Hmm, those negative reviews… Dealing with negative reviews is a part of every business. The important thing to do is to be as thoughtful and honest as possible in your response without making it personal or nasty.
The top mistake, by far, that we see many pet care businesses make is getting defensive about a bad review they have received. Take this example: “OK, so we’re not perfect. What did you expect? We’re running a dog boarding facility after all!” That doesn’t help the reviewer feel like their issue was addressed at all! In fact, it shifts the focus from the issue that they felt they had (or still have) to your displeasure with being asked to fix something wrong (and probably makes them less likely to want to return).
You must realize and remember that most people are not writing reviews to damage your business intentionally. We all make mistakes, and the reviewer is typically just trying to get their issue resolved or warn other potential customers about what they experienced. So stay positive (but honest) in your response! The key thing is to answer every single review left for you with a thoughtful response, no matter how bad it was.
Reviewers tend to be more forgiving of businesses that acknowledge their negative feedback and actively work on improving themselves rather than sticking their heads in the sand and hoping it will go away. So we’re talking about an average increase of 39% in the likelihood that a customer will return after a positive follow-up with a negative review! This is huge!
In the same vein as the previous point, it’s important to be honest, and specific when answering bad reviews. Avoid rambling or vague replies that don’t really solve anything. There are two things that reviewers like to see when they read your response:
- An effort by you to make things right for them
- A good explanation about how you plan on preventing this from happening in the future
Again, honesty is key here; if there was a lack of cleanliness at your facility, saying “We’re doing our best” isn’t going to cut it. Be specific and own up to your mistakes!
Lastly, it’s imperative (and a big plus to your business) to get people excited about returning after they’ve had an issue. Don’t just say “we’re sorry” and leave them hanging, unsure of whether or not they’ll even come back again! If you plan on writing a response that includes an apology, make sure that the reviewer has been assured that their issues will be taken care of and won’t be present for any future visits.
The key is to talk about how you can be open, honest, and willing to make it right for the customer when it applies.