They Said What About You? How to Respond to Negative Online Reviews

Every day, countless consumers flock to the web, social media and online review sites such as Yelp to comment on the businesses they visit and use. Countless more visit these sites to find top rated companies and determine whether or not to use them for their service needs.

While most will sing your fleet’s praises, at some point, a customer will have a complaint. Unfortunately, it can have a negative impact on your business. In fact, a Google study revealed that 67 percent of users are influenced by online reviews when making a purchase.

That means nearly 7 out of 10 customers will research and judge your business without any interaction with your company. You could be losing customers without even knowing it.

But don’t worry! A negative review is also an opportunity for you to address an issue or a concern. It’s also an opportunity for you to showcase your top notch customer service and win back a customer. Good customer service can really make or break a business.

So what should you do when you see a not so glowing review? Take action with these four steps:

  1. Respond, don’t react – Take a deep breath. Maybe two or three. If someone comes at you full force, the last thing you need to do is fight fire with fire. While it’s vital that you reply in a timely manner, take time to research the issue first and determine where things went off track. Once you have all the facts, jump online to respond.
  2. Thank your customer – Right out of the gate, thank your customer for bringing the issue to your attention. After all, they could have opted to simply never do business with you again.If your research shows that you’re in the wrong, apologize for the specific issue they mentioned in their review. If you were unable to find a cause, thank your customer and see if you can have an offline conversation with them so you can gather more information to address the issue properly.
  3. Reiterate your company values – The tenets of your business are likely along the line of providing on-time service, quality work and a great customer experience. When replying to a review, be sure to express your company’s values and that you stand for nothing but the best for your customers.
  4. Ask for a second chance – Whether you were at fault or not, make sure they know that you want to make things right. If there was an issue with the work done, offer to fix it. If there was an issue with time or billing, invite them to get in touch with you via direct message to discuss their account and other sensitive information privately.

Even a simple, “I hope you’ll give us a second chance to provide you with amazing service” can go a long way to winning back a customer.

Most importantly, don’t ignore these reviews or delete negative comments on social media. Unless the language they use is abusive or offensive, deleting can ignite all new problems. Be kind, be appreciative and utilize best-in-class tools and services to ensure your customer experience is seamless.

Need help with your fleet management and tracking?

Learn about FleetLocate and how it can help your fleet business. Spireon’s Fleetlocate can take your business to the next level with its many features from fleet tracking to driver safety to fuel costs and more. Contact us today for a free demo.

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