All companies occasionally get negative reviews. How your company responds to these reviews and the steps you take to improve customer experiences going forward can set you apart from your competitors. Here are some tips for dealing with negative reviews of your U.S. pest control company. 

The first thing you should do when a customer leaves a negative review is to respond both publicly and privately. Determine the specific grievances the customer had and identify how your company went wrong. Then, leave a detailed response to their review online that acknowledges the problem and offers a solution. After that, reach out to the customer privately to reiterate your apology and solution.

One of the biggest mistakes that small business owners make when responding to negative customer reviews is to get defensive. Another huge mistake is to deny the customer’s experience or argue with them about their perception of events. The best thing that you can do to preserve your reputation is to express empathy for the customer’s experience and acknowledge any errors you made on your part.

Next, offer the customer a clear solution. If the customer experienced poor customer service, an apology and promise to do better in the future might be enough. However, if your mistake resulted in property damage or was related to ineffective pest control methods, a health and safety issue, or a billing dispute, you may need to go further to fix the problem. Offering to return to the customer’s home or business to rectify the situation or providing a discount on future services or a partial or full refund may appease the customer and show anyone else reading the review that you care about making things right.

Working with a professional marketing company can help you manage negative reviews, get rid of spam reviews, and use positive reviews as free advertising for your company. At Plumfun Media, we offer review management services for pest control companies in the U.S. and can help you handle negative reviews and generate more positive reviews. Call us today or book a strategy session online to learn more about becoming a member of the Plumfun Media family.