Yep, it happened to us. And we didn’t see it coming. So, this leads me to say what my dad used to say when I was young: “Do as I say, not as I do,” and then he’d laugh heartily.
So now, it’s my turn to laugh, because well, you have to laugh at yourself.
I say we got a review because we are a team, and while that is always true, this review was all Leah. And the response I wrote was all Leah. I own it. You can read the review and my response…and then how the reviewer edited his review in reply to my response here…sigh.
I told a friend how I did exactly what I tell customers not to do which is to reply while still feeling the emotion of receiving the review. And he said, “well why don’t you go back and change your response?” And I said that I wouldn’t because it would be inauthentic.
I think it would be an okay time to insert one of my favorite quotes by Walt Whitman: “I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.”
Let us not forget in all the craziness, in our polarized opinion-saturated culture, that we are all human. Can we hold our opinions and beliefs lightly enough to not only laugh at ourselves but to allow others to have different opinions? The only way to truly be free, is to allow the entire universe to be free as well.
Okay, okay, that was little bit of a soliloquy…back to the topic at hand. Here are some recommended best practices when it comes to responding to bad online reviews…for the record.
- Assess and evaluate internally first
- Publicly respond to the review
- Appreciate the feedback
- Stay positive
- Take the time to show you care
- Empathize and offer solutions
Do you want assistance with your online reviews? We help with that! No, really we do and we’re actually pretty good at it!
