In this post we talk about whether or not you can remove negative reviews from Google, Yelp, or Facebook.
The short answer: no
The reason is because those sites want to maintain the integrity of their platforms. If you could just remove negative reviews for any reason, or if you could pay to have them removed, large companies would have a really big advantage over small businesses, creating an unfair market.
So once a review is left, it’s there forever. That’s why you need to be really aggressive in preventing bad reviews from happening, simply by giving good service all the time.
But, there are some ways to mitigate the effects of a negative review.
When you get a negative review, respond
Make sure the customer’s problem is being acknowledged and addressed. Don’t be argumentative – have a sincere tone and actually care. They are still a valued customer, even though they had a bad experience.
In your response to a negative review, tell them that you’re the manager and that they can contact you at your office phone number or email address. If they do end up reaching back out to you, that’s your golden opportunity to really make it up to them. You could offer them some kind of incentive to revisit your business, and show them that you actually have really great customer service and a really great product. If, at that point, they’re pleased and impressed, then it’s fair game to ask them to edit or remove their negative review.
Yes – the user has the ability to remove negative reviews that they’ve left. So, again, invite them back in, make it up to them, and turn that 1-star into a 4 or 5-star review.
Take preventative measures
Another way to “remove” negative reviews is by being proactive in preventing them in the first place. Before your customers leave your store, ask them in-person what their experience was like. That way, if they did have a bad experience, you can address it on the spot before they go online to leave a negative review.
If you address the issue before they leave, you’re more likely to leave a better taste in their mouth, and perhaps they’ll even go out of their way to leave you a positive review!
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