If you’re a small business owner, you will encounter some bad reviews of your business.  It is bound to happen – you can’t make everyone happy.  The purpose of the blog today is to recommend some things that you can do when a homeowner posts a negative rating regarding some work you did.


Let me give you some simple steps to follow:


1.       When you receive a negative rating, take the offensive!  Call the homeowner immediately and find out what happened.  Social media is getting more and more powerful, and not addressing the negative rating is a bit like burying your head in the sand.  Get the facts.  If your customer is unhappy, find out why.



2.       Take full responsibility.  There’s a problem, so start by taking full responsibility.  The argument/dispute comes to and end when one party says “I take full responsibility”.  It’s a very powerful statement to make.


After filing a complaint at a national hotel chain, I got a call from the hotel president who told me he appreciated my letting him know what happened.  It let him know that he had not trained his people correctly.  I was impressed that he took the time to call, and then looked at my complaint as a business building tool.  I was impressed.


3.       Apologize.  Tell them you appreciate that they took the time to talk with you to tell you what you did wrong.  That’s how you improve your business.  Your customers will tell you what you need to fix.  Take the time to speak with them.


4.       Fix the problem.  Make it right.  What has to be done to make the customer happy?  Ask them, and then do that to the best of your ability. They still might be upset, but they will be impressed with your proactive response to get the problem addressed.


5.       Learn from the opportunity.  Addressing the problem quickly demonstrates to future customers that you are serious about customer service.  Ask the homeowner to post a follow-up note regarding your response.  They may or may not do it, but if you have addressed the problem, ask them to do so.  Good customers will want to help you if your response was sincere and it quickly addressed the problem.


Negative ratings might seem like a hassle, or seem unfair, but they are part of doing business.  Homeowners are using social media to express their feelings, and this will continue to grow in the future.  Look at them as an opportunity to improve your business, and be sincere about it.  Homeowners want to work with responsible companies.  Do your job well.  That will lead to some glowing reviews.