After 6 years of making Coconut Chips, it happened.
We received our first 1 star review.
We've had hundreds of published 5-star reviews and thousands of happy customers. Most of the reviews give me the warm & fuzzies, but this one made me squirm.
Here's the review:
Bad grammar aside, I was not expecting this. Sweet Chilli is our family favourite and people who like chilli LOVE it.
What do I do? Delete the comment and pretend I don't have an unhappy customer? Heck no!
I realised: This 1-star review isn't a bad thing; it's an opportunity! For one, I can publicly reply to this customer, explain ourself, and remind them of our 100% guarantee policy. Also, this is a hugely effective endorsement for people who LIKE spicy foods.
Let's tell everyone about our 1 star review - hello blog post! Hello Facebook! Maybe this review will catch the attention of spicy-food lovers and ALSO educate our current customers about our 100% guarantee policy in case they should have a similar experience. Sounds like a win-win to me.
So here's my reply:
What's the lesson here?
1) don't take criticism on your products personally - in fact, use them as an opportunity to deal with the issue publicly & professionally.
2) spin the criticism into a good thing - don't hide it! This customer thought it was too spicy, but spicy food lovers would love this... where the spicy food lovers at?!? These coconuts chips are SPICY HOT.
3) listen to the concern and reflect how to improve. Since receiving this review, I've edited the online description of the Sweet Chilli Coconut Chips to make it more obvious that this chip flavour has some kick:
Tell me what you think - How did I handle this review? How do you handle negative reviews or feedback?
Have a spicy day!
Casey