Responding to Negative Reviews

How to respond to negative reviews

Even the world’s best technicians get the occasional bad review; it’s just part of doing business. The trick is knowing how to respond. Many small business owners assume that negative reviews are always bad for business, but in reality, they’re a unique opportunity to show your humility, responsiveness, and loyalty to the customer. When done right, responding to a negative review can actually have very positive effects. The experts at Podium have provided a step-by-step guide for business owners to use when responding to negative reviews.

1. Apologise

There are few things more difficult than admitting you’ve stuffed up and apologising, but by apologising you show your customers that you care about their experience and listen to their feedback.

2.Stay calm

The worst thing you can do is let your emotions take over. Something said in the heat of the moment can ruin your reputation for life. Take a pause and come back to the review with a clear head.

3. Offer a solution

Even more important than the apology is offering to fix the problem. Show that you’ve really put some thought into the solution, rather than simply cutting and pasting a response. Cutand-paste answers reek of inauthenticity.

4. Offer to speak privately

Finally, you should offer to speak to them privately and refer them to someone who can fix the situation. This doesn’t mean you’re hiding something, it’s just easier to communicate over phone or text than going back and forth in a review platform. It’s as simple as that. Podium highly recommend responding to any negative reviews, rather than ignoring them. They point out that 51% of Australian consumers say a business’ response to reviews has changed their perspective of the business. It is also always worth responding to positive reviews, too, and asking your happy customers to leave you a review online. The best time to ask is usually at the completion of a job, when the customer is most pleased with your hard work. A tool like Podium’s reviews solution will make this even easier, but asking for a review is always the best starting point. For a full free eGuide to handling negative reviews in any circumstances, check out https://tinyurl.com/negativeintopositive

World Plumbing Day Colouring Competition

Our colouring competition was a fun way to educate kids about the importance of plumbing

Congratulations to our three winners! Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry for their wonderful work.