We all know the scenario- someone goes to a restaurant, has a bad experience and gripes about it on an online review. This can happen to an auto repair shop- a patient goes home unsatisfied and the next day there’s a dark cloud hanging over their automotive online review page!

For whatever reason, many people don’t feel like they can talk to management about the specific problems they have, so they write a negative review online instead. While you can’t predict whenever a patient will have complaints if they don’t tell you, you can be aware of the most common types of complaints.

Some of the main causes for bad reviews:

• Poor Customer Service

Nothing gets to people more like rude customer service. We all expect service to be friendly, efficient, and speedy. Why do you think people hate going to the DMV so much?

If you browse Yelp’s many review pages, you’ll find that most of the bad reviews mention poor customer service. The good reviews? Not so much! It can be frustrating for business owners- you don’t often get credit for great service, but you get plenty of bad press for bad service.

• Misunderstandings

We live in an age of short attention spans. When was the last time you can remember reading the whole “Terms of Service” or “Licensing Agreement” for a piece of software? These days, most of us are so used to skipping over these things, that we do it in most aspects of our lives.

It’s not uncommon for customers to get upset when they don’t anticipate a particular part of a service to happen- even if they signed an agreement that explained it to them. Plenty of customers get upset when they fail to pay attention or read “the fine print”, even if the company policy is stated plain as day.

• Hard to please customers!

And of course, some people just want to complain! We’ve all experienced a patient or customer at some point who just doesn’t seem to be satisfied with anything. Online review sites tend to highlight these types of reviewers, unfortunately. They can really sabotage a business if they aren’t confronted in a proper and professional way.

It’s best to treat this type of customer with courtesy and not get too involved. Most customers will be satisfied with an apology and give you a chance to make it right by fixing the mistake or giving a refund- not so with hard to please customers. Offer them the same opportunity that you would other customers, and leave it at that. If they decide to keep hassling you about it, just walk away. Chances are, potential customers reading your review will understand that this person is just trying to get attention and isn’t an accurate reflection of the customer experience you offer. Publicly handling the situation with grace and professionalism says a lot about you to potential customers and will go a long way.

For more information on online reputation management, social media and more, contact CarCareCONNECT today for a free consultation!