How to handle a bad review from a total stranger

I like your method Tammy and think addressing it professionally and asking for an offline contact is smart. People watching know you are willing to work it out if it is legitimate.

It is crazy to think that someone would do that sort of thing without actually knowing the person they are writing about.  I agree that killing them with kindness is the way to go!

Keeping it professional is the way to go.  Professionalism is a must during both the good and bad.

Hello Tammy ...

Well it hasn't happened personally to me and living in a dog eat dog world and Las Vegas, I am surprised it hasn't yet! "Knock on Wood" ;o)

And how would I deal with this if it was false?

I would go up to the highest position of the person, try and deal with the situation in a calm collective way and find if it could be removed.

I have known Yelp and other companies to remove bad reviews in the past ...

Simple to answer this one, Tammy Lankford ... my reaction would be the same as yours.  HOW someone handles this experience would reveal a whole lot to me.  Someone that reacts with anger .. or by passing the buck?  Nope ... I pass on them ...

Gene

I have two such instances on Yelp. Both unwarranted. I used to deal with tons of calls on rentals until I switched that option off. Renters are typically extremely frustrated as it is difficult to find a good rental. Below a certain price range I cant help because we just don't have them and I try and direct them to sites that would have them. Most people are appreciative but these two didn't want to hear what I had to say. One of them accused me of false advertising because of my IDX. That was libelous. Beware of Yelp. They do nothing.  But I did answer them in a courteous manner and explained my side of the story. It's all you can do.

Isn't that one of our worst nightmares with online reviews? I do, however, think that people are smart enough to spot a malcontent troll when they see one. 

And the piling on? We've all seen that happen and it ain't pretty (or professional). 

Tammy, Knock on wood, no bad reviews. But, I like how you would handle it... keep it professional and definitely no name calling.

One of the best ways I saw a bad review by a total stranger handled, came from an associate I once worked with.  Fortunately, she was able to identify the person that had made the review, and threatened them with litigation if they didn't remove it.  It worked in that instance; but in some cases that will not aways be effective.  Especially, if it is on a platform that doesn't give the poster the option of deleting.

Professional is the only way to go Tammy Lankford !

I've had it happen on a couple of occasions, was more than willing to take legal action, but thankfully was resolved before reaching that point.

Tammy, not a review but someone whom I never worked on a real estate transaction with gave me 4.8 starts on FB, I had to terminate this person from his position years ago. Unfortunately, nothing I could do to remove it.

Tammy, good question in your post. I think I would be very careful with a response and do it as professionally as I could. There are people who thrive on this nonsense. I agree with your suggested approach.. Name calling only makes you look like the idiots who started the issue.. 

Zillow will post reviews from anybody as long as that person is not a registered agent. So if somebody calls on an ad, say, threatens, is rude, demands you do something that is not within your scope of duty and, when you refuse, they run over to Zillow to say nasty things about you, there is nothing you can do. Zillow rules do not say the person has to know you or to have even done business with you.

You can respond, but sometimes a reponse just fuels the idiot's fire, especially among people who typically hate all Realtors anyway. And there are a lot of people in the world who hate Realtors and they hate successful Realtors even more. It's just a fact of life. And most of the schmucks aren't worth suing because they don't have two nickels to rub together.

Hi Tammy Lankford ,  In an event like that, I'm sure it's hard to keep one's cool, but like you say, wh have to be the better person and keep t professional and not attack like we would like to.

Good morning Tammy. Unfortunately you are right, it is going to happen. I have had it happen, not fun, but what was great, a number of people comments about it and made the person sound pretty stupid.

Tammy your idea is an excellent way to handle a bad review from somebody you never even helped or called your office. Those kind of folks live to get things stirred up and as my Mom used to say it's easier to catch bees with honey rather than vinegar.