Angela’s tips to handling online reviews & customer complaints

Andy
Yeah. So that’s a pretty fair number. So what is the point?

Ange
Good question. Well, I’m not sure if it’s because of the super high workload tradies are experiencing right now, but the toolbox is absolutely jam-packed with questions specifically about how to handle bad reviews online. Okay, hang on a sec. Let me find one. How do I delete Google reviews? Can I turn off my Facebook comments? I keep getting trolls. How can I get better reviews for my landscape business?

Andy
Yeah, I get tradies asking me about this all the time, so I’m not surprised about these questions at all.

Ange
Yeah, look, that’s just a handful, but honestly, I could read probably another 20 questions at Tradies have about reviews. It’s super hard to manage your reviews online, and I totally understand why. It’s something we’d rather just not deal with.

Andy
Yeah, definitely. I totally understand what you mean because Google reviews are super important for a business, but we all know there’s a lot of Karens out there, keyboard warriors out there who love an online complaint.

Ange
Look, I hear you about the Google reviews, but I don’t know about that home Karen, bit, one of my besties is a Karen.

Andy
Yeah, well.

Ange
I just can’t, I can’t align with that.

Andy
There’s definitely Karen’s out there. I can tell you.

Ange
All right, so it’s true when researching a new business or product, because as customers we often look to see what the one star or the lowest rate of review said.

Andy
Yes.

Ange
Because you know what? It’s customer psychology to make a buying decision based on what others have said about a product or a service. And since we have a mobile device, literally in our hands, it’s actually just too easy to check what other people think about before you make your final decision. Positive reviews are great and lots of them look favorable to your business.

Andy
Agree, but the shit thing is, it doesn’t matter if you have 65 star reviews and only three one star reviews. I bet that every customer goes back and reads every single one of those one star reviews.

Ange
Absolutely. And as business owners, we need to be mindful of this psychology, even though it can hurt to see these really low reviews. It’s okay to have a few not so favorable reviews.

Andy
Yes.

Ange
I just want you to be really clear about that.

Andy
Yes.

Ange
We’re not perfect all of the time, but what does matter is how you deal with them. This will be the difference to prospects making contact with your business or not. So to make sure that you don’t make a mistake, I wanna share with you some top tips for dealing with these not so great reviews in a manner that’s gonna help your business not be knocked down by it.

Andy
Sounds like you will and truly have this covered to Angela. Might gonna grab myself a beer and just go sit over there and listen to this whole segment.

Ange
Might wanna participate.

Andy
Oh, really?

Ange
Yeah. So the first thing to do in this situation when you do get a low grade review is literally to respond quickly to the complaint. So what I mean by that is you’ve gotta address the problem with sensitivity and empathy. Your response should either ask the disgruntled customer to contact you directly and pretty much provide them the contact information to find you or potentially outline the situation and how your business tried to rectify it, because that’s what’s gonna show people that you are actively trying to mend the situation and have taken some sort of tangible action.

Andy
The funny thing is, most tradies, we don’t react as calmly.

Ange
No. As that. You get the sh*ts.

Andy
At the first, the first thing is this customer should go eat a ****, you know? But, um, it, it’s no doubt about it. This is the way we have to deal with them and, and that anger and that angst and, you know, it, it is sometimes these reviews on your business are like, you know, the business is your baby and they’re calling it ugly, you know.

Ange
You’re taking it personally.

Andy
It’s a real problem. You have, you have.

Ange
And it’s understandable, but we actually can’t.

Andy
We can’t. No, that’s right. But the other day I was looking online to buy a t-shirt.

Ange
Really? Because you have like 45 black t-shirts in your cupboard and it must have been hard to make a decision about another black t-shirt?

Andy
Yeah. For those of you that know me, I have a lot of black tees. It’s funny, I’m, I’ve, um, been training a little bit and doing a bit of exercise and I’m, I’m leaning down, I’m feeling a bit better about myself. I sometimes wonder if they say, Black is good when you’re fat, right?

Ange
Yes.

Andy
So maybe deep down that was the reason. But, um, I just think black is cool and I, I love black, but, um, oh!

Ange
Digress. Sorry.

