One unanswered bad review: 5 steps to keep customers

Sooner or later every business gets a bad review. People who read reviews aren't looking for perfection. They look at how you react.

## 1. Don't reply in anger
Read it, put the phone down, come back a few hours later. A reply written in anger stays public for years.

## 2. Say thank you and admit what's true
“Thank you for writing to us. You're right, the order was late.” One simple sentence calms things down and shows maturity.

## 3. Explain briefly, without long excuses
Say what happened and what you've changed. No internal details and no blaming the customer.

## 4. Take the conversation private
Offer a phone number or email: “We'd like to put this right, please call us on…”. Others see that you tried.

## 5. Collect more good reviews
One negative review among many positive ones counts for little. Ask happy customers to leave a review. A card with a QR code on the counter makes it a matter of seconds, and we include one with every Google profile.

## Fake reviews
If a review breaks Google's rules (for example it's from someone who was never a customer, or it's abusive), you can report it from your profile. Until it's resolved, reply calmly, like to any other.

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