Before a customer decides to pick your automotive shop to service their vehicle, chances are they are reading your online reviews to see what others have to say about their experiences. Negative reviews are pretty much inevitable – especially in the automotive industry – because, as the old saying goes: “You can’t please everyone.” Negative reviews present opportunities to both improve your business and show that although you realize you can’t please everyone, you will not stop trying to do so!
So, you get a negative review on Google, Yelp or another review site…now what do you do? Responding to the review is important, but doing so in a tactful way can be an art. Here are three tips to help get you started.
3 Tips for Responding to Negative Google Reviews
1. Keep Your Cool
Do not justify a negative review with an angry, accusatory response. No one enjoys getting a negative review, but responding in a diplomatic way is really important. Take a deep breath, gather any information you need to help you in your response and then approach the situation with a calm, cool and collected attitude. Keep in mind that everyone can see your response, and they’re probably reading it. Show your potential customers that you will work tirelessly to make sure they have good experiences and that you value and can learn from your customers’ feedback.
2. Keep It Short
You do not have to write a novel when responding to negative reviews. Keep in mind that people would rather read something concise than a long, detailed account of “what really happened.” In addition, when the response goes into too much detail, it is easy to come across as defensive. Acknowledge the customer’s complaint, outline the steps you’ve gone through to resolve the issue, and then offer to take the conversation offline if the customer has further concerns.
3. Learn From the Review and Move On
Reviews – good and bad – are direct feedback from your customers, which means you should take what they say seriously and use them to help improve your business. Handle the concerns a customer raises in a review as thoroughly as possible, and then move on. Dwelling on the negative review is not going to make it go away, which is why responding to it in a constructive way is so important.
In Conclusion…
Reviews can be extremely helpful to both potential customers and to you as a business owner, so make sure your responses will show people why they should choose your shop. Using these tips should help you to craft well thought out, constructive responses to negative reviews so your shop can continually improve and grow.
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