How to Craft a Good Review
The first ingredient you need to write the perfect review is first-hand experience with the business in question. This may seem obvious, but unfortunately, people have been known to leave fake reviews…
So, call in and use the business, whether it's a grocery store, restaurant, coffee shop, or hotel, before you even think about writing a review. Even then, multiple visits would be ideal to build a broader picture of the business in question, but if it's a one-off visit, your review will have to be based on that singular experience.
Next, consider your visit(s) as a whole. Rather than focus on one specific part of it/them, think about the business in a broader sense. Did it deliver what was promised? Was the customer service good, bad, or indifferent? Would you willingly return or even recommend the business to family and friends?
Start with the overall star rating and then build your review around that. Essentially, whatever you write needs to justify the star rating. If, in a fit of pique, you have left a business a one-star review, then you need to explicitly explain why it deserves such a terrible score…
What to Include (and What to Leave Out)
It's important to understand what is and isn't appropriate to include in a review, especially if you're only visiting a business once. Your experience on that visit is important, obviously, but it can produce a skewed review that isn't entirely accurate.
If you visit a business regularly, seek to produce a review that's an amalgamation of all of your visits. Businesses are very reliant on their staff, and if the staff rotate between visits, your experience could be affected. However, you can still make an accurate assessment based on the overall vibe.
If you visit a business just once, writing a review presents some challenges. It's far too easy to have one good stay at a hotel, one good meal in a restaurant, or one good night in a bar and give a glowing review. The opposite is also true, with your one bad experience not mirroring other people's experiences.
Always be honest when leaving a review. However, that doesn't mean including every little thing that may have been wrong, whether that was an errant hair on a hotel's floor or one dish in a restaurant that wasn't as good as you were expecting it to be. You should also avoid naming staff who you personally didn't find agreeable enough, as that could get them fired.
How to Be Firm But Fair
Being firm but fair in a review means carefully considering what you're writing rather than reacting with a knee-jerk response immediately after visiting a business. As suggested above, basing a review on one visit or even one small part of that visit could lead to you leaving an unfair review that isn't actually very useful to other potential customers.
Another way to ensure you're being fair in your reviews is to take a quick look at other reviews before writing your own. This isn't intended to render your own experience less important but more to help you see clearly whether your own experience was similar to other people's experiences or an exception…
You can read the full article here.
“Word of mouth” is a powerful tool. You can help other consumers make informed decisions about the companies they choose. And you can offer businesses important insight to help them serve their customers. At First Federal Bank, we greatly appreciate reviews. If you’d like to see what the people who bank with us think of their experiences, we invite you to read our Google reviews, and leave one if you are so inclined. Thank you for your business!