So your restaurant had a bad night. Maybe the service was slow. You were short-staffed. Someone called out sick. You ran out of pennies. Or the dining area wasn’t completely kept up to your standard. Sh*t happens, we get it. But sometimes your customers don’t. And that could lead to a bad review of your restaurant online. Potential customers will look at your ratings and quickly decide whether they want to dine with you based on the strength of your reviews. But the good news is, people also value quality, authenticity and **responsiveness**. Plus, online users tend to have pretty good digital competency. Which is why you have to stay ahead of these negative reviews, understand how to respond and recover gracefully.

Take a look at these four tips to shield your restaurant from bad reviews and steps to take if you find one on your page.

Tip #1: It all starts with service.

Obviously, your staff should be well trained. Whether that’s with proper food handling, cleanliness or customer service protocols. But what’s arguably one of the most important aspects of service is customer engagement. Every interaction should be pleasant, welcoming and friendly at best. They should represent the personality of your brand through and through. But they should also know how to empathize with customers and navigate stressful situations.

For example, extra long wait times in the drive thru can be frustrating for guests. Instead of just handing off the orders at the window with a smile, train staff members to thank their guests for waiting and sincerely apologize for the wait. If you possess the capabilities, a bounce-back coupon could appease your waiting guests even further.

Additionally, the best way to avoid negative experiences with your service is to stay ahead of it. You should regularly solicit feedback from your guests to understand where you fall short and make necessary improvements proactively.

Tip #2: Food quality and cleanliness must be on point.

Consistency is key. Food prep and presentation should never deviate from perfection, if you can help it. Keeping a hygienic, organized environment will help you maintain high standards. Take it upon yourself to conduct regular inspections and continuously train staff on cleanliness protocols.

Tip #3: Connect with customers online.

You have to meet your customers where they are. And for many, that’s online. A great way to prevent bad reviews from making their way to Yelp is by sending follow-up emails or even texts to get their feedback before they take their opinions into open water (aka Yelp and Google My Business). This way you can attempts to filter reviews through an internal system for you to reference and improve. If they are negative, you can attempt to remedy it before their opinions are shared publically, and if they are positive you can prompt the customer to share their review publically.

Tip #4: Monitor your reviews and feedback.

There are plenty of online tools you can use to manage and track your public reviews. This is especially beneficial for receiving alerts and mentions so you can swiftly respond to negative feedback if necessary.

If you do find a negative review, here are a few steps to handle it effectively.

Step 1: Stay calm

Remember, negative reviews aren’t a reflection on you. The customer is simply sharing their experience. And this is an opportunity for you to reassess and improve.

Step 2: Respond quickly and professionally

Craft a thoughtful, empathetic response. Make sure you are apologetic while acknowledging the issue. You could also offer a solution or compensation if you believe the situation warrants it. Either way, by responding you are showing your customer that their feedback matters and that you are serious about implementing positive changes.

Step 3: Take the conversation offline

In order to avoid any additional negativity or public responses, after a brief and fair response to the review, it may be best to offer further resolution offline. Give your unhappy guest contact information to work on resolving their problem and ensure their privacy will be protected.

Step 4: Move forward

Negative feedback shouldn’t be seen as a negative. It should be observed as a learning opportunity. So take your reviews to heart and look for ways to improve your business.

Your ratings can make or break your business. Your online reputation relies on good reviews. But imperfection is likely inevitable, and sometimes bad reviews happen even to the best businesses. Do what you can to mitigate the negative feedback online by training your staff and staying ahead of the curve by proactively soliciting reviews for your brand internally. If you aren’t sure how to respond to a bad review, just delete your Yelp page and start over… jk reach out to Push for reputation management.