When a bad review can be good
Damian O’Keeffe
Letting people write reviews on TrueLocal.com.au might seem like a simple idea but it can be more problematic than you’d think.
Some businesses are fearful of reviews because they don’t think it’s fair to let people write anything they want about them. The truth is they can’t – we moderate all reviews for legal reasons, offensive words and so on – which sometimes angers the reviewers.
We get a hard time from both sides when it comes to reviews but we believe it’s an invaluable tool for everyone.
Shielding a business from negative feedback can prevent them from improving their service. At TrueLocal we want to help businesses grow while helping consumers make good decisions.
Good businesses actually listen and respond to bad reviews. Even better, some businesses actually go all the way and resolve the customer’s issue.
Take Mansfield Motors. At first they were horrified to see bad feedback from a customer on TrueLocal.
“Initially we were very upset that someone had felt strongly enough to make a complaint about our level of service, which we thought was very high,” says Julian, manager of Mansfield Motors.
“It was also uncomfortable knowing that this was out there for everyone to see, when from our end we believed we were and had been doing the right thing.”
Mansfield Motors decided to respond to the reviewer in question and ended up turning the situation around. As the customer told us, “I was quite surprised that not only did Mansfield Motors respond to my review but also went out of their way to resolve the issue.”
Whilst it’s hard not to take criticism of your business personally, it’s important not to just dismiss complaints, no matter how unfair you feel they are. Fail to respond properly and the most likely assumption from others will be that the negative comments are true. Deal with a complaint effectively and you’ll find people are more likely to trust you.
Like other businesses, we have responded to criticism at our own listing. In a world that’s becoming increasingly online, it’s what people are starting to expect.
Thank you for sharing this information and the experience that Mansfield Motors had. This post was helpful in so many ways and certainly reinstated the positives about the rate and review feature.
Michael of Belgrave South
