How to respond to negative reviews

The reply is for the next customer

The person who left a one-star review may never come back. That is fine. Your reply is really written for the next customer reading it, who is trying to decide whether one bad experience is a pattern or a bad day. A calm, specific, human answer tells them it was a bad day and that you care.

A structure that works

• Thank them for the feedback, plainly.
• Acknowledge the specific thing that went wrong, so it does not read as a template.
• Apologise where it is warranted, without excuses.
• Offer to make it right and move the detail off the public thread.
• Keep it short. Two or three sentences is usually enough.

Avoid

We are sorry you did not have a great experience. We pride ourselves on excellent service and this is not typical. Please contact us.

Better

Thanks for telling us, Sam. A 25-minute wait at lunch is not the experience we want, and I am sorry. We have added a second person to the counter on weekday lunches. If you are open to it, email me at owner@example.com and I will make your next visit right.

Example replies for common situations

Slow service

I am sorry the service was slow on Saturday, Priya. That is on us, not you. We were short-staffed and have changed the weekend roster so it does not happen again. Thank you for the honest feedback.

Wrong order

Getting your order wrong is frustrating and I am sorry we did. We have retrained the team on double-checking tickets at handoff. Please reach out at hello@example.com so we can put it right.

Unfair or mistaken review

Thank you for the feedback. We take this seriously, but we do not have a record of a visit matching this - we may have been confused with another business. If you were with us, please contact us at hello@example.com so we can look into it properly.

What to avoid

• Arguing or trying to win. You will not, and everyone can see it.
• Sharing private details about the customer or their visit.
• Copy-pasting the same generic line onto every review.
• Offering discounts in public, which invites more complaints for coupons.
• Emojis on Yelp replies, which its system can reject.

Keep reading

How to respond to Google reviews, Which reviews need your attention, RapportIQ pricing