A bad review on your Page: how to reply without losing new customers

Sooner or later it happens to every Page: someone writes “don’t recommend” and a couple of bitter sentences. Your first instinct — delete it — won’t work: Facebook doesn’t give Page owners a button to delete a review. You can report it to Facebook if it breaks the rules, or turn off reviews altogether — good ones included. That leaves a third option, and it’s actually the best one: a reply written for the person who’s planning to come to you tomorrow.

1 / 4The first hour

1. 01
   Don’t reply angry

   Read it twice, close it and come back an hour later. A reply written in anger does more damage than the review itself.

2. 02
   Find out who’s writing

   Is it a real customer? Facebook doesn’t check whether someone actually bought anything, but it does remove reviews it considers spam. If the author has never been to you or the text is abusive, report it to Facebook — there’s a separate button for that.

3. 03
   One reply, not an argument

   Reply publicly once. If the conversation goes on, move it to private messages. In a comment-thread argument both sides lose — and readers only remember the tone.

2 / 4The reply formula

1. 04
   Name and thanks

   Use their name and thank them for taking the time. That doesn’t mean you agree — it means they were heard.

2. 05
   Facts, not defensiveness

   A sentence or two about what happened on your side: “Our stylist was sick that day and we had to move appointments.” An explanation — not an excuse, and not blaming the customer.

3. 06
   What you’re changing

   The most important part for readers: “We now call the day before if we need to reschedule.” That’s how a negative review starts working in your favor.

4. 07
   Move it to DMs

   End with an offer: “Send us a message and we’ll make it right.” The details should be sorted out in private, not in public. For comments on posts, Facebook also lets a Page reply with a private message — and others can see that the Page replied privately.

3 / 4What not to do

1. 08
   Don’t turn off reviews

   Turning off reviews because of one bad one hides all the good ones too. A new customer sees a Page with no rating and goes elsewhere.

2. 09
   Don’t bury it with fakes

   Asking friends to write five “excellent” reviews breaks the spam rules: Facebook removes reviews like that, and people who help manage a Page can’t review it at all.

3. 10
   Don’t reveal customer details

   What they bought, how much they paid, what they said on the phone — none of it belongs in the reply, even if it’s true. A public reply is written for every future customer.

4 / 4What happens next

1. 11
   Five real ones

   The best counterweight to a negative review is five new, genuine ones. Ask happy customers — at the right moment, and openly.

2. 12
   Check once a month

   Reviews are in the Page’s top menu, in the reviews section. Look at least once a month so none go unanswered.

3. 13
   Use it internally

   If the same complaint comes up twice, it’s not a bad customer anymore — it’s a gap in your process. The most useful review is often the most unpleasant one.

✓The bottom line

A new customer will see the bad review either way. What they decide depends on your reply: a calm, factual reply that ends with a change makes your Page more trustworthy than it was before the review.

Wondering what your page is missing? Take the 30-second test →