Tips on dealing with bad reviews
t’s never been so easy for consumers to post reviews. Many online websites — Yelp, Facebook, Better Business Bureau, etc. — a have pages or sections dedicated specifically to reviews and many businesses encourage their customers to post reviews or rate a business.
Whether good, mediocre or bad — yes, even bad — reviews can heighten a company’s profile within the community, according to Vanessa Castillo, a small business analyst and social media consultant with the Arizona Western College Small Business Development Center. She recently hosted a lunchtime networking event focused on “How to Handle Reviews.”
It’s always a good idea for business owners and managers to type
IWITH CELLPHONES, NOW
in their business name in a search engine and see what customers are saying.
When reading a bad review, a business owner or manager might be tempted to respond right away, but an insulting or sarcastic response made impulsively can be more damaging than the original bad review, Castillo noted. Sometimes it’s better to stay silent and the bad review is eventually buried by other reviews, hopefully better ones.
And sometimes a review is just plain unreasonable. In these cases, readers can often tell the reviewer is being unreasonable. This is an example of when silence speaks volumes.
Just be aware that people hate being ignored, and they might go on the warpath, SBDC Director hat if a customer has an issue or dispute with a business? Can a consumer do more than post a bad review?
Janet Torricellas, regional director of the Yuma Campus BBB, explained that consumers have two options: filing a complaint against the business or posting a review on the company’s BBB profile page, which may contain both positive and negative reviews. However, consumers have to choose one or the other; they can’t do both.
Torricellas noted that now more than ever people are getting accustomed to writing reviews. And
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