83. What To Do With A Nasty Review
A question I get a lot is what to do with a bad review.
The best way to handle it is to call them.
I know it's the most uncomfortable route to take, but people will be a lot nastier through email or text, and aspects of the conversation can be completely misinterpreted.
I got a bad review a few days ago and called the guy this morning.
He said we were a scam and sent him a bill we shouldn't have.
So, I called him.
I introduced myself and said I saw your review and first want to apologize that you were unhappy with our service.
He started a short tirade about this and that you didn't help me at all, and you sent me a bill my insurance should have handled.
He owed us $115 for the first visit and first adjustment.
I asked myself would I pay $115 to have a scathing, nasty review removed.
The answer was yes.
So, I said I would write his charges off, so he didn't owe us anything, and I was happy to send his x-rays to any chiropractor he wants free of charge.
But first, I want to explain our charges and our chiropractic approach because it is not a scam. He calmed down immediately.
I explained his insurance and what it covered and what it didn't.
He was wrong. They didn't cover the x-rays.
Then explained we do a precise upper cervical adjustment, but it's not for everybody.
I am happy to send him to a doc that does a different technique.
I said some people like burritos and some people like pizza.
I also explained that many people have relief after one adjustment, but not everyone and I would never guarantee that one adjustment would deliver relief.
After the conversation, he agreed to take the review and apologized and said he overreacted and should have called us.
Now, these conversations don't always go this way, but avoiding addressing the matter guarantees that nothing will happen and often makes matters much worse.
The one exception to this is if the person is crazy or unreasonable or went through care and said something like, "it didn't help me."
For those, I would reply to the review nicely, thank them for their feedback even though it isn't positive, apologize and wish them well.
Keep Charging!
Dr. FJ Schofield
