Negative review by a mentally ill individual

[j_holtslander]

Has anyone ever had a client that was left a damaging negative review by an individual that is legitimately not of sound mind? The review doesn't violate any guidelines whatsoever other than being hyperbolic and not grounded in reality. What action did you/would you take?

So far my advice has been to bury the bad review in a mountain of good reviews but sometime some clients just want it to disappear.

 

[djbaxter]

How do you know the reviewer is mentally ill, rather than just angry or unhappy with the service?

 

[Yan Gilbert]

If you can't get it removed, then the best thing to do is to reply to the review in such a way, without being negative, that calls into question the legitimacy of the review. That way people reading it are more prone to dismiss it.

 

[j_holtslander]

How do you know the reviewer is mentally ill, rather than just angry or unhappy with the service?

Both are at play. But the former is responsible for the latter. I trust the consensus of the persons who had contact with the individual.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@j_holtslander, Yan's advice is right on the money. Which is good, because there's pretty much nothing else you can do. That review will stick to your client like a bad smell

 

[Digitaldar]

I had that happen to a client (I'm assuming the person is not mentally well) and recognized the name from my local Buy Nothing group... sure enough that person spouted off oddly in that group as well. There was no record of her name as a customer so we did the usual "there is no record of xxx as a customer of any of our 11 locations. Please reach out to us directly at xxx to fix the situation". Of course such clients never reach out!

 

[Amy Toman]

@Digitaldar, I've wondered if that helps. In your experience, does that upbeat, friendly-but-firm "we have no record of working with you" response influence readers? I know that's the standard advice, but has anyone tested if it actually works? While nice, I think it would be more effective to get the additional reviews. Or not?

 

[Digitaldar]

@Amy Toman I certainly don't see this as an A or B solution - go for both Ideally a business is always trying to get reviews and responding to all... therefore this one will just get buried but if someone reads it, they know the owners are responsive, not defensive and willing to work... that would make me feel better

 

[Amy Toman]

Ok, agreed. That's what I tell clients as well. Give them something to make themselves look good "to the world and to your clients," then work on those reviews. Usually works like a charm!

 

[adammaxum]

Unless the review gets removed by Google for violating their terms...you're stuck with the review. There is no formal hearing process or proof process that I know about. Flag the review as many times as you can and hope it gets removed...

 

[profiledefenders]

We deal with this all the time. I've come up with a creative solution where I can remove the entire listing and that has helped companies we work with who have had many as you call them "Mentally Ill" reviews posted and want to have it fixed. Sometimes you can flag an individual review if it is egregious to get it fixed.

 

[razorclicks]

@j_holtslanderThat review will stick to your client like a bad smell

Phil - I couldn't stop laughing when I read this! (But I can't help but think that it might have gone right over people's heads.)