Local Search | Jennifer Lind

First, a top-notch example of how not to respond:

I recently watched a rerun of Kitchen Nightmares where they visited Sebastian’s in Toluca Lake, CA. The restaurant was doing everything wrong. They were microwaving food, nothing was homemade, and they had a complex menu that took the waitresses 20 minutes to explain. Chef Ramsay came in and turned the place around. By the way the show ended, I thought the restaurant was off to a great new start. So upon looking at the listing on Citysearch, I was amused to find the restaurant now closed, and 73 reviews for Sebastian’s, many of which were people who had not been to the restaurant but were appalled by what they saw on the show. Though I can’t be certain, about 10 of the reviews seem to come from the owner (who else would say “It’s SEBATIOUS!” 12 times in one paragraph?). These entries included raving reviews of the food and atmosphere and bantering people who wrote negative reviews about Sebastian’s.

I am not sure if the owner of Sebastian’s could have saved his business if he’d responded to the reviews differently, especially considering his overall performance on the show and in the reviews. Internet users can easily see through a fake review, and it will only result in a poor image of that business.

Here are a couple of examples of great business responses that Sebastian’s should have tried:

1. From a personal experience, I ate horrible food at a Mexican restaurant in Minneapolis once and wrote a review about my experience. Soon after, I received an email from the company offering a coupon to give them a second chance. Although I chose not to go back, I felt like the company had listened. I hoped that they would make some changes to their menu. The coupon offer gave me a more neutral feeling for the business, which toned down my desire to tell everyone I knew to never eat there.
2. Take a look at the reviews from CustomInk on Yellowpages.com. A customer says they tried to call the company, but had trouble getting through. CustomInk wrote a business response to this person explaining that they were experiencing a higher call volume than expected, but promising to add more staff and the goal to answer all calls on the first ring. This business specifically addressed the issue and let the customer know they were working on a solution. Great job!

These two examples are great because the business responded in a very real way. CustomInk was honest and admitted they were having a problem.

The new wave of the internet includes businesses getting involved in online communities and listening to their customers. The way you respond to what your consumers are saying has a direct affect on the success of your company.