Andy
Yeah, I was having a look online for this shirt and I had a look and there was this one star review and I thought, really, what’s all that about? So obviously like most people, you go to the worst reviews and you read them and it was this guy that was having an absolute, um, crack at them and saying, I’ve bought a heap of stuff. It was over a month ago, and it still hasn’t been delivered. You know, I rang them up and I said I wanted my money back. And they said, no, they’re not gonna give me a refund. And I was like, oh, wow. Maybe these guys are a bit dodgy or something.

Ange
So that’s interesting how quickly that bad review can change your opinion about a company, right? But in any industry, it doesn’t matter whether it’s clothing or trades, electronics, whatever, there are so many companies to choose from. So it only takes one thing to write that company off.

Andy
Yeah, you’re right. But I could see that the company replied an hour after he wrote it, and I’m like, everyone on social media, you gotta read the comments, right?

Ange
Yeah, totally.

Andy
So honestly, I was surprised by the company’s response. You know, it was really brief, but in about four or five lines, super politely, they explained that the location of where he lived was in a regional area?

Ange
Right?

Andy
And they said that shipping to that area was already delayed, and that had advised them. When he first purchased a shirt, it was gonna take around four weeks to get there, and it was about to arrive in three days. So they said they wouldn’t offer a refund, and I thought, well, that’s fair enough, isn’t it?

Ange
Yeah. Interesting. It goes to show that there’s actually always two sides to every story. Right.

Andy
Definitely.

Ange
And as our potential customer, you kind of gotta go. Well, actually that’s fair enough. There was nothing that that company could have done. They actually told him that it would be late before he purchased it.

Andy
Yeah.

Ange
So it’s more his fault than theirs, in my opinion.

Andy
I agree.

Ange
But awesome that they responded really quickly and with a pretty decent and unemotional answer.

Andy
That’s right. And you know, not everything is always that neat. Sometimes it is our mistake as a business, but realistically, if you as a business did make a mistake, if you own it with the customer and you do everything in your power to make it better, then they will never leave a bad review. Bad reviews are left when people feel ripped off and want to have a go about it.

Ange
Yeah, that’s super important because what if, let’s say it was the company’s fault that the order was late, if they’d written in the comments. That they’d already sent him a discount for 50% perhaps off future orders, plus we’re refunding the shipping amount, but because it was due to arrive in three days that they wouldn’t refund the entire order. What would your perception have been then?

Andy
Yeah, if they did make that mistake, then I reckon that, that’s pretty good. Like they made a mistake, they owned it and they tried to make it better. And that’s really all a customer asked for, so I would probably still buy for them.

Ange
Yeah, so if anything, that one star review, it sounds crazy to say, but because the company handled the situation really well as a potential customer, it actually helps you build a little trust with them. If, like you said, they replied within an hour, then say, Hey, that’s great customer service in my books and thinking of the big picture. If that was the worst experience somebody had with that business, then that’s pretty minor stuff. Right?

Andy
And I know a lot of us, when we get a bad review for our business, we just wanna delete it and get it off our pages quickly so nobody else sees it. But you can’t do this with Google reviews, but on your social media that Delete button can be very, very tempting.

Ange
Don’t delete bad reviews.

Andy
Depends what the review is, but I agree with what you’re saying.

Ange
You know what? I know it’s tempting to delete them, like turn off comments or remove negative comments, especially when it’s on your social media pages. But this is poor business practice in my books, and customers may catch on and think twice about using your services. You should always respond and always allow comments and feedback to be seen because customers think it is okay to actually have a bad review as long as it was dealt with fairly. It’s almost the reverse. If you have all five stars, they actually think it’s rigged and fake.

Andy
Yeah, agree. No one really expects perfection. They just wanna know that you are a business that is genuine and you’re a safe choice for them as a customer.

Ange
Yeah. Look, you nailed it on the head. A safe choice. Nobody wants risk, especially when it comes to a trade business. If they’ve got a leak that needs fixing, they want someone that will come and get it done right the first time. And even more importantly, if they’re looking at an expensive job, like a home renovation, then they really wanna know that you are the best fit for them. So if you can show that you care about your customers and their experience, it’s just one more tick towards your business.

Andy
And look, I have to admit it, especially back in the old days, I’ve been a bit of a hothead.

Ange
Really?

Andy
Yeah. There’s a little bit of, there’s a bit of anger in the old Andy of times. So it can be really hard not to get angry when you’re dealing with these negative reviews about your business, especially when you as a business owner know the truth and the reality of what really happened, and they’re blowing it out of proportion and not even being reasonable.

