Responding to Negative Criticism

Every company will, at some point, run into negative criticism, especially in the world of social media. Negative criticism happens to everyone, and how you deal with it is actually more important than the complaint itself. If you’re not careful, your response could do irreparable damage to your reputation through poor handling of your critics.

Most proud business owners find it very hard to stay calm at the sight of a negative comment. You may become overly defensive or emotional but you cannot and should not let this happen.

Remember, not everyone who has something negative to say is out to hurt your company. Maybe they’ve actually been wronged through poor customer service or a defective product.

A good rule of thumb is to give yourself a few minutes to cool down before responding to any criticism. Remember, one angry tweet or post on social media is impossible to retract or delete. It’s best to always plan your response and make sure it’s free of passive aggressiveness or sarcasm.

The next time you feel the need to have an outburst, follow this little mental exercise. Imagine that a reporter took your response and used it as the headline for every major newspaper in the country tomorrow morning. Would the article damage your reputation or improve it? Would your boss be pleased with how you handled it or would you be fired?

Here’s a famous example of a poorly-handled response to negative criticism.

Amy’s Baking Company was featured on “Kitchen Nightmares” with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, where he was so disgusted by their behaviour and unprofessionalism that he walked off the set. After the show went live, many people began posting criticism on their Facebook walls.

Instead of apologizing and working to fix their problems, Amy’s Baking Company struck back in full force. The news exploded over several news sites, poking fun of the apparent nervous breakdown of the company. Their actions deteriorated a bad (but definitely salvageable) situation into a PR nightmare and the company took a tremendous hit to their brand image.

Responding to Negative Criticism