Topic: How can we reply to a review and tell them they are complete liars, without calling them liars?

We got a terrible review recently. Stated that the apartment was not at all as described and that they’ve had nothing but problems. Not only did they do a walkthrough two times before moving in, they never turned in their inventory and condition form at all. We’ve gone above and beyond for them. During their initial tour, they walked in 10 min before closing and the assistant manager and myself stayed 1.5 hours late to tour them.

So, how can we reply to the review and tell them they are complete liars, without calling them liars lol. It’s a shame that there are people out there like this.

Kill them with kindness. There will always be that one person that will never he happy.

Agree. Offer for them to come in and discuss their issues with you. When you are able to satisfy them, politely ask them to rescind their original review.

At least you didn't have the power turned off to a unit that had a new tenant move in today lmao. And I'm 600 miles awayout of town

Hi _____, thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to fix issues when they are never reported to us. We invite you to call our office at _____ to speak with our management to resolve these. Thank you, ______.

We’ve always been nothing but kind to them. And have always gone above and beyond to appease them. It’s getting old when every single piece of traffic that walks in asks about that review. It’s that ugly. I simply have to just explain (without going into much detail) that we feel we do everything possible to make our residents happy and you can’t please everyone unfortunately. What I really want to say is you can’t believe everything you read online.

It doesn't suprise me! You can never make them happy. Especially if it has been like that since they moved in initially. People like that irritate me. Eeek!

They are still walking through your door even worth a false review
Read between the lines .if they were that concerned they would avoid and not even show up to tour
The public will eat you alive if you let it
Stand your ground call thier bluff invite them and see what happens

I'd say something like: "We're so sorry to hear that you weren't pleased with your new apartment home, as resident happiness here is a top priority! During the two tours that we gave you prior to move in, we thought that everything was in order and that you had sufficiently viewed the space and asked any questions that you may have had to our staff. If there were any issues directly after move in, as with all of our new residents, these could have been shared on your Inventory and Condition form for them to be either noted in your file or if necessary, corrected immediately by our maintenance team. If you're still currently experiencing any issues, please contact our Leasing Office ASAP so that we can discuss and resolve them. We're here from Monday-Friday from 8-5pm and on Saturdays from 9-4pm. We're looking forward to speaking with you in more detail soon."
Other renters will see that you responded in a kind and helpful way and it shouldn't deter them from checking out your homes.

Don’t address any of it online. Apologize they aren’t satisfied, and infer their happiness is your ultimate goal. Take it offline. Invite them to your office and address the issues in person.

Can't please everyone this happens sometimes and I just think you are the escape goat for what they cannot not fix in their life

buy·er's re·morse
noun US
a feeling of regret experienced after making a purchase, typically one regarded as unnecessary or extravagant. Often displayed negatively towards the seller, who is not at fault or liable, but buyer isn't aware they have this regret, and they lash out due to their own guilt and poor decision making ability.

You reply with all the things you did to make it the right choice and ask them to make an appointment to discuss why their opinion has changed following 2 walk throughs and the move in inspection not return. My Team completes the mi inspection with them at move in so permanent damage is recorded. If they have a servixe request afterwards, it is handled like any other resident.

Dear blah
We are so sorry you are unhappy
We love to make our residents happy
We would like to offer you an out
We ate happy to refund your deposits
May we offer you help in finding an apartment that better suits your needs
As we have limited availability we urge you to act quickly

I always put it back on them stating that we weren't aware of anything because no one contacted us (if no one did). That there is an open door policy and if they still have an issue to contact us so that we can try to make things right.
That just makes you a better person, and puts the ball back in their Court.
Be sickening sweet about it. Again, that makes you the better person.

I wouldn’t suggest responding by putting it back on them. Think about if you had a bad experience ordering something from Amazon and they are basically like, “well, it’s your fault”. I suggest apologizing and inviting them to meet and chat about and issues.

Go talk to them in person and see what you can do that would make them feel worthy of deleting the review.