Ange
So getting angry or defensive is not my suggestion of how you deal with it.

Andy
No, I know, but every tradie out there, just would like to rip in, but we’ve just gotta hold it back.

Ange
You gotta take a chill pill. It’s the worst thing actually you can do because not everyone can be reasoned with, and if you stoop to their level, it will actually reflect poorly on your business. And potential customers likely won’t see both sides of the story. They’ll just see you, the business owner attacking a previous customer, and that’s really uncool. So stay calm, very cool and collected.

Andy
Being Ange not Andy. The best thing to do here is to write your reply and have someone else read it back before you post it. You know, that person does really need to be neutral, not invested nor emotional about the situation. We often write and post in the heat of the moment.

Ange
Yeah.

Andy
And that is when we get in a lot of trouble.

Ange
Absolutely. And you know what? It’s just not worth it.

Andy
It’s not.

Ange
We just say to reply quickly. Right. Within an hour or two, preferably. But if you’re going to blow your top, then I actually think taking a few extra hours to reply is probably your better option. So one single incident with two sides to a story, if handled poorly, could be super damaging to your business, and you need to think that post is going to live there forever. Imagine if that clothing company had replied back too bad, so sad, or never even responded to that comment at all. There’s actually no way that you would’ve bought anything from that shirt company.

Andy
No, I wouldn’t, I don’t think online these days. As soon as you start looking at this negative stuff and the comment’s not great, you’re just second guessed and everyone, you know, we always talk about this a lot, especially on this podcast that you buy when you form trust, and as soon as that trust is lost, you’re never ever gonna buy from them again. And look, I think what’s even worse is fake reviews. You know, if you are a tradie and you’re out there writing fake reviews, I hate to say, but you’re an absolute dog , and I’m hearing it constantly where they’re finding that the odd competitor is putting fake reviews. Are you serious? You know, as an industry, we need to be building each other up and banding together. Not this petty high school crap really.

Ange
Yeah, It’s absolutely awful, right? And the best thing you can do in this situation is to report any fake reviews, cause sometimes competitors will leave these fake bad reviews. It’s super bad business practice, but not everybody operates ethically. So in this situation, you need to reply on the thread and make mention that you don’t have a record of them interacting with your business at all. And this shows any potential customers that this review is fake. Then report the fake review quickly, and where possible block them from being able to re-comment or rate again.

Andy
Customers understand fake reviews do exist, and more than anything, they probably just feel sorry for you as a business owner. But back to what we’re saying before, respond to the review saying we do not have any record of you working with us. If that is incorrect, can you please contact us on blah, blah, blah, and we’ll resolve your issue immediately. Any potential customer should be satisfied with that as your response. I know, I definitely would be.

Ange
And you know what? More and more people are now being fined. Yes. Literally fined.

Andy
Wow. That’s cool.

Ange
For leaving fake reviews.

Andy
Yeah.

Ange
I know. This guy in the UK on TripAdvisor kept leaving fake reviews for a restaurant and the owner, who was a Cambridge law graduate, successfully sued him for over seven and a half thousand pounds, which is probably about 13,000 Aussie dollars.

Andy
Yeah, it sounds like a lot of money, but it’s not when your business or reputation is getting flogged.

Ange
Yeah.

Andy
Day by day or week by week, you know it serves him. Right, and he should have to pay a heap of money for leaving these fake reviews. It just goes to show that slowly these internet trolls are being reprimanded for their actions, so hopefully they’ll start to think twice before leaving fake reviews again.

Ange
Yeah. To me that’s karma coming back to bite them.

Andy
It’s that time for everyone’s favorite bit of the week. It’s tradie news time.

Ange
Well, today’s news story comes from news.com where they did this profile on Jim Penman. Does that name ring a bell? Because it should. He’s the founder of Jim’s Mowing.

Andy
Yes, more like Jim’s Bloody everything. It’s Jim’s Plumbing, Jim’s fencing, Jim’s cleaning, Jim’s handyman.

Ange
I actually even saw Jim’s dog washing on the North Shore the other day.

Andy
Oh, . Yes.

Ange
Go bigger.

Andy
He does it all.

Ange
So, hey, it’s interesting that we don’t talk a lot in trade about franchising. The more usual path, I guess, is about selling and buying. But having said that, hold onto your seats, guys. Jim’s franchise has an annual turnover of 500 million dollars.

