What To Do in the Wake of a Rough Review
In an age where “Word of Mouth” can reach hundreds, thousands or even millions of followers in seconds, Social Media, Yelp and a myriad of other sites have given customers a platform to leave reviews that could possibly do some serious damage to your parks attendance levels. While giving the “Keyboard Warriors” a good tongue lashing can feel good in the moment, it will probably be a disservice to you in the long run. We reached out to some friends for advice on how best to respond – not react – to these situations.
Do Not Take the Review Personally
While that can be very (very) difficult, Mark Koep of Campground Views says it’s best to remove yourself as “Owner” from the response. Don’t let yourself get emotionally attached to the comments. If you choose to respond, Mark suggests writing out the response in a Word document and walking away – for however long - before sending it anywhere. After a couple of hours come back and review. In most cases you will need to delete and start over without the emotions running so high.
Let the Bad Review Speak For Itself
Often times a negative review will do all the talking it needs to in order to attract the right type of guests to your park. Mark gives the example of someone complaining that they weren’t allowed to have 50 people in their campsite, this “negative” review is often a positive for most campers and RVers. They want a serene experience and will gravitate toward a campground or RV park that enforces this sort of restriction, and the negative review writer incriminates themselves.
Be Honest With Yourself
Repeat complaints or person specific complaints may show it’s time to re-evaluate the issue at the center of the review. Mark reminds us that a chronic complaint could be a more serious issue and needs to be looked into further. If a certain member of staff keeps getting mentioned it’s time to find out why.
Reach Out Directly
You can always reach out to the reviewer if they give their name. This can offer more insight into what happened and then you can bring the specifics to your park team. Erin Thiem of Inn Town Campground says, reaching out allows for an opportunity to give an explanation and hear the whole story. Erin advises, “Be professional and recognize there is always something to learn from a review, even if it’s not what you want to hear in the moment.”
Ultimately a bad review can happen, as they say, “Everyone’s a critic”, but it’s possible to make the review work for you, try not to take it personally and sometimes, no response is the strongest response.
| 
