Negative reviews take a toll on your online reputation and scare potential customers away. They are also often unpleasant to read, demanding patience and an open mind. More importantly, they are difficult to deal with in a way that reflects well on your business.
Still, tactful and meaningful responses to negative reviews can produce outstanding results for your online reputation. In this guide, we will provide 17 negative review response examples to show you how to respond to them.
Why Respond to Negative Reviews?
Because it encourages repeat business and increases sales!
Simply put, ignoring negative reviews doesn’t work. It leaves customers with a bitter taste and makes it look like your business doesn’t care about customer experiences.
Negative reviews are also learning experiences. They help your business improve and avoid negative experiences in the future.
Online reviews are also a crucial component of digital marketing. As a type of user-generated content, Google values them in their calculations for how prominently to feature your website.
There are enormous potential upsides to a sound negative review response strategy. At the same time, you can’t afford to ignore negative reviews.
So, let’s go over a simple step-by-step process for responding to bad reviews. Then, we will provide you with the templates you need to get started with a comprehensive but easily manageable strategy.
How To Respond to Negative Reviews
Patience and tact are the secrets to turning a negative review into a positive experience. Before we discuss specific types of negative reviews and how to respond to them, it’s crucial to note the basics.
No matter what type of negative review you get and how emotional or harsh it sounds, you need to remember to:
- Stay consistently polite and professional from start to finish.
- Respond as soon as possible to start working toward a solution.
- Acknowledge the complaint and let them know you’re listening.
- Offer a sincere apology to validate their concerns and ease the tension.
- Thank them for bringing the issue to your attention and helping your business improve.
- Address the specific details of their complaint.
- Personalize the response with their name and specific details.
- Offer an olive branch (options for making things right).
Next, take the conversation from public review boards to a dedicated, personal support channel.
From here, you enter the next phase of negative online review response strategy:
- It’s important to offer multiple channels for communication for them to pick from, including phone calls.
- Keep each message short and sweet.
- Start by owning the mistake again to keep the tension minimal.
- Explain your side of why it happened while not placing any blame on the customer.
- It’s crucial to consistently frame everything as “Us vs the problem” and not blame the customer at all.
- Offer a discount or other gift.
- When appropriate, politely direct them to published educational content, but apologize for your lack of clarity, which led to the complaint.
- Explain that their feedback is leading your business to implement changes to strive to be better.
- Again, thank all reviewers for their time and feedback.
- Invite them to communicate any other thoughts or issues they have.
Lastly, implement overarching strategies to manage negative reviews carefully and your response processes:
- Use review analytics to monitor your negative reviews to pinpoint and correct consistent issues.
- Make surgical improvements to your products and services to reflect your benefits.
- Use analysis of positive reviews to improve marketing decisions.
17 Negative Review Response Examples
Here are 17 practical negative review response examples. Use these examples to guide your own templates, test them, and improve over time.
As always, personality matters when dealing with customer complaints. So, avoid ready-made answers, but work with the best templates as an example of a response that covers all the important emotions and needs that an unhappy customer may have.
1. Quality Issues
Quality Issues Example #1
Negative review: “I’ve made 3 purchases already, but each time the quality is different. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes not so much. Not knowing is sometimes worse than expecting low quality.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry to hear that your experience hasn’t been as consistently good as you had hoped. We always strive to provide the best and want our quality control to reflect that. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention.
Please contact us at [CONTACT INFO] or call us at [PHONE NUMBER] so we can find out what happened and find a solution. We want to understand what went wrong and ensure you get what you paid for.
Quality Issues Example #2
Negative review: “After coming regularly for months, I have to say this place has fallen off. The burger was cold, soggy, and undercooked and the bread was like cardboard. 0/5, don’t recommend”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry that the food arrived cold and didn’t meet your expectations. We always strive to provide delicious and fresh meals for our customers, and it’s clear that something went wrong.
We understand your frustration and want to make this right. Please contact us at [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER] so we can discuss this further and invite you back for a complimentary meal. We appreciate your feedback and are taking steps in our kitchen to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Thank you for your continued patronage and for bringing this issue to our attention.
Quality Issues Example #3
Negative review: “I got the new dining room set and the table didn’t look like the pictures. They showed up with some scratches on them and looked old and used.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry to hear about the condition of your dining room set furniture. Thank you for bringing the state of the table to our attention. This is not the outcome we strive to provide for our customers.
We want to make things right and offer you a replacement table. Please reach out to us at [CONTACT INFO] or call us at [PHONE NUMBER] so we can discuss how to make this happen.
We want to strive to ensure consistently high furniture and delivery quality and are taking steps to ensure all our tables are in good condition when shipped out and treated with care on the way.
2. Delayed Response
Delayed Response Example #1
Negative review: “I think I’ve been scammed. I paid for same-day shipping two days ago, and no one has responded to my emails about the delay. This is not acceptable.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are truly sorry for the shipment delay and our slow communication. We understand your frustration, and we are here to help.
