How to turn a bad review into a better review

This is a guest post from Andy Sernovitz — CEO of WordofMouth.org and SocialMedia.org and New York Times bestselling author of “Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking.”

We all get bad reviews. No matter how hard you try, you’re going to screw up a job every so often.

So what do you do?

  1. Respond to the review. Don’t just let the bad review sit there. Most review sites now let you comment on the review.
  2. Stay cool. Just explain what happened and tell your story.
  3. Apologize. Even if you’re not wrong. Take the high road and say you’re sorry.
  4. Don’t fight. Do not attack the customer, blame them, or get into a he-said, she-said. You will look like a jerk.
  5. Write for the future, not the reviewer. It’s not important that you convince the bad reviewer to change their mind. That would be nice, but it’s not the point — especially if you have an unreasonable, angry, or crazy reviewer. Your goal is to write for every future reader of the post. You want them to understand that you tried, you’re sorry, and you’re a reasonable company that means well.

Here’s a great example of how to do it just right:

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About Andy Sernovitz

Andy Sernovitz builds organizations that help people help each other. His company, GasPedal, builds peer-to-peer communities for people leading meaningful change at the world’s biggest companies, including SocialMedia.org and SocialMedia.org Health. He wrote the best-selling book Word of Mouth Marketing, which teaches you how to earn the respect and recommendation of your customers.

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