12 good ways to combat bad online reviews; or worse

Ever received a negative online review? Of course you have. Unless you are a pristine newcomer to the game, you have almost certainly seen your name embedded derogatorily in an online review. Usually that’s where it stops, but if you’re very unlucky, the reviewer will be a savvy user of social media who is motivated enough to go on the attack with a relentless, targeted, and polished campaign against your practice or, worse still, against your own professional competence and personal character. In case you have never been on the receiving end of the latter kind of advanced precision attack, let me be the first to tell you—it is not something you ever want to live through. Our practice is currently experiencing bombardment by one such assailant. She is conducting a wildly irrational, unflagging crusade in support of her unfounded belief that her elderly dog, whose care she could not afford and ultimately declined, was directly killed by the supportive care we offered. It has been well over a month, and her attacks have become increasingly more hostile and deranged. An unstable individual whose hate-filled ideology imbues her multi-platform online presence, she has now taken her dog’s cause to neighborhood apps—a surefire way to garner negative attention from our existing and potential clientele. She has threatened bodily harm, and even physically confronted our office manager, spitting and yelling at close range. Ongoing legal action hasn’t yet stopped her. Though we have successfully barred her from the premises, she has pledged to wage war online—indefinitely. It would be piteous were it not so damaging. I keep trying to put it into perspective (this is a sick person, etc.) and offer emotional support to my associate, who is bearing the brunt of it, but it is a hard thing to have to handle amid all the other stresses of life in the veterinary trenches; and handle them we must! In today’s universe, online reviews are the cornerstone of a practice’s marketing efforts—more so for an urban practice or for those otherwise serving a more transient population of potential clients. Whether slapdash and unsophisticated in an all-caps sort of way, or utterly effective and ultimately quite damaging, bad reviews can and should be managed. Now, I’m no PR professional, but here is how I’ve approached it in the past: Take it seriously Easier said than done, which is probably why it is often not done. The mistake I’ve observed too many practices make is to pointedly ignore bad reviews. “Don’t feed the trolls,” as the saying goes. If you do not respond they’ll go away, right? While mostly true, it is not always the case. These reviewers often post on multiple platforms, attempting to do as much immediate harm as possible. In the meantime, your reputation keeps taking hits. This is when it pays to be proactively strategic. Report the reviewer While typically unsuccessful, it is never wrong to forge ahead with an attempt to quash the review by reaching out to the platform directly through their automated reporting functionality. Hitting the “report this review” icon is always a must. Make your case with the platform’s moderators by enumerating the ways in which the post violates the platform’s guidelines for reviewers. Read these and be sure to cite them in your argument. Sure, it is often a stretch to claim the review breaks any rules, but it never hurts to try. (At this point it is probably best not to otherwise interact with the post lest it gain any traction.) Contact the reviewer directly Kill them with kindness. Demonstrating compassion is critical to any attempt to persuade the reviewer to remove their post, which is always the most desirable outcome in these cases. You do you but I always commiserate, apologize, offer recompense (free office visit, etc.) and even grovel to get my way. It does not cost me much and it beats having to look at this kind of negativity in perpetuity. Calling them personally is best. Sending a written private reply to the post works, too, but I get best results from a personal interaction. Post a public response If the reviewer is unreceptive to your soft touch, a public acknowledgement and/or explanation is usually a good idea. But be careful; a passive-aggressive rebuttal will often backfire. Always pen these in a separate document and ask a dispassionate person to review it. I think it is usually best to wait at least a day before you post a response—longer if your reviewer seemed even marginally interested in what you had to say. Note: There are excellent online resources for how these responses are best written. Read up before writing anything like this for the very first time. If you are an employee, get your practice’s approval before posting any kind of comment on a negative review. When to leave it alone Except in unusual cases (should the reviewer make new unfounded accusations, for example), leaving the situation alone—as much as you would like to reply to others’ comments, etc.—is almost certainly the best approach after a single, compassionately-worded public response. Never get into an online dialog. Even if you “win,” you often annoy, alienate, or otherwise make yourself appear uncharitable or unkind. Consider legal action Last resort though it may be, there are specific instances in which going on the legal offensive is your best defense. Slander, libel, defamation of character, and harassment have very specific legal definitions and you should seek an attorney’s help if you believe you might need one to address an inappropriate attack. Invest in reputation defense Hiring a dedicated firm to manage your online reputation is a prime consideration for those who own larger practices, specialty services, or practices who rely almost exclusively on reviews to source their clients. “Reputation defender” services come in all shapes and sizes. Some are far more effective than others and the difference is usually reflected in their retainers. Take defensive action If you are not willing to spend what may seem a small fortune to hire those who know best how to make you look squeaky clean online, don’t worry, you can still do most of it yourself. Either way, if reviews are a big part of your client acquisition strategy, you should plan on dedicating a sizable chunk of your marketing budget to maintaining a sterling online reputation. Here are a few ideas: Court online goodwill. Maintaining an active social media presence keeps you relevant among current clients, helps you maintain a positive presence, and helps amass a cache of accessible, motivated defenders in case the worst ever comes to pass and you need them to come to your rescue. Solicit positive reviews. It should go without saying that having a slew of excellent reviews cushions the blow when the rare bad review makes an appearance. Have a strategy for soliciting reviews that doesn’t make you look like you’re trying too hard. Advertise online. Paying to play is another longer-term, defensive strategy. I have no evidence to support this claim, but it only makes sense that advertising on a platform might endear it to your cause in case you would like borderline guideline-violating reviews removed. It just might tip the scales. Take care of yourself No matter who you are you’re not immune to the anxiety bad online reviews provoke. We all have a way of personalizing this kind of targeted—and very public—blow to our professionalism. Even if you have enjoyed a hundred good reviews for every bad one, you’re likely to feel personally shaken and publicly shamed—most often unjustly. After all, most of us are trying our best under imperfect circumstances and are simply experiencing the misdirected wrath of the bereaved, the overwrought, and the irrational. Recognize the situation for what it is and address it methodically—or ask your employer to do it for you. Above all, don’t let it damage your relationship to your profession, your patients, or your clients. Your capacity for caring and compassion need not be casualties of unfair and extreme online behavior. Keep it all in perspective; if you struggle to do so, know there’s help for those of us who need it. Patty Khuly, VMD, MBA, owns a small animal practice in Miami and is available at drpattykhuly.com. Columnists’ opinions do not necessarily reflect those of VPN Plus+.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
JSESSIONID	session	The JSESSIONID cookie is used by New Relic to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application.
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
vuid	2 years	Vimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website.
_ga	2 years	The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat	1 minute	This cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites.
_gat_UA-	1 minute	A variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gid	1 day	Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
__gads	1 year 24 days	The __gads cookie, set by Google, is stored under DoubleClick domain and tracks the number of times users see an advert, measures the success of the campaign and calculates its revenue. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites.

Cookie	Duration	Description
ADV_u_id	3 months 8 days	Unique customer identifier used to track unique ad views and interactions with some ads.
anj	3 months	AppNexus sets the anj cookie that contains data stating whether a cookie ID is synced with partners.
fr	3 months	Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE	1 year 24 days	Google DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
loc	never	AddThis sets this geolocation cookie to help understand the location of users who share the information.
OAGEO	session	OpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
OAID	1 year	Cookie set to record whether the user has opted out of the collection of information by the AdsWizz Service Cookies.
test_cookie	15 minutes	The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
uuid2	3 months	The uuid2 cookie is set by AppNexus and records information that helps in differentiating between devices and browsers. This information is used to pick out ads delivered by the platform and assess the ad performance and its attribute payment.
_fbp	3 months	This cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.

Membership Required