you know about a problem and include something good about yourself, too.

“Thank you for your feedback, and I’m sorry your son’s birthday experience with us wasn’t what you expected. We’ve hosted over a thousand birthday parties for chil- dren in our five years of business, and we strive to delight each of our guests.”

Second, describe what you have done to prevent the issue from oc- curring again.

“We’ve taken a few steps to prevent what happened to you from happening to an- other parent of a birthday boy or birthday girl. Since your visit, our staff has taken several classes to improve their service skills. They’ve focused specifically on techniques for positively engaging with children.”

Third, ask the person to give you a second chance.

“Please celebrate with us again. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised. My name is Kate. If you ask for me when you make your reservation, I will take

care of you personally.”

Resist the urge to be snarky, judgmen- tal, or to correct your customers. Yes, some customers are wrong—however, pointing that out will not help. Lots of people are going to be watching how you respond to others. Take advantage of the opportunity to be polite, helpful and solution-focused. People who rely on the reviews can often tell when other customers are being difficult. If you are gracious in your dealings with them, you will win in the long run.

Step Nine: Ask your happy custom- ers to post reviews. Over time, your average will improve. Obviously this approach only works if you are indeed making changes and removing the causes of bad evaluations. If you are not, prepare for more of the same reviews you’ve gotten in the past because they’re coming. You simply cannot turn off the social media tap.

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Step Ten: As tempting as it may be, do not post fake reviews or go to a service to get others to do the same. Apart from the fact that it’s dishonest, it’s also dangerous. If you get caught, you will look even worse than you did before. Instead, get busy writing more content to post on your site, press release sites, and other appropriate places. The more that’s out there, the less visible a bad comment will be.

Followed closely, this 10-step plan for a reputation overhaul could earn you five stars. What do you think?

Kate Zabriskie is the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm. She and her team help businesses establish customer service strategies and train their people to live up to what’s promised. For more information, visit www.

businesstrainingworks.com.

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