RatePoint

Resolving customer review disputes before they turn into lawsuits

Small businesses have long been on the receiving end of negative reviews on third-party site and generally are left with little to no recourse. Recently, a chiropractor sued a patient over a review on Yelp, and the case was just settled out of court. Those that sue to clear a business name are often labeled as bad businesses that are trying to squash any feedback.

So what’s a small-business owner to do? Instead of taking a backseat to building customer trust, business owners have the opportunity to strengthen customer relationships with proactive reviews.

When small- and medium-sized businesses proactively request feedback and reviews from consumers, it also creates an opportunity to mediate and resolve any potential disputes before those consumers take their complaints to another Web site. For example, if a business requests feedback after a purchase and the customer reports a shipping issue, the business can take steps to resolve the problem, which creates a satisfied customer and dispels the need for negative feedback elsewhere.

In an economy where reputation is essential, small businesses have the opportunity to harness the power of reviews and resolve any issues before consumers take their feedback elsewhere – and before a war of words turns into a court battle.