How to Respond to a Negative Review That Has Been Left on an Online Review Site

If you haven't had the pleasure of starting your day to a negative online review, just give it a little time.  Eventually, you'll get one.  So, when you do, you'll want to have a strategy on how to respond to a negative review that has been left on a third party review site.

The old saying goes, "You can't please all the people all the time."  No matter how hard you try, you're always going to have someone that is not happy with their experience.  At times, it may be because of a failure of you or the staff.  At other times, you may have delivered exceptional service and value, but they just aren't happy.  Let's be honest here - no matter what you do or say, there are some that will never be happy.

It's Easy to Write an Online Review

There are now many third party online review sites.  There are large search and social sites like Google or Facebook.  There are more local sites like Insider Pages or Merchant Circle.  There are also niche specific sites such as Vitals and HealthGrades.  In all, there are hundreds of third party online review sites available for the consumer to leave a review.

With such a wide variety of sites, you can see how it can be easy for an angry patient or client to quickly vent their frustrations online.  Like it or not, frustrated or angry consumers will commonly post their feelings on a review site.

84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation

How to Respond to a Negative Review

When a negative review is placed on an online review site, there are several things that you can do to lessen the effect. Remember, many others may read this review and how you respond can make a huge influence on their decisions.  In addition, most negative reviews will not be taken down by the third party site unless they have violated the sites terms in some way.

These are the steps you may take.

• You should have one person who is responsible for responding to all reviews.  Multiple people responding to a negative review can turn out to be a disaster.
• Take time to cool down before responding to any negative review.  It is not a good idea to respond to a negative review while your mind is not clear.
• Decide if it is better to place a response to the review online or to contact the reviewer directly.  The decision to contact the reviewer is for two main reasons.
  1. To learn from and hopefully repair the problem.  In some cases, the reviewer will remove the review themselves.
  2.  To prevent the reviewers anger to continue to grow, causing them to post negative reviews on other review sites.
• When responding to a negative review, never respond with more anger.  That will almost always result in further problems.
• Write your responses with thoughtful understanding.  
• Healthcare providers are subject to HIPAA rules.  This means that you should respond generically and without acknowledging that the individual was a patient or disclosing any information that may be linked to the patient.
• Do not go back and forth with your responses.  On occasion, the reviewer may write a reply in response to your reply.  Do not get baited into a "he said - she said" situation.  The goal is that any discussions should be taken offline.
• If you are uncertain about a legal issue being involved with this negative review, contact your attorney before you make any reply.

Negative reviews can be a double edged sword.  They can be a wonderful learning experience to improve any problems that you may have in your business.  However, they can also linger out there and discourage others from seeking your services.

Online reviews are not going away.  They are now part of the consumers experience and decision making process.  Don't shy away from them.  Embrace them and develop a better business through them.