor 2 stars out of 5.  You think, “this usually isn’t true!  We have great services!”  So, you will then engage the customer, apologize for any inconvenience and reach out to the customer.  Acknowledge that there might of been a mistake and generally is not the case. Be honest with the customer and be honest with yourself.  Embrase the negativity from consumers for they usually have too input about how your business is doing.  This is a great opportunity to grow and become better.

False Review.

Say Johnny Apple Tree Jr. writes a that “your product is not what is advertised and that you were unwilling to fix it and that your business is a fraud.”  What a joke right?  Say this review is not true.  You advertised the product correctly, no fraud and if this person did exist, you were definitely willing to fix the product.  Engage the customer and give your point of view.  Do not view as defensive and attack the customer.  Honestly respond what happened on your end, and would like to try to fix the problem again.

Don’t Lie.

If you have one bad review and you respond with a lie, and other bad reviews start popping up, then obviously there really is something wrong with your business.  Don’t lie to customers and make promises you can’t make.  If you are doing something wrong, embrase  it and make your business better.