In this age of Trip Advisor and Google Reviews, businesses have to be extra diligent when delivering their products and services. A couple of bad reviews could be very bad for the business.
I think everyone who travels now goes on Trip Advisor to read the reviews from other travellers. I know I do. I have a rule of thumb, if the resort/hotel’s reviews are mostly in the very good and excellent column, it must be good. I tend to stay away from the places with a lot in the average column.
I did a Trip Advisor search for restaurants in Fredericton. I was surprised to see that there were 187 listed. Some were duplicates, so the real number is closer to 150. I was really surprised at some of the good restaurants that didn’t crack the top 100. So what does a visitor to our city look for when they search for a restaurant? I bet nothing over the top 50. Bad reviews can be poison.
We are currently working with a client to create some marketing material to encourage customers to write good reviews if they are happy with the service. They have had a few bad reviews, which makes them look bad. This is actually a really good idea and it would be worth a try if you are in a business that gets reviews. But don’t put it out there for everyone, just the customers you know that are leaving happy. In time you will build up your average, so a couple of bad reviews won’t hurt you.
This is not cheating; it’s soliciting feedback from truly happy customers. Think about everything you do and what might get you a bad review, and then correct it. It’s just good business.