Guide

How to handle a bad review

Everyone gets one eventually. The good news is that a single poor review among a stack of good ones barely hurts, and a calm reply to it can actually win you work from people who read it.

Wait before you reply

Never write the reply you want to write on the day. Leave it until the following morning, when the urge to defend yourself line by line has passed.

The audience is not the reviewer. It is the next twenty people deciding whether to ring you.

A reply that works

Thank them, acknowledge the issue briefly, give your side in one calm sentence if needed, and move it offline with a direct contact.

Never argue details, never mention money, never suggest they are lying, even when you are certain they are. Readers side with the calm party every time.

When you can get one removed

Reviews can be reported when they are from someone who was never a customer, contain abuse, or are clearly from a competitor. Genuine unhappy reviews will not be removed and trying is a waste of time.

Report it, then get on with the thing that actually fixes it.

Bury it with real ones

The best defence is volume. A business with sixty reviews absorbs a bad one without anyone noticing. A business with four does not.

Ask every happy customer, every time. That habit is worth more than any reply you will ever write.

Common questions

Should I reply to every review?

Reply to the bad ones always and the good ones when you can. It shows you are paying attention.

Do bad reviews hurt my Google ranking?

One among many good ones makes little difference. A pattern of them does, and so does a profile with no reviews at all.

Where to go next

Want us to sort this for you?

We build the site for free and look after the hosting, the updates and the local SEO for €59.99 a month on a 12 month minimum. Have a chat with us and see if it suits.

More guides like this

See all guides