# Respond to a bad review A calm public reply, based only on what you know happened, that future customers will read as fair. **Time:** 8 minutes **What you'll have when you're done:** A short public reply to the review, and a separate private message if you want to resolve it directly. ---A one-star review lands, and part of it isn't fair. Your first draft is a point-by-point rebuttal. Your second draft is an apology for everything. Neither is what you want future customers to see. A public reply is read by far more people than the reviewer. The goal is a response that's calm, specific, and fair, whether or not the reviewer changes their mind. --- ## The one hard rule **Never put private customer details in a public reply.** No order details, account information, or anything the reviewer didn't already share. And only state facts you know. If you're not sure what happened, say you're looking into it. --- ## Do this 1. **Write down what actually happened**, separately from what the review says. Include what you don't know yet. 2. **Decide what you're willing to offer**: an apology for a specific thing, a refund, a redo, a conversation, or an acknowledgment and nothing more. 3. **Ask for a draft**, using the prompt below. Use a placeholder for the reviewer's name. 4. **Wait before posting** if you're still annoyed, and reread it once you've cooled down. ``` Help me reply publicly to this customer review. The review: [paste it, with the reviewer's name replaced by [REVIEWER]] What actually happened, as far as I know: [facts] What I don't know yet: [anything uncertain] What I'm willing to offer: [specific offer, or "an apology for their experience and nothing more"] Write: 1. A public reply under 80 words. Calm, specific, not defensive. Acknowledge their experience, correct a fact only if it matters, and invite them to contact us directly. 2. A private message to the customer, under 120 words, in case I can reach them. Don't admit fault for anything I haven't said we got wrong. Don't offer anything beyond what I listed. Don't include any customer details that aren't already in the review. ``` --- ## Check this before you trust it - **Every fact in the reply.** If it states what happened, is that confirmed? - **The offer.** It should match exactly what you said, not a more generous version. - **How it reads to a stranger.** Read it as someone deciding whether to buy from you. Does it sound fair? --- ## If it goes wrong **It still sounds defensive.** Ask: "Remove anything that argues with the reviewer. Keep one sentence of correction at most." **It apologizes for things you didn't do.** Ask it to limit the apology to their experience, or to the specific thing that went wrong. **The review may be fake, or from someone who was never a customer.** Don't accuse them in public. Review sites generally have a way to report reviews that break their rules, so use that, and keep any public reply neutral. **The review mentions an injury, a legal threat, or discrimination.** Don't post a drafted reply without advice. Talk to someone qualified, such as an attorney or your insurance provider, before you respond.

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