Over the last year, we’ve discussed online reviews at length, such as how to get more of them and why you should respond to them. In a service-based industry like pools and spas, online reviews are crucial to your business. The negative reviews are, in many cases, even more impactful than the positive ones. We’ve provided keys to how you should respond to them.
Be Personal & Polite
In many cases, reviewers just want to be heard. Because of this, it’s important to avoid being generic and to address them by name when possible. Additionally, ensure that your responses are polite, with no veiled anger or irritation.
Apologize (Even if Your Company Did Nothing Wrong)
It can be difficult to apologize, especially if your company was not, in fact, in the wrong in a particular situation. However, getting defensive or argumentative will only be damaging to your company’s image. In the pool and spa industry, this can significantly impact the way potential future clients see you when reading your reviews. Your apology can be general, such as:
- “We’re deeply apologetic that your experience was not positive.”
- “We hold our service to very high standard, and we’re sorry that your expectations were not met.”
- “We’re very sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with our company.”
Offer to Make Reparations
Thankfully, due to the nature of the pool and spa industry, it will often not be particularly difficult to make things right with a disgruntled customer. This aspect of your response is key to showing the upset party that you’re willing to fix the problem, which can also make an impact on those reading reviews and considering your company.
By handling negative reviews the proper way, you will not only portray your pool company in a positive light, but you may even have people who will either delete or edit their negative reviews. This is not an uncommon practice, but it requires your company to promptly and politely respond.