“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. – John Lydgate
No matter the type of business you run, if you deal with customers, you agree with the above quote. We have written on the subject of reviews before, and the secret to fixing bad reviews. This article is going to address the issue of taking legal action or deciding to sue someone for negative reviews about your business. Lets look at a couple key points, and what you can and can’t do.
The Power of Reviews
Most will agree reviews can be very valuable and influential when making decisions. Especially when these reviews appear genuine and discuss a specific aspect of the service or product. When presented with a few options to choose from, many people will make a decision based on reviews. The more reviews your business has online, and the easier it is for them to scroll through them the better. (Does your business need help generating and monitoring reviews? View this if you need some free advice) It certainly is normal for a business to have a few less than perfect reviews. We work with our clients to make sure they have as many reviews that reflect the positive service and products they offer. What though when you have a client that doesn’t have their facts correct and leaves a misleading review? What should you do?
Can You Take Legal Action Against A Review?
First we always suggest business owners try to do all they can to resolve the issue before it gets to the point of legal action. Realizing the impact reviews can have on a business it’s no wonder sometimes legal action is an option. During past year there has been several cases where doctors were suing patients based on their reviews. Now it wasn’t the fact they were leaving negative reviews about the wait time, it was that the reviews contained false information. If you want to read the story you can here. Most importantly make sure you as the owner, have all the facts documented about the case and what steps you took to attempt to resolve. You can also reach out to the review platform, for instance Yelp! or TripAdvisor. You should consult with them to see if they have the power to remove the listing if it can be proved to be false. If all else fails, then you should seek legal advice. The best way to prevent the majority of these situations is to stay up to date daily with reviews being posted online about your business. If you are not currently monitoring your reviews, or having a company do this for you, please complete this form for a free review.
