Somebody Left Me a 1 Star Review
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Hey Beauty Boss,
As a small business owner who has nearly 600 reviews on her website, I don’t play about my reviews. I’ve worked extremely hard to collect reviews and ensure that my customers have a great experience not only with my products but with my customer service.
Last year, I put my products on Faire Marketplace. It’s a platform where you can wholesale your products to other small business owners. I hadn’t received any reviews for my store, until 1 day I got an email that I had received a 1-star review for a product, and then she left me a 1-star review for my store.
Anger filled me. I couldn’t believe another business owner would do that, but there I was. I went from 0 reviews to 2 negative reviews in 1 day. One thing we have to understand is that we can’t please everyone. Nonetheless, getting a 1-star review is not good, and it’s hurtful.
The small business owner received her turmeric scrub and didn’t like it. Instead of reaching out to me to help her understand how to use the product, she left a 1-star review. She then went on to leave a 1-star review on my store that simply said, “I’ll be asking for a return label.” She also gave me a 1-star on communication and product quality.
She had never reached out to me before leaving the reviews, and then when she did reach out, she was unprofessional, which made me even more upset.
I tried to get the reviews removed, but never received a response. I felt helpless.
This message isn’t to shame people for leaving 1-star reviews. Positive and negative reviews are necessary, but we should know how to respond. So what do we do when someone leaves us a 1-star review?
After all the emotions we experience, we need to settle down and respond with love and truth.
First, we need to pray. We need to pray for the customers and business owners who respond this way. Whether out of ignorance or cruelty, they choose to attack and tear down, rather than provide genuine feedback. Pray that they encounter God and are filled with his peace and kindness.
Next, we should seek God and ask him how we should respond.
I did respond to her privately. It’s always interesting to me how people will email you back to back about something, and then when you respond, they ignore you. I was kind to her in my response and provided her with the exact steps to initiate a return. No response.
We can also choose to respond to the comments publicly. We should be honest and transparent about our products so others can see both aspects. In this particular case, I have not responded. I did pray, and there was nothing I could say at the time. After weeks of processing this, I probably should respond and share my thoughts on her review.
Lastly, we learn and move on. This experience helped me get a clear understanding of how returns work on Faire. I’ve learned that sometimes there is nothing we can do to prevent a negative review or remove it. We have to deal with it with our heads held high and move on. Her review was not genuine. Some genuine reviews will make you reconsider your formula, or your packaging, or your processing time, or your carrier options.
This review. I was reminded that people can be nasty, but I can choose to be kind.
The next time you get a negative review, choose to respond in a way that honors God. Maybe you haven’t encountered this yet. Stay in business long enough and you will. You can share truth and speak from a kind heart at the same time. Pray and seek God that he gives you the wisdom to respond!
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With love,
Danielle | The Surrendered CEO
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