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Negative online reviews can have lasting impact
Kelli Gerrity knows the weight online reviews carry.
“I look at it when I’m looking at other businesses,” said Garrity, who owns PetWorks pet supply store on Beach Drive with her husband. Over the years, their business has grown, despite facing the immense challenge of opening an in-store holistic pet shop in 2020, right before the height of the Covid pandemic.
In 2021, the couple opened a second PetWorks location, a grooming salon on 2nd Ave NE. The salon has earned dozens of positive reviews, but a recent negative rating led Garrity to post a plea for help on Instagram.
“Google reviews on businesses immediately happen when a person feels they’ve been wronged, regardless of whether it’s the truth or not, and sadly, there is nothing a business can do about it,” the post stated, asking past customers who’ve had a good experience at PetWorks to leave a positive review to try and outweigh the damage done by the 1-star rating.
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“There was a woman who didn’t show up for her appointment,” Garrity told the Catalyst. “Our receptionist explained our policy that, you know, you can’t call up 10 minutes ahead of time and ask to be rescheduled because our groomer literally sits here now for two hours, not making money. Our business isn’t making money.”
Garrity feels that as a business owner on the receiving end of a negative review, especially one that feels unearned, there is not a lot of recourse offered by Google when the business gets dinged.
“Google is all about consumers, not small businesses,” Garrity said. “The impact is real, especially for a small business, and people pay attention to it. Oh, man, it stresses me. It stresses me out a lot.”
Data varies on just how impactful Google reviews are. Some reports show more than 60% of customers check Google reviews online before they visit a business, while data from BrightLocal shows 93% of consumers read local reviews when making a decision on whether a business is worth patronizing. Research also shows customers are twice as likely to share bad experiences than good ones.
“A lot of people jumped in and helped us out with good reviews, which was nice and obviously there’s a lot more good than bad,” Garrity said. “But unfortunately, we kind of have to play the game.”
Paula Lacey, who owns Real Soul Ventures, a creative agency in St. Petersburg, says she’s had plenty of clients who’ve dealt with negative reviews in the past. Although it can be difficult to be on the receiving end of criticism in such a public forum, she advises business owners to see negative reviews as an opportunity, whether the criticism is earned or not.
“What we advise them to focus on, rather than trying to bury their review or trying to get it removed, is responding to it in a very approachable, friendly, positive way,” said Lacey. “I think you can still enforce policies in a way that is very respectful but firm.”
Lacey emphasized that if a business is dealing with a review that’s simply untrue, there are avenues to report the review to Google to have it removed. In any other instance, Lacey advises clients to take the conversation offline by providing a business email or phone number to address the review further and take corrective action, if needed.
“I think people nowadays really expect authenticity and accountability,” Lacey said. “That’s really what the customer experience is all about. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about you being humble and having a very approachable way that you deal with negative feedback.”
