Do I have to respond to my Yelp complaints? Yes, but with wisdom!

Some businesses used to have a feedback box that said,”Tell us how we are doing?” and there are bumper stickers that say,”How am I driving?”. These are known as feedback loops. They are useful. Why?

As the boss you can not be there for every transaction to supervise your subordinates. A successful business has some level of delegation. So you will not be there for some mistakes and that is when customers will complain. Is the customer always right? Sometimes. Can you address it the wrong way? Most business owners without wisdom do. Here is the problem….

Most customers want to be acknowledged. That means you have to say,”I am sorry” to begin with. Sometimes that is ALL THE CUSTOMER WANTS TO HEAR!!!!

So drink in this wisdom…..the customer does not want to hear the justification for why you screwed up. Why? Because that only makes them more angry? Don’t understand? ok. I’ll explain for those without wisdom.

The second thing out of your mouth should be,”I’ll speak to my staff about correcting that problem so it does not happen again”. Why? Because you engineered this business to run correctly. So there should be procedures in place to handle each type of error. If you didn’t write a procedure to handle every issue, then as a business owner you are at fault. Yes you.

So the customer only wants to hear that you are LISTENING actively, and understanding that you know there was a problem with your procedures that lead to them being unhappy. So the resolve on that is for you to fix the problem. This makes their complaint have value and importance. Do you have to value your customer’s opinion? Yes you do. It makes them feel understood and valued. This calms their anger towards you because you are being considerate of their feelings. They want that. If you do not do this, you have no wisdom.

The next thing you should be saying to the customer is,”what can I do to make it right”. Why? Because the customer really really knows what they want. The only question is…are you going to be smart enough to listen to WHAT THEY WANT. Sometimes you cannot fix their day, because you have really really pissed them off beyond repair. But if you apologize, say you are sorry, and address fixing the problem that is almost the most you can do.

If the customer feels understood, then sometimes there is no other action item for you. Most customers do not want free stuff to try to make them feel better, especially if you are not acknowledging the fact that you hurt their feelings, ignored their value, and don’t care about their repeat business!

If they open their mouth and say,”I want you do taste this food!” then you do it. If they say,”I want my money back!” then you have to consider if that is possible. Most of the time their bank will delete the authorization if it has not captured. If you’ve already run their card, then you have to void it, or do a return immediately! Most waiters and bartenders are smart enough to do this right away and give a receipt. So as an owner you have to consider their repeat business for the next 10 years. Does it weigh more than 1 purchase? Sure it does.

If you follow steps 1-2-3 when dealing with an angry customer, you may not have to deal with a Yelp review. If you are just hearing about it for the first time on Yelp then it depends how you respond to the angry customer.

You can write to them privately. Follow the 1-2-3 on Yelp complaints. Then wait for a reply. Sometimes they will change their review based on a quick response to their complaint. You are still being judged for your manners regarding their value as a future customer. Only they can change their review. So make your “sorry” good and really really mean it. People can tell when you are being insincere.

The next thing you can do is publicly apologize online. Remember, it is not just them you are apologizing to, but the next 100,000 people that read that response to the complaint. They will judge how you handle the angry customer because that may be them someday. Most customers want to know that you ARE RESPONSIVE to them when they have a problem. Customers can ALWAYS GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND SPEND ELSEWHERE!!!

Some business owners would like to think they can ignore angry customer Yelp complaints, but it just shows that you do not value the feedback loop. So ignoring the negative review is like taking out a negative ad on your business that will be there month after month after month after month! That’s about a $7,000 ad when you ad up how much it would cost to run the ad yourself. Then losing $5,000 on top of that?

So is the 1-2-3 worth it? Yes it is. “I’m sorry” versus $12,000. Is that an easy decision for a wise business owner? Yes. Most business owners will go to Costco to save $50 on a purchase. So why not save $12,000 on a wise public relations action?

So you have to monitor the communication with your customers. Newbie manager fall back on “Pride” and “Justification” for the error. Customers do not like that. You know how you would want to be treated in any given situation…..so why should it be different for another person?

Most of the time there is a legitimate angle to Yelp complaints. So handling it correctly to maximize your profit is the best way to handle it. Allied Virtual Media can help with operations advisory from experience with customer service, operation management, process management, procedure review, and public relations strategy. If you need help with a situation and want an opinion send us an email and we can set up a call. Identifying the process that lead to the problem is the start of the solution so that problem does not happen again. That maximizes revenue, profit, and increases customer count from repeat business. At the end of the day that is the objective. So respond to Yelp complaints the best way because it is profitable. That is a wise move.