How to respond to negative reviews

Negative reviews can be an opportunity to showcase your customer service skills and prove that you are taking customer feedback seriously. Believe it or not, the same premise applies to negative review response as it does to positive reviews – responding quickly, thoughtfully and respectfully can help build trust and loyalty with your customers.



Negative reviews can provide valuable insights into the areas of your business that need improvement, allowing you to make changes that will benefit all of your customers. Responding promptly and professionally to negative reviews is key in ensuring that customers feel heard and respected.

1. Apologize and sympathize

Responding to negative reviews can be a difficult task for businesses, but it is an essential part of customer service. Apologizing and sympathizing with customers is the best way to show them that you care about their experience and are willing to make things right.



It can be hard to know how to respond in a way that shows empathy and understanding, but there are some tips that can help. Apologize sincerely for the customer's bad experience, acknowledge their feelings, and let them know what steps you're taking to fix the issue. Additionally, sympathize with them by showing understanding of their point of view.

2. Promote

So the famous crab cakes weren’t up to par the day this particular customer visited. If they’re what you are known for, why not reiterate that? “Our crab cakes are usually a hit, we’re sorry to hear that they weren’t up to par when you visited!”

3. Move the conversation offline

It is inevitable that at some point, your business will receive some negative reviews. While it can be tempting to respond to these reviews quickly and try to defend your business, it is important to remember that the best way to handle these situations is by moving the conversation offline.



By moving the conversation offline, you can ensure that you are able to provide a more personalized response and address any concerns or issues that the customer may have. This allows you to take control of the situation and provide a more tailored response. Additionally, this gives you an opportunity to improve customer satisfaction and build relationships with customers over time.

4. Keep it simple

Avoid specifics and don’t ask questions. Those conversations are much better served in a space away from the prying public.

Pro Tip:

Negative reviews can be a major setback for any business. As a business owner, you want to make sure that your negative reviews are not visible to the public.

One way of doing this is by leaving out your business name, location and category from your online reviews. This will help ensure that the negative reviews don't show up in search engine results and can help protect your reputation.