Hammer & Dolly, a joint production of Thomas Greco Publishing and the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association, has graciously allowed us to reprint excerpts of some of its past few months’ articles speaking to some of the hottest issues in collision repair.

Among the solid reads for shops is AP Media Chief Marketing Officer Lee Emmons’ May 2017 article on how to understand reasons for an undeserved negative review and avoid such feedback in the future. Here’s an excerpt:

If you find yourself in a situation like this, you should usually look for a breakdown in communication. Improving this between your staff and your customers is the single most important step you can take to prevent this scenario from happening.

At the center of every job that you do is your relationship with your customer, and that relationship is developed through good communication. If you don’t develop good relationships with your clientele, it’s usually reflected in your online reputation in the form of negative reviews.

If your staff succeeds at developing and fostering relationships, your customers will be motivated to leave positive comments. When your customer does this, it’s the final step in something that’s been happening from the start of their repair. It’s usually part of their developing relationship with their main point of contact at your company, and they will often mention that person in their review.

If the customer contact is bad and this relationship goes sour, they’re likely to mention that as well. I’ve seen negative reviews that probably could have been prevented by just a little bit of improvement in how the shops talked with customers – even one conversation at a crucial moment. I know that because I read it in their review: “I came in to check on the status of my vehicle, but apparently the guy I’ve been dealing with was too busy to talk to me.”

Find out more starting on Page 38 of the May 2017 issue. Read it here.

More information:

“When you get a bad review for doing good work”

Lee Emmons in Hammer & Dolly, May 2017

Featured image: AP Media Chief Marketing Officer Lee Emmons offered some advice about dealing with reviews in Hammer & Dolly in May 2017. (SIphotography/iStock)