As soon as a company - no matter how big it is - is present online, it is also exposed to reviews from customers, employees and competitors. Of course, feedback is not always positive, but in some cases, companies must deal with more extreme feedback that includes hateful comments or even defamation. Find out how best to deal with these and when it is time to take legal action here. 

Can online reviews be avoided?

Not really. In principle, you are exposed to open criticism on the net as soon as you open a company, a shop, a restaurant, etc. Because even if you as the operator don't have your own website, don't use social media and generally only move around offline as a person, there is still always the possibility for customers to exchange opinions about your company online. Be it in Facebook groups, in your own Instagram posts or on customer-created review platforms such as blogs or in YouTube videos. Therefore, your own personal rejection of social media or similar will not protect you from negative criticism and false information but will only prevent you from correcting or commenting on false claims or incorrectly presented facts. 

Online ratings have many advantages - for both sides

Thanks to the internet, customer reviews are gaining importance, as they can be accessed in many places and at any time. Some portals exist specifically to collect and publish customer reviews. These include Google, Yelp, Tripadvisor (for hotels, restaurants, etc.) but also Facebook and various online shops such as Amazon. According to studies, 80% of users trust these reviews just as much as they would a recommendation from a good friend. This makes it even more important to deal with the reviews received, to accept criticism, to react and thus also to get in touch with customers. Ideally however one wouldn’t only react towards the client but also use the feedback to analyze the company and see it as an opportunity to develop further.  

The distinction between positive and negative criticism and insulting comments or spam

When we talk about criticism in this article, we usually mean negative criticism. Of course, there are also many positive reviews, praise and recommendations that are given on various platforms. However, since we are dealing with negative reviews here, we also need to delineate where criticism ends and insults begin. First of all, you should read the criticism in peace and reflect on how it could have arisen. You may even remember the incident that was described, know which product is being spoken of or know the person who wrote the review. This will give you an idea how to better classify the situation and criticism. 

If, for example, you are a restaurant operator and on one day you received more bad reviews for the speed of service, you can remember whether new employees were trained during this time. With this information and a friendly apology, you can now respond to the criticism. This way, other potential customers who have searched for reviews for your restaurant will see that it was a unique situation that will probably not happen again. If you do not react, this can result in potential new customers foregoing a visit to your restaurant because they do not want to wait so long and believe the service is always slow. 

These tips should be followed when dealing with positive and negative online reviews: 

1. Designate one or more people in your organization to respond to online reviews and contact those who have written them. 
2. Make sure that reviews are commented on and reacted to quickly. 
3. Take criticism seriously and try to understand the customer. Do not take it personally and remain objective. 
4. Thank people for positive reviews. 
5. Do not write standard answers but respond individually to the user's statement. 

Actions in the case of negative online ratings

However, there are also reviews that cannot be reproduced. If, for example, comments about your restaurant contain direct insults, if untruths are spread (e.g. about the freshness of the food used or about hygiene in the kitchen) and you can be sure that this is not justified criticism, the situation is somewhat different. 

You have several options here:

1. Still question the situation/the facts described. Is the criticism justified (even if it feels unpleasant)? If you have made a mistake, apologize. 
2. People who deliberately want to harm you or provoke you do not remain objective and look for one mistake after another. Answer clearly and comprehensibly, avoid linguistic mistakes (which could again become an occasion for further criticism) and do not get involved in a deeper discussion. 
3. If you really feel that someone wants to harm you, consider deleting the comments or take legal action. 

Taking legal action against hate comments and spam

In the case of insults, obviously baseless criticisms and reputation-damaging allegations, you can ensure that the comments are deleted. This can usually be done directly via the platform on which the comment or rating was written. In addition, you can make a screenshot of the comment to be able to use it later as evidence if charges are brought. In some countries, you can report incitement on the internet directly online (for example, at the "Reporting Centre for Incitement on the Internet").

Dealing with feedback online, summarized

To summarize, as it is in most cases when dealing with people and different opinions, the same is true online: you need to analyze each situation individually. Not all feedback will be positive and not all will be negative. Negative feedback may even be an opportunity for your company to grow. Online presence is ever-growing as are portals where clients can rate and report feedback. Therefore, do not take online reviews lightly and make sure you are always up to date when it comes to what is being said about you or your business online. If you’re ever unsure how to react just re-check our myhive blog and implement some of the suggestions we’ve provided.