How to respond to negative reviews

A senior figure from Trip Advisor has offered advice to companies on the perfect way to respond to negative online reviews. Gweneal Merlin, who is Director of Partnerships for the review site, advised that companies who issue the same standard response for negative reviews are doing far more harm than good to their establishment’s reputation. Gweneal highlighted the fact that every customer has a unique individual experience so they expect that a company’s response to their review should also be original and relevant to their comments. The venue should thank the client for their custom and feedback and apologise for any negative points whilst explaining the measures they will take to deal with any issues raised. The venue should also respond to any positives mentioned in the review and offer the reviewer the option to contact them directly via phone or e-mail to discuss further if they so wish. Venues were warned against responding whilst upset and making personal comments after one licensee replied to a negative comment with ‘you clearly wanted your steak cooked to old shoe leather’.