Bad Online Reviews Can Be Heartbreaking

Most retailers have experienced the dreaded notification from Google or Yelp of a new review. Is it going to be a good one that puts a spring in your step or a bad one that ruins your day and perhaps keeps you up that night or gives you heartburn?  There is a business side to handling the reviews and there is a personal and social side that requires tact, and perhaps an uncomfortable conversation with the customer if you can reach them or the employee who garnered the negative feedback.

I recently noticed a Facebook post by NBDA board member Chad Pickard, owner of the Spoke-N-Sport stores in Sioux Falls and Brookings South Dakota. He was sharing a negative review his business had received on his personal page and you could tell it wasn’t something he was taking lightly. I read the review myself, and even though my own store has been sold and I no longer have to worry about the Google review monster, my pulse quickened and I myself felt much like I did when it was my own store. The visceral reaction was real. It dawned on me that we often discuss how to avoid negative reviews but how do we handle them personally? Most bicycle retailers take their business’s successes and failures very personally. We identify heavily with our businesses and take ownership literally of the good and the bad. This can lead to actual physiological responses that may not be healthy, and we may actually try and quiet those feelings by doing something healthy like going for a nice ride, or unhealthy like having an extra beer that night or destroying a bag of chips and salsa (ask me how I know).

I decided to reach out to Chad to talk about his review, and his very diplomatic response to the Google review online. I learned several things that I think are very important to share and to emulate in Chad’s handling of the situation, both from a business response and from a personal standpoint.

Let’s go over the main way Chad has dealt with bad online reviews as a business. The most important and critical thing you can do is to simply acknowledge the customer and the issue. Thank them for taking the time to let you know you have failed them in some way. Chad ran through some bad reviews he was able to turn around by simply reaching out, and listening to the customer’s complaint. He told me of one reviewer who seemed to simply want to do damage for an unknown reason. The review centered around a bike and a situation that was able to be shown never existed. The “customer” changed the review from one to three stars, apparently unable to completely let the issue go, but that is a big change in your Google score. The most compelling example he shared was of a customer who had what was really a very simple communication goof up, and left not only a one-star review but was openly disparaging the business around town in the local cycling circles. I know I may not have handled a situation like that as well as Chad, but he was able to not only convert the customer’s one-star review to a glowing five-star declaration of his store’s awesomeness but also became one of his absolute best customers. That is making lemonade out of lemons!

The toll a negative review takes is also very personal. This is where Chad’s approach really has the ability to help you not dwell but actually turn the negative into a positive. It is really quite simple. When you have a negative experience find something positive to turn to. When you do get that bad review, turn around and heap some praise on those businesses who have done well by you. I know myself, that I typically reward a business that has succeeded in meeting my expectations by returning. The next step of leaving positive feedback for that business not only helps them know they are doing right by the customer but can help them understand what is driving their success. Is it an employee, a specific service provided, etc.  Positive feedback is critical and when you engage in that behavior while reeling from a negative review, you are spreading some sunshine which will always splashback on yourself. I also liked an example Chad shared of having a negative experience with a sales rep and then calling one of his favorite reps to thank him and just talk. This straightforward coping mechanism is really a healthy way to get out of the negativity that can consume you if you dwell on it.

To summarize, bad reviews can be painful as both a business and personally. In order to combat the negativity be honest and acknowledge the issue with the customer. Also, spread some positive love around and feel it come back to you. While there are increasingly powerful technological tools to gather positive reviews and catch negative feedback before it goes public, there is still no better response than a personal heartfelt one, to truly make an impact on a customer’s view of your store, and ultimately you.

Words by David DeKeyser

David DeKeyser and his wife Rebecca Cleveland owned and operated The Bike Hub in De Pere, Wisconsin, for nearly 18 years. In 2018, they sold the business and real estate to another retailer based in a nearby community. David now writes the Positive Spin series on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News and he writes articles for the NBDA’s blog, Outspokin’. David also provides business consulting through the NBDA’s P2 Consult Program.

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