7 Ways to Handle Bad Reviews

Nowadays, customers, clients, guests, and visitors tend to post reviews online about what they have observed and what they experienced in a particular service given by a company. Though some of the reviews may not be about a positive customer feedback, all of it is vital for the improvement of the company and to let them know what they must do to meet the satisfaction level of their customers.

Some companies have a review system that they have mandated and maintained in their management as part of their improvement steps. These companies who knew the importance of gathering positive reviews in a review form must as well know about why a negative review is also an important tool for their progress. Negative reviews may seem to drag down a company’s reputation but these words will allow the company to properly exercise their teamwork and the effectiveness of how they will handle the pressure provided by their clients and competitors. Listed below are the seven known ways of dealing with negative and bad reviews for a company:

• Acknowledge and contact the reviewer. One section of a review form will require the contact information of the person giving the review. This information is to enable the company in reaching out to the reviewer and engage him or his ideas for the improvement and success of the company. By being able to reach out and acknowledge the review of a client, the company will be able to protect themselves from the client’s accusations about their products and services.

• Negotiate and explain the plan. A negative review will be seen by many especially if this was posted online, therefore, as part of the company management, you must negotiate with the client on how he can cooperate with you and the company. If the client aims for a proper and legal settlement in terms of his unsatisfied client feedback and review, you might as well consider constructing a cooperation agreement for all the involved parties. This way, the client will know that your company is serious about serving their customers rights and giving corrective actions for a solution.

• Keep calm and state facts. Regardless if you are being burned out by the day’s work and that the client just added up another set of burden to your duties, you must stay calm, respectful, state facts, and be graceful in front of the client. by showing this type of professionalism, the client will not be fearful of being honest with his statements and will likely give you the proper details of why he was angry about the service. You should also categorize the review of your clients whether it is about a service or product complaint to properly address a resolution in an efficient manner.

• Take it confidentially. Talking and receiving a negative review from the customer should be done with full assurance that the reviews will not be publicized or will not be created to ruin your an employee’s life. When things seem to go out of hand, a confidentiality agreement may be used to state the terms and agree with the client that the review and improvement process will not be turned to the public or the media. You may also set up a review form which does not require the client’s identification or will allow the client to skip the area for stating his name in order to let the client choose his protection. This anonymity often allows more clients to give a review since they feel more protected rather than posting their names on site which can be a reason for them to hide and not attend meetings for conducting a resolution.

• Monitor and track. The negotiation and agreement are not the end process of handling a negative review since the management must contact the client again to know whether his satisfaction was met. Also, the company management must track their steps as an assurance that they will not be receiving similar negative reviews in the near future. Having a review tracking form or system will aid the company to properly state the information of their clients and the associated reviews that the clients’ have provided.

• Understand and improve. The process of improving the services of a company will demand the use of an effective action plan for all the involved employees and the management. The plan will deal with addressing the needs, suggestions, comments, and ideas of their clients and how the management can mandate the plans to their everyday responsibilities. Every review from a client must be taken with full significance and should not be disregarded as these people are the reasons why the company continues to live and run the business.

• Encourage reviews. When the review process and improvements were met by the company, the clients and customers should know that their thoughts are still vital even though these are about dissatisfaction. However, not only the clients will have to give out their reviews, feedback, and their ideas, but also the employees in the company. With the aid of a proper and appropriate employee review form, the employees will be able to state their suggestions for their management. These reviews may also be held anonymous and should state adequate objectives and reasons to supply all the necessary information.

Aside from the products and services provided by the management, a review form may also be used whenever there are possible employee appraisals and renewing of contracts. Specifically, an employee appraisal review form will be used by an employer or the manager of the employee to determine if an appraisal will be appropriate for the employee’s performance. A contract review form, on the other hand, will check the areas of a contract and will aid the involved parties to know whether there are any glitches which need to be fixed and if there are specific agreements which demand to be changed.

However, regardless of the review form type that anyone will use, honesty and professionalism must be observed to promote a better understanding of the parties and to assure that needs are met using a proper resolution.