Remember to take the high road

I know. Honesty can feel harsh and people can be mean. No one is perfect and the internet is a place many feel they can vent and hide behind. But! When a customer shares negative feedback, complains, or leaves a less than stellar review remember to always take the high road – for your own sake! Here’s why…

Being defensive and over-explaining your reasons or rehashing the events and decisions that led up to the customer’s experience is like stinky garbage and it will only fuel the fire, giving your customer more to use against you – especially when it’s written.

A simple, brief, and genuine apology for the experience they had, taking responsibility for that experience, and accepting their feedback as an opportunity to improve, or at the very least learn from what happened, will take you farther than a long, drawn out reply, or no response at all.

Respond to the feedback with graciousness, attempting to remedy the situation. If nothing else, you’ll have peace of mind knowing you’ve done what you can to save the relationship or your reputation.