How to Deal with a Bad Google Review (Hint: Don’t Lose Your Cool) 

Have you gotten a bad Google review? Does a 1-star review have you down in the dumps? If you’re about to blow your top, take a step back and give this minisode a listen. Darla and Natalie tell you where to start, how to get a review flagged if it’s inappropriate, and how to handle the situation the right way. 

What You’ll Hear On This Episode of Wingnut Social

• [0:40] Darla got her John Wick action figure!
• [1:55] Bad Google reviews
• [2:30] What to do when you get a bad review?
• [7:10] How do you flag an inappropriate review?
• [8:15] How Natalie put out the fire

Resources & People Mentioned

• Wingnut Social’s ‘Google my Business’ minisode
• Google my Business
• Instructions on how to flag a review
• Google’s Prohibited and Restricted Content Policy
• BONUS: Springerle Cookie Recipe

How do you deal with a bad Google review? 

Up until recently, Wingnut Social had 5-star reviews across the board. Google notified Darla and Natalie that they had received a poor review. They immediately dove in and figured out what went wrong. But how did they address the bad Google review? With three simple steps:

1. Acknowledge the issue or concern: The reviewee had a very poor experience dealing with the answering service Wingnut uses.
2. Address the issue: They’re addressing the issue internally with the sub-contractor.
3. Resolve the issue: Apologize to the reviewer/client if necessary and let them know corrective action is being taken. 

Other people looking at reviews for your business will see how you address issues. A bad review will crop up here and there and you need to know how to address it—and do it quickly. 

Natalie identified the problem and bent over backward to address the concern with the reviewer. Miraculously—and this doesn’t always happen—the reviewee removed the poor review and replaced it with a 5-star review. 

Did you know you can flag an inappropriate review?

Google has a policy on ‘Prohibited and Restricted Content’ that they use to comb-through a flagged review. If a review is explicit, inappropriate, or even simply aimed at a different entity, it can be removed. You simply need to go into your Google my Business account to flag the review and fill out a policy violation form. 

If the review doesn’t fall under prohibited or restricted content, do your best to remedy the situation without being snarky, confrontational, or accusatory. Handle it to the best of your ability, then move on. After all, you’re only human. Plus, people have learned to distrust a perfect score. And if you’ve properly displayed how you’ve handled the situation, people will move past a bad Google review. 

To hear the full story on how to deliver exceptional service, tune-in to the full Monday minisode!

Connect With Darla & Wingnut Social

• www.WingnutSocial.com
• On Facebook
• On Twitter: @WingnutSocial
• On Instagram: @WingnutSocial
• Darla’s Interior Design Website
• 1-877-WINGNUT (connect with us for your social media marketing needs)

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