Posted by In case you weren’t aware, we have team Zoom calls multiple times a week. These are opportunities to celebrate wins, work on our processes, plan for upcoming events and address specific issues. In one of our recent calls, we were discussing a negative Google Review that we received. The person leaving the review didn’t give any details about why they were disappointed. And this launched an entire discussion…
Let’s start with the fact that Google Reviews matter for most businesses.
You’ve probably read through reviews for a company that helped you make your buying decision. Sadly, in the consumer space, people that will take the time to leave a review are often upset about something. (Even if it isn’t the company’s fault.) So we have proactively been asking people that tell us they love working with us to leave us a Google Review. Why? To balance the negative reviews.
If you’re a happy customer, please go directly to Google to leave us a positive review and tell us about your experience. If you aren’t a happy customer, call 913-469-6633 or go to our contact page and reach out. Please give us a chance to resolve your issue before posting a negative review online.
We’re currently at a 3.8 out of 5 average star rating on Google. If you research the reviews of other property management companies in Kansas City, you’ll find that we are doing better than most. We’re proud of that. And it has taken a concerted effort over the years to keep that average high.
When people leave reviews, whether they are positive or negative, it helps when the message is civil and fact-based. We all know the internet is full of “trolls” who like nothing more than to bash people anonymously. And we’ve gotten some of that. We’ve also gotten complaints from people where the problem is something they’ve personally caused. Or they’re upset that something isn’t “fair” in their minds, even though they signed the lease agreement outlining how things work. And we communicate often through the entire relationship to avoid surprises for our renters.
Responding to Google Reviews
Our team discussion led us to the fact that we need to respond to Google Reviews as we get them. Positive and negative. If they’re positive, we need to thank the person that took the time to share their opinions about why they enjoy working with us. If they’re negative, we need to dig into what might have happened and respond professionally.
Responding to negative feedback can be a challenge when the reviewer’s name isn’t the name of a person we’ve done business with. It’s also hard when the review is nothing but anger and frustration without any details on why they’re upset. If there is a problem, we want to help. We want to improve our systems based on constructive feedback. And we want to make our customers happy.
Google Reviews are tightly tied to search results, so the consensus is that they matter more than reviews on Yelp, Yellow Pages and City Search (to name a few.) We’re recommitting to responding to all Google Reviews that we receive from here on out!
Again, if you have been happy working with us, please consider leaving us a positive review on Google. It would really help us out. If not, please get in touch so that we can work together on the issue. And if you aren’t a customer, we hope this story resonated with you. Whether your business has a similar challenge of managing reviews, or if you’re rethinking the way you wield your review power online, we’re all in this together.
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