Brandon Skinner is right!!! This is about relationship and they WANT great neighbors! This is their property where they live now, how would they feel if their own words caused a great neighbor to choose a different community! They have MORE skin in this game than you. You leave at 6pm, they LIVE there. Attracting the BEST neighbors should be THEIR goal as well as yours. Talk to them face-to-face with this as the goal and see if they will edit their comments. This is not a restaurant they eat at occasionally, this is where they LIVE!

They were unhappy to begin with and appears no amount of talking is going to please them.

I disagree with those telling you to take it entirely offline. This is your business. Your reputation. I believe you should address certain parts as a reply to the review. Then, reach out to them via Email and have a detailed discussion and stand your ground. MAKE IT RIGHT. Clearly something made them unhappy, which is why they’re doing this. That said, I completely disagree with letting someone post whatever they want and sitting back not responding online. This makes it appear like you don’t have a side to the Management’s story and allow them to manipulate your business ethic.
There are completely professional ways to handle it and ways to respond that not only make you look responsible and take ownership for addressing the situation, but also you deserve the right to speak your peace. Dont allow emotions to interfere and try to keep it to the facts. State that they had the opportunity to walk the unit and if something came up after they moved in, you’d like to address it to make it right. Good luck!

When writing the response use the old feel, felt, found. It helps tell the story.

Niki Sherwood’s response is perfect. In addition to this, I would send them a letter indicating that you need to speak with them, then have an honest conversation. I would ask them directly why would they give you a negative review and that their comments are detrimental to the property as a whole. I once had an owner that had every resident sign a social media addendum, which indicated that you could not leave a negative review on any online platform without first giving management the opportunity to address it, otherwise management would take legal action against the resident. I can’t remember the verbiage but his attorney drafted it and the owner meant business. His exact mindset was that he would not allow residents to hold him hostage by posting negative reviews that were untruthful. If a resident left an unwarranted review we would send them a formal letter reminding them of the addendum they signed and they would immediately take down the negative review. It’s ridiculous how many negative revengeful reviews are posted as a result of holding residents responsible to their lease.

Always respond but try to take any emotion out. Don’t call them out on the response. Invite them in to talk it all over and once all issues have been addressed I would ask them to change their review.

find out if they have left reviews similar for other properties

This is why we don't leave them the inventory and condition form to turn in. We walk it with them. Then we immediately put in any and all work orders. You can usually tell what kind of residents they will be at that time. I've shown the resident the apartment before move in and they love it but upon the walk thru with the form in their hand they point out any imperfections, real or imagined, and it usually sets the pace of the relationship. It can be a huge help when determining whether or not they are trying to get out of a lease or have serious issues.

Be sure to NOT renew their lease.

There's a great book on this...."Hug Your Haters" by Jay Baer based on stats, market research and customer experiences.

Pick up the phone. In a nice, professional and non-confrontational way, tell them that you've seen their reviews online and that you were surprised by their disappointment and ask what they'd like to make them happy. And then take it from there....

I would debate with them on the review and point out all the positive things you did and ask them what more could you have done for them so they would be satisfied. This way the readers will have a chance to see you are not hiding face.

You know that grade school bully? They grow up to be adults. Respond how you wish to the negative review from your bully. But I would avoid inviting confrontation with the bully as that attention makes the bully happy. On the other hand, reach out to 5 or 10 residents that are happy and ask them to write an honest review about staff and service at your community. Bury the bully's negativity by surrounding its review with positive reviews from other residents.

I find it interesting that no one addressed that the prospect/resident (bully) showed up 10 minutes before office hours ended and yet they were toured and catered to way past closing time. We have all been in the position of needing another lease, but I have a firm belief that you teach people how to treat you and your staff. In this instance it may have been in your best interest to be informative to the prospect and set some management boundaries by informing the prospect of touring and office hours. Invite them back in the morning or by appointment.

Hi Jon,
That is very frustrating but also common. We just posted a blog post on this topic if you'd like to read more:
respage.com/blog/2019/04/24/how-to-handl...iews-in-multifamily/