How to respond to online complaints

It can feel like a personal attack when customers criticize your company in online forums such as Yelp, Trip Advisor, or even on Twitter. Our first impulse might be to fight back by writing a scathing response that sets the record straight on their so-called “facts” and tells the rest of the world this person is an idiot. While this approach may feel cathartic, it will probably do more harm than good.

Here’s a better way to handle online complaints:

First, take a deep breath

Your priority should be preserving your business’s public image. Trading barbs with a customer in an online forum generally has the opposite effect, so it’s best to give yourself a moment to calm down before responding.

Patrick Maguire’s I’m Your Server, Not Your Servant blog recently featured an incendiary restaurant review, an equally incendiary response from the owner, and a follow-up interview with both the reviewer and the restaurant owner. It’s fascinating to gain a better understanding of both parties’ point of view, but it’s also interesting to note that the majority of the commenters felt both were in the wrong. (Read the post here.)

In an example of a worst case scenario, a bookstore owner infamously found herself arrested on battery charges after she confronted a reviewer in person (Read the article in Inc. Magazine). The ensuing press coverage, with article titles like “Angry store owner assaults Yelp reviewer,” was far more damaging to her business than a single reviewer giving the store two stars.

Second, respond strategically

When you respond to an online complaint, you’re not just responding to the complainer; you’re responding to anyone who reads your response. With this in mind, your goal should be to send a message that your business cares about service and you are eager to address any shortcomings.

Here are three tips that consistently work:

1. Respond quickly
2. Assure the reviewer (and anyone else who is reading) that you want to help.
3. Provide a way for the reviewer to contact you privately so you can attempt to resolve their issue.

This approach works whether the complaint is written by a legitimate customer or a jealous competitor who is trying to hurt your business. Either way, it sends a signal to other readers that you are responsive, professional, and care about your customers. You won't win over a vitriolic jerk, but you will win over people who might otherwise have been persuaded to stay away from your business.

Third, look for the hidden truth

Nearly every complaint contains some kernel of truth that you can use to improve service. That’s not to say that you have to agree with everything the person writes about your business, but what if their complaint is really just the tip of the iceberg? Perhaps other people feel the same way, but haven’t voiced their opinion yet. Even worse, they may have just stopped doing business with you. (See more on avoiding icebergs.)

When you think of it that way, someone flaming your business online might actually be doing you a favor. For example, the bookstore owner might have noticed that her critics consistently mentioned that the store was messy and in need of a good cleaning. Even some of the positive reviews agreed that the store could be better organized. Rather than getting defensive, a smart business owner might have taken a day to thoroughly clean and reorganize her store. She could have then responded to all of the Yelp reviewers to thank them for their feedback and invite them to come back for a grand re-opening.

For more information, check out my whitepaper on engaging customers via social media or get a copy of Micah Solomon's outstanding book, High-tech, High-touch Customer Service.

Three things small business owners need to know about Yelp

What do you think of Yelp? Some business owners love it while others hate it. But like it or not, your customers are using consumer rating sites like Yelp to make decisions about your business. They’re filling out their own customer service surveys for the world to see, and other customers are deciding whether or not to give your business a try on the strength of those reviews.

If you are a small business owner, you should understand three things about Yelp.

#1 Yelp Drives Business
I was recently chatting about Yelp with Tara Julian, the owner of Hair Play, while she gave me a haircut. She mentioned that if you Google “best men’s haircut in San Diego” the first search result directs you to a Yelp page with Hair Play Salon at the very top. Tara joked that she didn’t know if she truly gave the best men’s haircut in town, but she knew she did a good job and works hard to take good care of her clients. Yelp was how I had found Hair Play myself, and I’ve certainly found Tara deserving of the five star rating so many clients have given.

Good reviews drive business. A 2011 study by Michael Luca at the Harvard Business School estimates that a one star increase in a Yelp rating generates a 5 – 9% increase in revenue for a small restaurant. (Read the study here.) While his study was limited to restaurants, consumers turn to Yelp to decide where to get their hair cut, find a garage door repair service (thanks Up and Down Garage Doors!), or find a housekeeping service (thanks Pure Cleaning Agency!).

