Handling Negative Reviews

If you have a business that deals with the public there is a great possibility that one day you will get a bad review. YIKES! It happens. You cannot please everyone. How do you handle them? Do you address every single one? Researching, I found that there are some companies that totally ignore any bad review they receive and some answer every single one. As a small company, we have the ability to answer any we receive when time permits. The easy ones are when it was totally our fault. When this happens, we can clearly address the issue; take the blame and work to do better so that is does not happen again.

The problem is when it’s really not our fault. I know the saying is “the customer is always right,” but sometimes in the staffing and recruiting world they are not. When this happens, I struggle with trying to let them know so they can learn and also trying to find compassion for their issue. According to Dr. Phil (lol), you should never apologize with a “but”, but sometimes I feel that you can always have a lesson learned in the situation. For example, when people say “You Never Found Me a Job,” we could very well just say, “I’m sorry; I wish that we could help you. We want to find jobs for everyone and we will continue to search for you.” However, they need to know that just because you came in to a staffing agency does not mean you are guaranteed to get a job. Furthermore, your qualifications may not be up to standard. Some do not want to hear this, but it’s true. Why waste their time? Why can’t we explain that the reason you waited a long time in our waiting area to be interviewed is because we were on the phone with a client? Why can’t we tell them that they should have a resume for any interview they go on? For some people, telling them where they went wrong in the interview process is a valuable lesson that they can take with them elsewhere; however it is can also be offensive to some.

FYI: Greenhouse Agency has an open door policy. We really do want to help everyone, but we just can’t. However, we can provide you with the information and understanding to take with you going forward. We even type a resume for you and assist you in interviewing skills. As the saying goes, “Can’t please all the people all the time, but we do please most people most of the time.”

Where do you draw the line and how do you handle any negative reviews you may receive?