Andy
Ooh, that’s red hot, isn’t it?

Ange
Yep.

Andy
Maybe we should have franchised Dr. Drip in the end. Jim would have some serious cash now. He would be rolling in it.

Ange
Yes. He’s got approximately 4,000 franchises, 35,000 customers with about 50 divisions. According to news.com, Jim’s group is Australia’s largest franchising family and a leader in the mobile service industry.

Andy
Yeah, with figures like that, I’m definitely not surprised. You know, a lot of millionaires, like, let’s name a couple, um, Gene Reinhardt, Elon Musk. They’re probably almost billionaires now, aren’t they? But they all started as pretty rich in their own right. But from what I’ve heard, Jim, he came from a pretty modest background.

Ange
Yeah, I heard that too. And in the interview he told them that he was actually almost broke and in significant debt. Then he actually had to turn everything around. Hang on a sec. Let me just read you a bit from this article. So it says, Jim said, I just started mowing lawns working incredibly hard, six days a week and doing a great job. Customers loved me and I got repeat work.

Andy
I just had to laugh because I, when you hear, I just started mowing lawns and the next minute you’re doing 500 million turnover . Yeah, I mean, I’ve always said the way to success in trade business is repeat customers.

Ange
Yes.

Andy
They’re easier to sell to and we all know on average they spend more, plus they generate great word of mouth for your business.

Ange
You know what? I actually loved reading this stuff about him. I really feel like he’s our kind of guy.

Andy
Yes, definitely.

Ange
Let me read you this other quote that I saw because it actually echoes what we say a lot every day. He quotes, I have so many weaknesses, but I think it’s important to show you don’t have to be a genius or good at everything to have a good business. The principles that are important are being passionate about your customers and relentless in your focus on how to get better.

Andy
I definitely second that. I bet I’ll make Jim live the good life. Right?

Ange
Well, actually he’s quite the opposite. So even though Jim is almost 70, apparently he’s still heavily involved in the day-to-day operation of Jim’s group. And rather than splashing his cash, he famously drives this old Mitsubishi Outlander.

Andy
Mitsubishi Outlander. Yeah. Are you kidding me?

Ange
And he spent most of his fortune funding research for a cure for addiction and depression.

Andy
Oh, that’s absolutely cool.

Ange
How awesome is this bloke?

Andy
Awesome. Which as we all know are huge issues in our industry. So it’s amazing to see somebody in his position actively working towards solutions to better our country.

Ange
Totally.

Andy
Man, I gotta tell you, this is the real feel good story of the year right there. What a legend.

Ange
Yeah, I totally agree. He’s actually been nicknamed Australia’s Accidental Backyard Millionaire. So it goes to show that anybody with a trade business and a dream with the right business backing could actually be that next backyard millionaire.

Andy
Okay Ange, I think you’re done with gushing over your new boyfriend. I think that’s all for the news today. I’m gonna get out there and mow some lawns.

Ange
Customer reviews are not going away. And as we move forward with the digital world, having a formulated plan for dealing with reviews is going to become an absolutely necessary facet of your business. And you know what? For more tips on how to deal with difficult customers, I definitely urge you guys to check out the podcast episode. Which is called tricks to manage difficult customers and turn them into lifelong clients, which was guest starring, Australia’s leading people skills expert, Judith Wilson.

Andy
Yeah, that episode was an absolute cracker because fake reviews are one thing, but when someone has a grievance against your business, you need to be armed with the right tools to deal with a situation so it doesn’t escalate to another level.

Ange
Exactly. And from now on, You need to monitor your social media and your Google Pages daily to ensure that you capture any bad reviews quickly and not left for days unattended. You need to ensure that someone within your business is aware that they have a daily task to keep an eye on your reviews, or better still, every time a review is posted, it actually notifies your email or your phone and that way you know the moment it’s posted.

Andy
And you know what? Let’s just flip that for a bit. If somebody leaves a good review, bloody reward them for it. Comment quickly how thankful you are, they’ve had such a great experience and that you look forward to being their go-to tradie next time. If you can respond to all your comments online, good and bad, that shows any customer that you are dedicated to your customer service and overall you’re a well-rounded business.

Ange
Absolutely. Great stuff. So Andy, I think that’s us wrapped up for today.

Andy
Yep. Sounds good. Let’s head out.