We strive to provide consistently excellent service and meet the delivery standards for each shipment option we offer. So, we want to give you a full refund for shipping costs and identify your order so we can make sure it gets to you as soon as possible. Please give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER] or reach out to our priority customer service at [CONTACT INFO].
Thank you for bringing the issue to our attention, we are already reviewing all shipped orders and taking measures to ensure the shipment options on our website are working as intended.
Delayed Response Example #2
Negative review: “I already called customer support 3 times during the listed hours!! Still no one has picked up the phone or gotten back to me!”
Response: Hi [NAME]
We are sorry to hear you’ve been having trouble reaching us. We are committed to making sure every customer gets fast, high-quality service. We could not pick up the phone for everyone due to being over capacity, and we are already fixing our helpline availability and staffing so that it doesn’t happen again.
Please consider allowing us to make up for this mistake. This is our top priority right now, so please feel free to reach out at [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER] to get you the help you need ASAP.
3. Poor Customer Experience
Poor Customer Experience Example #1
Negative review: “The customer service is super rude and unhelpful. If you ever need help from them, good luck.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry you had an unacceptable experience with our customer service staff. This is not what we strive for, and we thank you for your report, which we take very seriously.
Please reach out to us at [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER] to allow us to correct this issue. We are committed to handling your query and will also improve our customer service training to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Poor Customer Experience Example #2
Negative review: “When I was asking for help in their store, I felt very rushed and ignored. Won’t be going back anytime soon.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry to hear you didn’t get the help you needed. We strive to always offer excellent customer service and want to correct this issue. Thank you for bringing it to our attention so we can work with our staff to improve our service.
If you have any questions about any product we offer, we invite you to reach us at [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER].
Poor Customer Experience Example #3
Negative review: “There are way too many ads, and the app isn’t comfortable to use.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that the number or prominence of ads is ruining your experience with our application.
We aim to balance the need to produce revenue with user experience. But we want our free users to be comfortable using our app as well.
We are always working on providing all users with a balanced and fair experience and would love to hear more from you. Feel free to reach out to us at [CONTACT INFO] to share your thoughts. We also want to offer a 2-week free premium trial.
Thank you for your patience and helping us improve our user experience.
4. Billing Issues
Negative review: “I was charged twice for the same order!”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are so sorry for the double charge and the annoyance and concern that it’s caused. We understand how frustrating being charged twice can be, and we want to correct the mistake as soon as possible.
Please reach out to us at [CONTACT INFO] or call [PHONE NUMBER] so we can process your refund immediately.
Thank you for bringing the double charge to our attention so we can investigate and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Billing Issue Example #2
Negative review: “I was clearly charged more than I was quoted for. Be careful with them.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry for the discrepancy in your billing and the unexpected charge you received. Thank you for bringing it to our attention so we can correct the bill with you. We always strive to be transparent and fair with all our customers.
Please contact us at [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER] so we can review the charge and make sure you only pay the correct amount.
5. Miscommunication
Miscommunication Example
Negative review: “When I was paying, the order time estimation was 5-7 business days. Then, the email confirmation said I should have the package after 10 business days. Confusing…”
Response: Hi [NAME],
Thank you for letting us know about the mismatched delivery estimates. We are sorry for the confusion about your delivery date. We’re investigating this error to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
If you contact us at [CONTACT INFO] or call [PHONE NUMBER], we can check your order status to give you an accurate estimate. If the estimate is later than you expected when you made the purchase, we can expedite the shipment or offer you a discount.
Thank you for your patience and for bringing this issue to our attention.
6. Mistaken Reviews
Mistaken Review Example
Negative review: “They are the best! Fast shipping and none of the issues with wear and tear! Highly recommended!”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are glad to hear you had such a great experience with your order! We always strive to provide the best to our customers.
It looks like the rating you gave us doesn’t reflect your satisfaction. If you gave us a 1 star review by mistake, feel free to update it.
Thanks again for your feedback and support! We’re always here to help with any questions you have.
7. Unmet Promises
Unmet Promises Example #1
Negative review: “The promotion promised a free gift with any order in December, but I didn’t get anything!”
Response: Hi [NAME]
We apologize for the oversight. You’re right, your free gift should have come included in your order.
Please contact us at [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER], and we can send your free gift right away.
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. To make up for your wait, we would also like to offer a discount on your next purchase.
Unmet Promises Example #2
Negative review: “They say they’ll give you 24/7 support before you subscribe, but they’re only reachable during business hours. Otherwise, you have to wait forever to contact anyone.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry our professionals weren’t able to respond promptly. You’re right; we list 24/7 support on our page and strive to ensure all our customers get the support they need.
We are actively working to correct the issue so that our customers can get support promptly. But in the meantime, we’d like to offer you [DISCOUNT/CREDIT/A FREE GIFT] to apologize for the inconvenience. Reach out to us at [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER], and we will do everything we can to make things right.
