By Susan Stern

(Omaha, NE)  —  Stern PR Omaha’s Susan Stern offers tips on how business should deal with negative reviews online. Stay calm, act professional, respond and move on. Notes Susan, “the best advice I can give is to remember the old adage “customers are always right.” So that means, politely reply to poor online reviews in this way:

• Thank the reviewer for taking time to provide feedback
• Apologize to the reviewer, rectify problem and invite customer back if their gripe is legit
• Offer a partial or full refund if situation warrants
• Don’t reply to abusive reviewer – just ignore them, flag the complaint for removal or consultant with an attorney
• Don’t offer them an explanation or excuse
• If online reviewer is a fake, say from a competitor with a fictitious name, mention that no customer exists & invite them to call
• If online reviewer with a personal gripe opts to defame or slander, call he or she out on it. Reply professionally. Consult w/Attorney

Another suggestion. Periodically run a Google, Bing and Yahoo search for your company online, to not only keep track of what people are saying, but to reply immediately to reviews – good and bad. Adds Susan Stern, “remember to never argue with the customer. ‘Cause yes, even though we may not feel this way, as business owners, we need to embrace the doctrine to treat each customer with respect, i.e., the customer is always right…

Even when they’re wrong. 🙂

Good luck!