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• I manage at a hotel and get to watch this interesting behavior among consumers. A happy customer might write a positive review or tell some friends. A thrilled customer will definitely tell friends and might write a positive review. A displeased customer is going to write a scathing review and tell everyone they can. Misery loves company and people who are not happy like to spread the anti-cheer around. My hotel has 400 negative reviews posted on various sites from the past 3 years. That comes out to about 1.3% of the customers. We have 50 positive reviews from the past 3 years posted. That is roughly 0.17% of the customers. Statistically an unhappy customer is 80% more likely to share their experience with strangers than a happy customer and about 99% more likely to share it with friends and family. Now for the numbers to support it. Our on site records show that we have about 700 negative comments from customers that were given to the front desk. But, and this is the big but, we have nearly 5000 positive comments. Remember those are just the people who gave their comment card to the front desk, but the numbers do not lie. Revenge is a great motivator and when consumers feel like they have been "screwed" by a business they feel the need to "get even" with that business. Even with those negative reviews we only had a 2.5% loss in business in 2008 from 2007 most of it in the 4th quarter. 2007 saw a marked increase in business. 2009 is already off to a good start as we are above the curve for both 2007 and 2008 month of January. The negative comments have an impact I am sure, but its not always negative. Any publicity can be beneficial even if that publicity is negative. Its how you handle that publicity that determines how it will affect you. This doctor hurt himself by filing a lawsuit against the reviewer. In consumers' eyes that lends credence to the reviewers statements. Thus supporting his claim of dishonesty. The doctor would have been better off trying to resolve the issue with the reviewer quietly and publicly ignoring the review or giving a well spoken counter-statement providing his side of the story in a clear and concise manner that does not seek to attack the reviewer's character or statement. In reply to: "Yelp user faces lawsuit over negative review"

  January 8, 2009

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