8. Product/Service Failure
Product/Service Failure Example #1
Negative review: “The machine broke after less than a month. This was far shorter than the description suggested, seriously disappointing.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I’m sorry to hear that our product broke. We take mechanical failures very seriously and understand how frustrating they can be.
We would appreciate an opportunity to make this right. We are dedicated to excellent customer service and want to fix this malfunction to prevent future occurrences. Please reach out to [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER] to discuss a replacement or refund.
Your feedback is important to us, so thank you for your time!
Product/Service Failure Example #2
Negative review: “The software keeps crashing, this definitely wasn’t what I paid for.”
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry to hear about the trouble you’re experiencing with our software. This is not the experience we want for our users, and we’re dedicated to providing consistent and reliable service.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our support team at [CONTACT INFO] or give us a call at [PHONE NUMBER], and we’ll work with you to get to the bottom of the issue. We’d also like to offer an account credit or free upgrade to apologize for the inconvenience.
9. General Complaint
Negative review:
Response: Hi [NAME],
We are sorry to see that your experience didn’t meet your expectations. We’d love to hear more from you to find out what went wrong so we can fix it. We strive to provide the best [PRODUCT/SERVICE] to our customers, and your feedback is what drives our improvements.
Feel free to contact us at [CONTACT INFO] so we can explore the issue and make things right.
The Value of Negative Feedback
Negative reviews are inevitable and not worth panicking over. With a good review management system in place, they are one of your biggest assets.
Negative reviews offer valuable insights in areas needing improvement. You can think of them as free audits, highlighting the pain points of other potential customers. Use them to uncover gaps in your delivery service or product quality.
Use Review Analytics for Business Growth
Review analytics are as much about online reputation management as they are about product improvement.
Review analytics tools offer deep insights into your online reviews from all platforms. Analytics features provide a complete overview of what makes customers love or hate your products. You can quickly find the common compliments and complaints to:
- Capitalize on your existing strengths
- Address shortcomings
Your negative reviews are actually your product development cheat sheet. By going through a mass of negative reviews methodically with professional tools, you can steer your business toward better product and service development.
What better way is there to respond to negative reviews than using them to drive business growth?
You can use negative reviews to troubleshoot all the sources of customer dissatisfaction and start generating better reviews to increase your online reputation.
How to Offset Negative Reviews
Now we know how negative reviews can have some positive effects when you handle them right. But they’re still negative, and negative reviews still always at least slightly harm your online reputation.
The last but arguably most important part of responding to negative reviews is getting more positive reviews!
Negative reviews are inevitable. But they should not overshadow the positive experiences you offer your customers. Under normal circumstances, negativity bias means unhappy customers are more likely to leave reviews than happy customers.
Sometimes, a company’s products and services are good, but the positive:negative review ratio seems off. The secret is that you need to take action to make sure more happy customers leave positive reviews!
Encourage Positive Reviews
The path to more positive reviews is straightforward. Over time, we’ve discovered the methods that work and developed features that are proven to increase positive reviews.
First, exceptional customer service is a requirement for getting positive reviews. Good customer service is also crucial for your pricing strategy and every other customer satisfaction metric.
One important reason many happy customers don’t leave great reviews is that they simply forget. So, the second step is a polite request for honest feedback. Reviewshake makes it simple to set automated reminders and makes it easy for customers to leave positive reviews.
The keys to getting the best results from automated reminders are:
- Timing them for the high points in the buyer’s journey
- Making leaving a review an effortless process
- Incentivizing reviews to make them longer and better
- Personalizing review requests with names and specific details
It’s also important to engage with all reviews regardless of whether they’re negative, neutral, or positive. Use templates for each type of review and personalize individual responses.
Review Marketing
Lastly, you need to remember to:
- Highlight positive reviews on your website, social media, and in-store.
- Follow up with customers.
You can’t offset negative user-generated feedback online without strategically deploying positive feedback to outshine it. Review marketing is a necessary step to responding to any amount of negative reviews.
Review marketing provides social proof and informational social influence. You get a more positive online reputation and other customers feel inclined to share their positive experiences.
Handle Customer Feedback Effectively With Reviewshake
Don’t let negative reviews drag you down! Customer feedback is always a goldmine for improvement.
Reviewshake makes managing reviews and responding to customer feedback simple and efficient. With Reviewshake, you can:
Inbox Feature: Centralize all customer communications from all channels into a single, organized timeline.
Manage Reviews: Aggregate reviews from over 100 platforms into a single dashboard.
Generate New Reviews: Automate review collection by sending requests via email and SMS with customizable templates.
Market Reviews: Showcase reviews on your website, social media, and in Google search results using Rich Snippets.
Analyze Reviews: Track performance, conduct sentiment analysis, and compare your reviews with competitors.
