Revinate has identified these as the top ten things to keep in mind as you develop your management response talking points:
- Management response should come from as high up in the organization as possible. General Manager is best.
- Time is of the essence. Respond within 24 hours, because responses are moderated and can take a while to be posted.
- Highlight some of the positive comments the guest has made in your response, for example: “I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay in the newly renovated guest rooms”. Do not feel the need to bring up every comment the guest makes; highlight the most important ones.
- Apologize for an "atypical stay" if the guest felt slighted or didn't have a good experience. He chose to spend his money with you and, if he was disappointed, he deserves an apology.
- Use response templates to maintain brand consistency in voice and tone. Have someone else proofread your response to ensure it is well-written, on-brand, and grammatically correct.
- Let the reviewer know that you will use the feedback to improve operations, commend employees, or retrain. In other words, her feedback will be used to make a difference.
- Thank the reviewer for taking the time to write a review, and call out any positives from the review. For example, say, "I'm sorry that you experienced an issue with housekeeping, but I'm glad that you did enjoy our spa services."
- Never put your hotel/restaurant name in the same sentence as a problem that was reported, because it may come up in search results. For example, don't say, "Sorry to hear that you thought the Rex Hotel was noisy." Instead, say, "Sorry you found your stay noisy."
- Invite the reviewer back for another visit. If the first experience wasn't great, tell them to let you know when they return, so you can personally oversee their visit. However, don't include your number or email in the response; that is not allowed by the review sites. And always invite a guest back who has had a positive experience.
- Be sincere. If it wouldn't sound natural coming out of your mouth, don't say it.
- Put yourself in the reviewer's shoes. Most people just want to be heard and acknowledged. Understanding that makes it much easier to write a response. Remember, the most important quality of voice is that it seems to come from the heart.
Overall, when responding to reviews, whether it’s positive or negative, shows you’re an engaged leader who cares not only about the business but about your guests, too.
While we hope that 100% of the reviews will be positive, some of the best-run, most customer-focused businesses will receive bad reviews. When a negative review comes in, use it as a learning experience for how to improve your business in the future and how to showcase your responsiveness.
The way you respond to a negative situation can reflect positively on your business, and a thoughtful post-review interaction can even encourage the customer to update their review.
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Best way to respond to positive, negative and mixed reviews