What’s the best way to earn good reviews on Yelp? Make sure you consistently take great care of your customers. Which leads to #2…

#2 Yelp Provides Feedback
The beauty and bane of Yelp is the unvarnished, public feedback that customers post alongside their reviews. Some business owners feel that people only write reviews on Yelp to complain or support their friends’ businesses, but in between the flowery praise or angry rants are often some very useful points of feedback. Look at the most consistent comments made about your business, both good and bad, and you’ll see a fairly accurate picture of what your company looks like through your customers’ eyes.

For example, if you look carefully at the comments reviewers have made about Pure Cleaning Agency, you’ll notice people who give them great reviews tend to really like the person who cleans their home. My wife and I are definitely in this boat and have relied on the same terrific house keeper for a couple of years. The bad reviews are typically written by someone who had a bad experience on their first visit. Clearly, success at Pure is linked to making a positive first impression.

What’s the best way to use customer feedback? Act on it! Which leads to #3…

#3 Yelp Can Help Solve Problems
Feedback that consistently points to a similar problem should prompt small business owners to make necessary improvements to improve service. For example, Pure may want to look for ways to make sure the first visit with each new customer is spectacular. If this is their achilles heel, then getting better in this area will help them convert more first-time customers into long-term fans.

Individual reviews can also provide an opportunity to rectify specific customer service issues. Yelp allows business owners to respond to customer comments, and savvy owners take advantage of this feature. A best practice is to reply to an upset customer, apologize for their poor experience, and offer to contact them privately to discuss a solution. One caveat here – avoid turning a customer service response into a customer confrontation. It’s always bad to argue with a customer, but it really looks bad when that argument takes place via a website that’s accessible to the public.

Yelpiquette suggestions for customer reviews

Yelp is a great resource for customer reviews on everything from restaurants to dry cleaners. I often turn to Yelp for suggestions and sometimes post a review myself. It's a great tool but some of the reviews are just plain outrageous.

Some of these outrageous reviews include inflammatory insults, vulgar language, and reviewers that readily mix facts with fiction. Inc. recently ran a great article called You've Been Yelped that gave an inside look at how small business owners handle Yelp reviews. It profiled one business owner who found herself on the wrong side of assault charges after confronting a reviewer at his home.

My current social media experiment shows that rude and crude reviews aren't confined to Yelp. The exchanges on many companies' Facebook pages could peel paint and make babies cry. It's truly amazing what people will say in a public forum.

It's OK to be a critic, but I have a few Yelpiquette suggestions for making your reviews both useful and fair. There's also an old, but good, discussion on the Yelp website.

#1. Be constructive

A good review should help others make a decision about whether or not to visit the business. If you feel the urge to write something negative, make sure you explain why you are down on the establishment so others will know what to avoid. Some good Yelpers make it a personal policy to visit a place twice before giving a negative review just so they are level-headed when giving their take.  It's offensive to see someone describe a multinational organization as being "a group of Nazis" because one employee was having a bad day.

#2. Be civil

Dowsing a business in the flames of your profane prose may feel like sweet revenge for a bad experience, but other people will be reading your review. A vulgar reviewer generally looks worse than the business reviewed. Try to write as if you were sharing the feedback face to face with the business owner. This will soften your tone a bit and your reviews will become much more useful to others.

#3 Make friends with facts

Someone recently reviewed my local barbershop. They wrote about the convenient location, the good haircut, and the nice touch of having a brief shoulder massage at the end. Then they went on to complain about the $20 price and gave it one star. One small problem -- haircuts only cost $12 here. Get your facts straight if you are going to write a review, especially a negative one.

I hope you do Yelp or find other ways to share your feedback so others can benefit. In the meantime, here are a few of my recent reviews: http://jtoister.yelp.com

Recent reviews by Jeff T.

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Yelping for joy in Beantown

My wife, Sally, and I have just returned from our vacation in Boston. In a town not known for service, our experiences were generally terrific. Even American Airlines, which I alternate between loving and hating, treated us very well and handled a weather-related flight delay admirably. The question I always like to ask is, "What can we learn?" Here are a few of my favorite take-aways.

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