Hi! Responding to negative reviews can be tough, but it's worth the struggle! My goal is to respond within 24-48 hours. Taking the time to respond to negative reviews shows the resident that you’re not just sweeping their issues under the rug and that you’re taking active steps to ensure the issue doesn’t happen again (keep in mind: It’s not just the resident who will see the response, its prospects/public who will see it too).So, take a deep breath (or two or three) and follow these steps for respond success!

1. APOLOGIZE THE RESIDENT & SYMPATHIZE WITH THE RESIDENT’S CONCERNS
You want to make sure that the resident feels heard. Start with their name and state that you’re thankful (or sorry) to hear about their situation.

2. EXPRESS THAT WE STRIVE FOR GREATNESS & THROW IN A LITTLE MARKETING
You can take that situation and spin it so that readers will see that the negative experience the resident had is NOT the standard for the community/property management company. Let readers know that you have high standards and this isn’t your typical customer service.

3. MOVE THE CONVERSATION OFFLINE
You want to make sure that you provide the reviewer with offline contact information to someone that can handle their complaint. Invite the reviewer to contact you privately. This will prevent a lengthy public back and forth between the resident and the community.

4. KEEP IT SHORT & SWEET
You don’t want to go into too much detail. Three sentences for your whole reply is a good rule of thumb.

You can do it! Best of luck!

Always reply as quickly as possible. This demonstrates to viewers that you/the company is responsive and responsible. Never argue or become defensive. Always acknowledge feelings and ask for an offline conversation.

Hope this helps!

Martin Cleary

I think the Manager should always respond. Good or bad. Be accountable but tell the story without and personal detail. People notice when we only respond to positive reviews. Always invite them to stop by the office to talk with you personally. Maybe you can change their experience and they might revise the review. Shows you care.

To me it’s all about whether the response is genuine. Meaning don’t ask them to discuss further unless you really want to do that. And if you do, I’d bet at least some of the time it’s well worth it

RentPath can do reputation management and answer reviews. They send me a draft first so I can add specific details but it really helps to have the separation when the online reviews get personal!

Reputation.com is a fantastic platform and they work with everyone but yelp (given yelp’s requirements). I think that while most seasoned managers are capable of responding, it’s also difficult sometimes to separate personal from professional. Response platforms typically provide a variety of standardized responses that in the case of critical feedback, thank the resident or prospect for the feedback and encourage them to take the discussion offline.