Bad Review Tactic 4: Go public if you must

Unfortunately, there may be some complaints that are irresolvable via back channels, and you’ll have to go public with a response. Take care in these instances to come off as a consummate professional who is truly looking to satisfy customers.

Says Kathleen Fealy, president of Web-design firm KF Multimedia & Web: “The office should respond to the review in a professional manner, acknowledging the issue and stating what they are doing to correct the situation.”

Adds Yelp’s Lowe: “You shouldn’t view the public comment feature as an opportunity to nitpick at slight inaccuracies within a review. Instead, it’s a chance to demonstrate to would-be customers that you’re on top of your customer service.”

And, again, don’t be defensive: “Getting your side of the story out isn’t as important as demonstrating you can keep your cool when problems arise and that you care about customer feedback,” Lowe says.

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