• Reply to Low Star Reviews

    By ZonSupport | Posted on November 12, 2019| Blog

    We all know reviews are a very sensitive subject and one that Amazon treats very seriously.

    Get it right and all is plain sailing…get it wrong and your account can be suspended without warning!

    However, it’s important that you manage your communications with YOUR customers as much as respecting that Amazon asserts that they are THEIR customers!

    Many of our clients get low star reviews. Some relate to delivery issues or to wrong variations received or confusion of how to use a product. These are somewhat easier to reply to.

    However, others are quality issues and increasingly with pictures so the whole world can see the problem!

    So what do you do when you get a negative review?

    First, try and track down which is very difficult unless you get a 100% hit on their name and are 90% sure it’s indeed the right customer. If the customer is using a “proper” name, you may just be able to match them in your orders. Alternatively, click on their name on the review and look at their profile – if they have a Wish List, you can often see their real name here.

    If you get a 100% match to the name and are 90% sure it is indeed the right customer, just send a replacement with apologies in the notes field when doing a manual fulfillment. 

    You will be surprised at what happens. It’s a rare occurrence as Amazon makes it almost impossible to find individual customers but it’s certainly worth a try!

    Regardless, you need to reply to the review. If they have ticked the box for an alert anytime someone comments on their review, they’ll know as soon as you reply. It’s also important for review readers as they will see your response which tells them you’re a Seller who cares about their customer.

    Here is how I would manage it:

    Hi xxx, I am sorry to hear the strap was missing. Your bag must have missed our QA check. Please click on your order and send us a message or email me on xxxx@brandname.com so I can get a replacement to you without delay. Sincere regards Mary, BrandName Customer Care.

    Yes, I know this seems against TOS to have your brand Customer Care as an option for a reply. However, there is nothing specific about this in TOS so just do this until something changes. It is critical you try to resolve their problem and we all know many customer’s just can’t be bothered going back through the Amazon loop.

    In these days of people being averse to clicking, we want anyone reading the reply to see your attempt to sort it out and the ease to do this.

    Sure, it can be very difficult to work out what to say especially when there are pictures and it is very obvious your customer got a poor quality product!

    We always reply to any 1, 2 or 3 star reviews. There is always something you can say that shows that you stand by your product.

    However…a low star is guaranteed to have an adverse effect on your sales so you need to act and fast!

    Check out this reply from a customer: 

     This is the magic that can happen when you go straight into damage control mode. 

    What a roller coaster for our client but what a win!

    So, at least try to address the issue when you land a low star as there is absolutely zero downside to reaching out.

    The worst that can happen is you get no response but at least you know you tried!

    As always, ask us anything. If we don’t know we’ll know someone who does!

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