How To Handle Customer Feedback – The Good, The Bad And The Fake
Good reviews can be the lifeblood of your business. Customers saying nice things about your restaurant on your website, or sites like TripAdvisor, encourage others to come and try your food.
Equally, bad reviews are not good for business as they inevitably put people off. Obviously, you wouldn’t put a bad review up on your own website but you have little control over external review sites.
But, with a bit of thought, you can make sure you maximise your good reviews and lessen the damage caused by bad ones.
Here’s our guide to handling customer feedback:
Engage with bad reviews
It’s not nice to hear bad things about your restaurant, but, when it happens, you should engage with it, rather than ignoring the comments. You should acknowledge and apologise for any problems, but also feel free to politely defend yourself if you feel the criticism is unfair.
Handling bad reviews from good customers
When one of your loyal customers – the lifeblood of your business – gives a bad review, you must act quickly and decisively. Don’t quibble about it – they eat with you regularly, so their concerns are going to be genuine. Instead, say how sorry you are that they haven’t enjoyed their experience this time. If there is a specific problem, such as long waiting times between courses, explain what you will do to rectify the problem. Also, consider offering something – such as free bottle of wine – the next time they visit you. Any cost to you will be more than repaid by keeping a loyal customer who could have been lost to you forever.
How to spot fake reviews
Sadly, some people – such as unscrupulous rivals or disgruntled ex-employees – may post fake reviews on site such as TripAdvisor. This can be bad news for your business, but don’t forget it is fraudulent and illegal to do this and you must report any review you think is fake to the site owner, and ask them to take it down.
When trying to spot fake reviews, you should look out for things such as lots of bad reviews being posted on the same day, reviews that criticise your establishment and recommend a rival establishment as better, or reviews that criticise you for things that are simply not true. These could all point to fraudulent content.
Get as many good reviews as you can
It’s a simple equation – the more good reviews you have, the more people will want to visit your restaurant. And when people book a table through your online booking system, you have that most precious resource – their email address. So, the day after they’ve dined with you, send an email asking for feedback on your restaurant. Whatever they say – good or bad – it’s useful information for you and you could use it as a testimonial on your website. And if they really love your restaurant, then send another email that politely asks them to share their opinions on TripAdvisor.
You can try boosting your good reviews by using our booking app. We offer a 14 day free trial and there is no cost or obligation. Just fill in the simple form below to give us a try.
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