Want to know how much website downtime costs, and the impact it can have on your business?
Find out everything you need to know in our new uptime monitoring whitepaper 2021
If you have an online business, eventually, it’s bound to happen – you get a bad online review. Sure, a bad online review can ruin your day, but it’s not the end of the world, or more specifically, it’s not the end of your business. If you treat a bad review as an opportunity to learn more about your customers and how they perceive your business, you can turn a negative experience into a positive one.
When dealing with a bad review, there are several things to keep in mind. First, the internet is a land of extremes, not moderation. There are very few three-star reviews. People usually write positive reviews or negative reviews, and they tend to use extreme language when doing so. Secondly, people are more likely to write a review if they are unhappy, so one negative review is not representative of how the majority of your customers feel about your company. Nevertheless, you must deal with a negative review promptly if you wish to maintain control of your online reputation. Here are the steps to take to respond to a bad review.
Apologize
Even if you didn’t do what the customer said you did, apologies for the incident. Apologize sincerely and tell your customer that you are sorry that they feel the way they do. Empathize with the customer and indicate that you understand how they feel. Promise you’ll look into the problem and get back with them shortly. Don’t tell your customer you’ll “try” to resolve the problem – that’s not what your customer wants to hear. Your customer is unhappy and wants to resolve the problem, not just try to do so.
Be honest with yourself
You’re probably angry because of the bad review, but don’t let anger cloud your judgement. Be honest with yourself as you investigate the incident and if your company’s actions caused the problem, take responsibility for it. Taking responsibility will help you craft a credible response to your unhappy customer and help you avoid causing the same problem in the future.
Resolve the problem quickly
After you’ve investigated the problem, get back to the customer promptly to resolve it. If possible, develop a dialogue with your customer offline via email, as dealing with a problem offline can help diffuse anger and lead to a constructive resolution. Listen to what your customer is telling you. Ask your customer what you can do to make things right, Your customer will appreciate that you asked for their input, and accept their solution if it is reasonable. A frank dialogue can lead to a mutually agreeable solution and can turn an unhappy customer into a happy one.
Diagnose the cause of the problem
Once you’ve resolved the problem with your customer, spend some time diagnosing what caused it. Your objective here is not to assign blame to someone but to understand why the problem occurred so you can take corrective action so that it won’t happen again.
If you handle it correctly, a bad review can help you improve user experience.
StatusCake Team
Share this
More from StatusCake
Designing Alerts for Action
3 min read In the first two posts of this series, we explored how alert noise emerges from design decisions, and why notification lists fail to create accountability when responsibility is unclear. There’s a deeper issue underneath both of those problems. Many alerting systems are designed without being clear about the outcome they’re meant to produce. When teams
James Barnes
February 18, 2026
A Notification List Is Not a Team
3 min read In the previous post, we looked at how alert noise is rarely accidental. It’s usually the result of sensible decisions layered over time, until responsibility becomes diffuse and response slows. One of the most persistent assumptions behind this pattern is simple. If enough people are notified, someone will take responsibility. After more than fourteen years
James Barnes
February 11, 2026
Alert Noise Isn’t an Accident — It’s a Design Decision
3 min read In a previous post, The Incident Checklist: Reducing Cognitive Load When It Matters Most, we explored how incidents stop being purely technical problems and become human ones. These are moments where decision-making under pressure and cognitive load matter more than perfect root cause analysis. When systems don’t support people clearly in those moments, teams compensate.
James Barnes
February 4, 2026
The Incident Checklist: Reducing Cognitive Load When It Matters Most
4 min read In the previous post, we looked at what happens after detection; when incidents stop being purely technical problems and become human ones, with cognitive load as the real constraint. This post assumes that context. The question here is simpler and more practical. What actually helps teams think clearly and act well once things are already
James Barnes
January 28, 2026
When Things Go Wrong, Systems Should Help Humans — Not Fight Them
3 min read In the previous post, we explored how AI accelerates delivery and compresses the time between change and user impact. As velocity increases, knowing that something has gone wrong before users do becomes a critical capability. But detection is only the beginning. Once alerts fire and dashboards light up, humans still have to interpret what’s happening,
James Barnes
January 21, 2026
When AI Speeds Up Change, Knowing First Becomes the Constraint
5 min read In a recent post, I argued that AI doesn’t fix weak engineering processes; rather it amplifies them. Strong review practices, clear ownership, and solid fundamentals still matter just as much when code is AI-assisted as when it’s not. That post sparked a follow-up question in the comments that’s worth sitting with: With AI speeding things
James Barnes
January 14, 2026