Review response guide

How to respond to a negative review for a Restaurant

In hospitality, tone is everything, diners judge how you'd treat them by how you treat reviewers.

A negative review is public, and it's read by far more people than the one who wrote it. Your reply isn't really for the upset customer, it's for the next hundred people deciding whether to trust you. Handle it well and a bad review can actually win you business.

Use four beats: acknowledge the specific problem, apologize without making excuses, say what you're doing about it, and invite them to continue offline. Keep it to a few sentences, stay warm, and never get defensive.

Example

The review

Waited 45 minutes for a table we reserved, and the food came out cold.

A reply that works

A 45-minute wait on a reservation isn't okay, and a cold plate on top of it, I'd be frustrated too. We've changed how we pace weekend seating. If you'll give us another shot, email me directly and your next dinner is on me.

Tip: Name the specific failure (the wait, the cold food). Vague apologies read as canned.

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