Handling comments and complaints

A public complaint is read by far more people than it is written by, and the reply is the content. Most of the damage done by negative comments is done by the response rather than the comment.

Who you are writing for

Not the complainant. The fifty people reading, who are deciding what kind of business this is. That changes the goal from winning the exchange to demonstrating how you handle things going wrong.

Which is why a defensive reply is expensive even when it is correct. Being right in public, at length, to somebody annoyed, reads badly to everybody who was not involved.

The shape of a good reply

1. 01Acknowledge the specific thing, in their words, so it is clear you read it.
2. 02Say what you will do, or what you can offer. Concrete, not we will look into this.
3. 03Move it off the thread: a direct message, an email, a phone number. Once, not as a brush-off.
4. 04Do the thing. The reply is only worth anything if the follow-through happens.
5. 05If it resolves, leave the original thread as it is. Do not go back and campaign for the comment to be edited.

Short, specific, no justification. Four lines does more than four paragraphs, and the absence of defensiveness is the part people notice.

When it is not a real complaint

• Somebody looking for an argument rather than a resolution. One reply, polite, offering a private route. Then nothing. The audience can see who is being reasonable.
• Abuse. Remove and block, with no reply. There is no public-relations value in engaging and no obligation to host it.
• A competitor or a fake account. Reply once as though genuine, for the benefit of readers, and report it through the platform rather than accusing in the thread.
• A pile-on, where the volume is the point. Post one statement, stop replying individually, and deal with the substance properly if there is any.

Being prepared

1. 01Write the three replies you will need before you need them: a genuine mistake, a misunderstanding, a problem outside your control.
2. 02Decide who answers, and that it is not whoever is most annoyed.
3. 03Agree a rule for waiting. An hour between reading and replying prevents most of the damage done in this category.
4. 04Check the comments once or twice a day rather than living in them, because the alternative is that this subject consumes your attention entirely.

And read them for what they are telling you. Several people confused by the same thing is not a reputation problem, it is a product or a pricing or a wording problem, and the comments are the cheapest research you will ever be given.

Moderation settings

Mostly ignored and worth twenty minutes. Every platform offers filtering you can configure once and benefit from permanently.

• Filter the obvious abuse and slurs with the built-in word list, so you are not reading them before removing them.
• Add the words your particular business attracts, which you will know after a month.
• Restrict who can comment on advertising, where the platform allows it, since paid reach brings people with no interest in you.
• Turn off notifications outside working hours. The comment will still be there, and you will reply to it better.

Messages, and the expectation you set

Platform messaging creates an expectation of a fast answer, and an unanswered message sits visibly unanswered. Several platforms display your response time publicly, which turns a slow reply into something customers can see.

So either watch it or say you do not. An automatic reply saying messages are checked twice a day and giving an email address or a telephone number is entirely acceptable, and considerably better than silence. What does not work is a profile that invites messages and answers them in four days.

Taking the good ones seriously

Complaints get a procedure and praise gets a like, which is the wrong way round economically. Somebody who has just said something generous in public is the best available candidate for a review, a testimonial you are allowed to use, or a referral, and the moment passes within a day. Reply properly, and where it is genuine, ask: would you mind saying that where other people looking for this would see it.