What to Do When You Get a Bad Review

Every business gets one eventually. What separates the businesses that recover from the ones that don't is entirely in the response.

Wait a Day

Nothing good has ever been written in the first hour. Read it, feel it, then step away.

Reply in Public, Resolve in Private

Thank them, acknowledge the specific issue, state what you're doing about it, and offer a direct way to reach you. Keep it to three or four sentences. Never argue facts in the thread — the audience is everyone reading later, not the reviewer.

Don't Beg for a Takedown

A thoughtful reply under a two-star review does more for you than the review's absence would. It proves you show up when things go sideways.

Then Fix the Cause

If two people mention the same thing, it isn't a bad customer. It's a process problem, and reviews just handed you the audit for free.

Bury It With Volume

The best defense is a steady flow of new reviews. Ask consistently and one bad one stops mattering.

I'm Janet Galati with JG Marketing Solutions. Every Monday, real marketing knowledge you can use.