How and when a company responds to a negative comment online says a great deal about customer respect. When an individual has taken the time to voice a negative experience online, they can be best dealt with by full acknowledgement of their unfortunate experience. 

While it can be upsetting to get a negative comment, the worst thing a business can do is to ignore negative comments made by consumers. If done properly,
a response to a negative comment can turn a foe into a fan. You just have to utilize a proper apology. We want to provide you with eight simple tips
to optimize your reaction to getting negative online comments.  

1. Pay attention to any mention of your business. Not all comments made by your customers will be on your own websites, whether a company
   site or a social media site like Facebook or Twitter. You must be vigilant about looking for any mention of your business name in order to be on
   top of the comments that are out there.  
   
    
2. Do not wait to acknowledge a person’s complaint. Speed is crucial in making note of their dissatisfaction and righting the wrong they
   feel they have experienced. Even if you do not have a full resolution quite yet, just engaging the person who has posted the negative comment can
   begin the process of healing. 

3. Keep in mind that the customer ultimately feels wronged. Even if there are systematic reasons why something occurred, the person who
   lost out does not need to hear anything close to an excuse. Stick to treating the customer with respect and accept the blame for whatever happened. 

4. Provide the opportunity to communicate offline. Reaching out to the upset customer and suggesting a chance to talk in a more personal
   way removes the risk of heightened emotions in a public forum and shows that you want to make things right on a more personal level.

5. Do not try to avoid a “sorry.” A sincere apology can go a very long way in a world where most of us are defensive the majority of
   the time. Many negative comments or complaints can be remedied by a simple and genuine apology. 

6. Do not drop the issue once it is resolved. Keeping track of consumers who have posted negative comments will help in the long run
   with making sure those individuals remain content as well as avoiding any future issues by taking extra precautions with them down the road. 

7. Try to avoid people who just want to cause trouble. You will not be able to fix every complaint, and some individuals are just trying
   to start a fight. For these Internet trolls, keep it simple and offer your apology, but do not prolong the process trying to appease them. 

8. Finally, make sure you follow up. Just reaching out and acknowledging the negative comment is a crucial step, but the work does not
   stop there. Following through with a concrete offer to remedy the discontent will ensure that the customer walks away fully compensated for any
   distress.