Throughout life, critique and constructive criticism has played a part in growing as an individual. From submitting an essay to an English teacher, or practicing your jumpshot in basketball, the comments you receive in either case shape who you are, and how you can become better at either thing. When you get into the service industry, where you are working to give people the best experience possible, their remarks are critical to ensure your business survives and that you are doing the best job possible. When hosting a guest, it’s the same situation; their comments matter, and so does your service. Getting positive feedback is always a great feeling, as it is a confirmation that your hard work has paid off. Negative feedback, however, may leave you feeling a bit sour.
Responding to negative reviews
The ability to deal with negative feedback in a positive way is the best way for your business to continue to succeed. These reviews that don’t confirm that you are doing the best you can do will push you to try even harder. The first step is to distance yourself from the review, as they aren’t reviewing you as a person, but the experience they received. This is the hardest part, as you have undoubtedly poured your heart and soul into making sure guests have the experience of a lifetime. But if you’re able to do this, you’re one step closer to figuring out where the rental went wrong.
When reading the review, try and empathize with the reviewer, is what they’re saying true? Is this the first time you’ve heard these criticisms or is this a repeat occurrence? If it’s a first time situation, take note of it, and see if there is any way to improve on what went wrong. If it’s a repeat occurrence, this should be a big enough sign that there is something wrong with that aspect of the rental.
If you feel that you have a good solution in mind to fix the problem, implement the solution. As well, when responding to the reviewer, refrain from strongly worded reviews. After all, this review will be public, and you don’t want to have any more negative press. Properly handling negative reviews shows that you are able to take criticism and that your heart lies with the business. Depending on the severity of the review (their trip was ruined, their trip was minorly affected), determine what the best course of action is in order to rectify the situation. This may mean a full refund, or offering them a free stay after you’ve fixed the issue.
Making sure that you keep calm and collected when reading negative reviews, and trying to fix any issue that pops up will ensure that the reviews that follow will be positive.
