How Do You Respond to a Bad Customer Review?

When a customer leaves you a bad review, it can be really difficult to respond to. 

You may have had good intentions and done everything in your power to make them happy, but sometimes things just don't work out. Reading the review may bring up feelings of anger or embarrassment. However, responding poorly will only hurt your business more than if you did not say anything at all! In this blog post, we'll give you some tips on how to handle bad customer reviews with grace and professionalism so that they don't leave too much damage behind.

• Tip #01: Don't get defensive. It's understandable to feel angry and frustrated when reading a bad review, but taking that anger out on the customer won't make anything better. Take time to let yourself cool off before responding with kindness and respect so you can come across in the best way possible.
  
  
• Tip #02: Respond quickly! Customer reviews happen at different times throughout the day, depending on what part of the world they are from (or if it is late at night), which means some will be published sooner than others. If your reviewer left their email address or other contact information, consider sending them an email early rather than waiting for everyone else's response so they know you care about solving any problems together!
  
  
• Tip #03: Take the time to read the full review. Sometimes a customer will post just one sentence about how you're not good and never respond again, but in many cases (especially when it comes to restaurants), they have more than one thing that needs addressing!
  
  
• Tip #04: Responding with humor is always ok - use this as an opportunity for self-deprecation or a witty comeback if possible.
  
  
• Tip #05: If customers are complaining about bad service, ask them what type of experience they were expecting -- perhaps some communication could've gone wrong somewhere along the way?
  
  
• Tip #06: When all else fails, send your favorite gift card and a note from Customer Service! This can be anything from their favorite restaurant's loyalty program points to their favorite store's gift card to their favorite coffee or tea.
  
  
• Tip #07: Let your customers know how they can provide feedback - be sure to include the contact information for your customer service or support team.
  
  
• Tip #08: If you have a partnership with another company that makes sense, send them an email and ask if they could offer something as well!
  
  
• Tip #09: You can also reach out to the company's social media team and ask for help with your review response - they may have had a customer service experience that went really well or know of other ways you can respond.
  
  
• Tip #10: Pacify a bad customer review through a small gift card or coupon.
  
  
• Tip #11: Acknowledge their feedback, and be sure to apologize for the inconvenience they experienced.
  
  

These tips are helpful for responding to a bad customer review. Share them with your team so that next time you have a bad customer review, your team has the right tools to respond.

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