Laurie's Blogs.

When trying to come up with a blog topic, I tend to review the past week at the clinic, go through a selection of weekly blogs, check my inbox for good Q & A’s, and just sit with the question of what to write and see what jumps out.  This week, the clinic had one distressing negative review on Facebook AND I found a blog that discussed ‘the benefits of the negative review’.  Well, I figured two pieces of ‘inspiration’ had to be a sign that I was meant to write on this topic.

So the story goes like this…  We had a bit of a high maintenance client book in wanting to get a stifle brace for her dog (full cruciate tear).  We accommodated the request, casted the dog, took all pictures, measurements, and payment.  The client was instructed that the process can sometimes take 6-8 weeks between mailing the cast, fabrication of the brace, and the mailing back of the brace).  So, long story short, we popped it in the mail and waited. Well, Canada Post had been threatening a postal strike, so our fingers were crossed that all would go well.  As it turns out, no strike was had, but it was quite evident that there were some ‘work to rule’ antics going on, and that cast sat in a Canada Post warehouse for 3 weeks before crossing the border!  This meant that the time delay for the brace was longer than desired, however still within the time frame given, and the issue was outside of our control.

However that was strike one against us according to the client.

Strike two came when the brace was taking longer than expected to arrive and the owner called the bracing company, obtained the courier tracking number to know when it would arrive at the clinic, and insisted that she book an appointment for the same day.  Normally we don’t do this.  We can’t guarantee the delivery, nor delivery time, and we also like to check over the brace to ensure everything looks correct and all parts are included before scheduling the fitting.  So needless to say, that part of things went awry.  The owner wanted the last appointment of the day on Friday (3pm), and was told that if the brace hadn’t arrived before noon, we’d have to cancel.  So that’s what happened.  Now, since the last appointment was canceled, the therapist and staff went home just after 3pm.  Low and behold, the courier showed up at 3:20 and delivered the brace to our neighbouring business since we were closed.  But the owner saw this when she went online to track the parcel and within a couple of hours posted a scathing review of my business on Facebook.  

So, when anything negative like this happens, it immediately ruins my day (and usually the next day, and sometimes the following week too)!  This particular review was really unwarranted because we could not control Canada Post, nor the delivery time of the courier, and beyond that, we let ourselves be bullied into giving this client an appointment on the intended delivery date even though it is against our standard protocol to do so.  It makes me want to let out a good old Charlie Brown ‘arrgghhh’!

That’s the story anyways… but the point of the blog is to talk about what to do in this scenario.  So one of my assistants drafted up a response and gave it to me to review.  I thought it was excellent.  It stated that we were sorry that she was disappointed with the service we were able to provide, and proceeded to explain the happenings. We ended with, ‘we look forward to seeing you on Monday for your appointment.’  (And guess what?  She arrived on Monday, had the brace fitting, was pleasant, and left the clinic without incident!  But that review is still online!)  

The blog I read on the subject, http://www.lifelearn.com/2016/07/29/the-benefits-of-negative-reviews/says that a negative review can be good.  You can analyze what’s going on in your clinic to see what could have been done differently or if there is a theme of complaints pointing towards an area of your business that needs attention, and deal with this issue(s).  Additionally, you simply reply to the complaint calmly, apologizing (as & where appropriate), and/or providing additional information (again, as or where appropriate).  In cases where your business was at fault, can you offer to make the situation right?  In cases where the complaint was unfounded, can you simply provide accurate information? – Not so much to appease the complainer, but more so for the people that read reviews to determine if they want to do business with you in the future.  People reading reviews don’t always expect 5/5 from everyone, so one oddball negative review along side of several positives is actually realistic, and the fact that the review was responded to in a calm professional polite manner is equally important to those reading it long after the incident has passed.

And what should you take home from this?  Two things:  1) Check out your reviews.  Search your business name and see what’s been said about your business on Yelp, Google, Facebook, etc.  Make it someone’s job to know what’s being said about you.  2) Do not shy away from the negative reviews.  Calm yourself, swallow a bit of pride, and either attempt to make it right, or explain what needs explaining for others to see.  Perhaps that negative review can have a silver lining!

Cheers!  Laurie