People turn rude when confronted with negative comments or adverse criticisms on social media – little realizing that getting angry is not going to serve any purpose. Instead, what is called for a is a well-conceived reputation management plan to ward off negative feedback.
In this age of the internet, it is easy for any dissatisfied customer or disgruntled past employee or just any unscrupulous mischief-monger to pose adverse comments. It is true that the negative feedback affects us all, regardless what profession or business we’re in.
If you are a business owner, negative feedback, especially once it hits the web, can be ruinous to the survival of your business. However, what is called for is deft handling of the situation.
Adopt a courteous approach and contact the person that has posted the adverse remarks and solve the problem and request him/her to withdraw the negative criticisms. Surveys reveal that in more than 85 % of the cases the person will withdraw the adverse remarks.
If the complaint/criticism is genuine, it is your responsibility to offer redress measures. If the complaint is authentic and the person is inconsolably annoyed, there is no harm in publicly tendering an apology. This will send the right signals that you care for your customer and take their grievances seriously.
The one golden rule is never ignored negative comments as the longer they are available on social media, the greater and more irreparable is going to be the damage. Even if you need time to redress the situation, respond publicly to the customer and tell them you’re very sorry they have had a bad experience and obtain more details from them so that you can investigate the situation immediately and take appropriate steps.
Provide them your phone number and/or email so you can talk with them further. This will show everyone viewing this situation that you are a proactive business owner who cares about customer service.
If the complaint is false and deliberately mischievous, do not hesitate to take legal action. Let it be known to all that you will not tolerate malice remarks made with the deliberate intent to malign you and your business.
Notwithstanding the above, make sure to highlight all the positive reviews and diminish/suppress bad comments as prolonged presence of a bad review in the social media/review sites can cause incalculable harm.