Online reviews make it easy to complain, but often, a personal touch will result in a better outcome. Image: File.
I’ve worked in communications and marketing for well over a decade, and the bane of my existence has been dealing with negative online reviews.
Unsurprisingly, people are far more likely to go to the effort of leaving a review on Google or social media if they’re angry than if they’re pleased, and most often, the issues they raise could have been dealt with had they raised them in person at the time.
I’ve helped numerous small business owners over the years in a wide range of industries, and the impact of negative reviews on their businesses and their personal well-being can be considerable – it’s natural to feel defensive and frustrated when you haven’t had the opportunity to respond directly.
My advice is always the same: respond on whatever platform the review was left on and ask the reviewer to get in touch to discuss. They never do get in touch, but the worst thing a business can do is ignore a bad review or reply defensively.
My experience with reviews from a marketing perspective has influenced my own behaviour when it comes to leaving reviews – I will never post a negative review unless I’ve tried to raise the issue directly and the business hasn’t engaged or provided a reasonable solution.
I will never leave a negative review on a gig economy app for rideshare or delivery services. Why? Because the workers are already being paid poorly and reliant on an inconsistent income, I certainly don’t want to make things worse by complaining that my food was cold when it arrived or that the car aircon was too cold.
The one exception to this is safety-related concerns – if I’m in an Uber and the driver is making me feel uncomfortable or unsafe, I’ll report it to the app.
I feel that the ability to review services online, with the distance of the screen between you and the human impact of your actions, means it’s easy to lash out without considering communicating directly. To me, it’s all part of the same culture that drives online trolling and bullying. The customer isn’t always right, and there can be any number of reasons why something goes wrong when you’re receiving a service – businesses can only rectify issues if they’re alerted to them at the time.
But plenty of people disagree with my approach – the flip side to negative reviews is that they can force accountability and also offer other potential customers insight to inform their decision-making.
With the economy the way it is, and the cost of doing business taking a toll not just financially for business owners, but mentally, I’d prefer to approach issues with kindness before potentially damaging a business’ reputation. Am I in the minority here?
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