When Good Dentists Recieve Bad Online Reviews
Before jumping into the topic, let's remember three truths about Internet reviews:
The Internet is not always accurate.
Patients usually believe the reviewer if the review is well written.
Good dentists occasionally receive very negative reviews through no fault of their own. I'm not writing about negative reviews of staff or complaints about insurance billing. These are areas where the dentist has some control. This article focuses on completely false, inaccurate comments posted about the dentist.
All situations are unique, but here are a few basic guidelines to help you minimize the damage from an untrue comment.
Step 1 - Take a deep breath. The worst part is already over
If you are like most of our clients, your reputation with your patients, your employees and in your community is very important to you. An untrue negative review is always disturbing and often creates an intense emotional response. Pause for a moment and consider how fortunate you are to have discovered this comment.
The most harmful review is the one of which you are unaware. The review that silently steers new patients away from your practice causes the most damage. Count yourself lucky you found the culprit and move to step 2.
Step 2 - If possible, identify the source of the review and assume an honest mistake.
Depending on the review web site, there may be enough information to actually identify the reviewer. Some sites even give the dentists a way to contact the unhappy patient. We have had several instances where the negative dentist reviews and ratings were meant for a completely different dentist. Review web sites can be complicated to navigate, and a frustrated patient can accidentally post comments to the wrong practice.
Step 3 - Challenge the review with the website, not with the patient.
Step 4 - Never, ever get into a posting war with a patient.
Again, depending on the review site, there may be an option for you to "tell your side of the story". Correcting negative dentist reviews and ratings through counter postings is almost always a bad idea. If you do decide to publicly respond to a patient review, remember that you are having this "discussion" in front of all of your potential future patients. Even if you are right, do you really want to market yourself as the dentist who fights with patients?
Step 5 - If removal attempts fail, dilute the review over time
Honest, positive dentist reviews and ratings from actual patients spread out over a number of months will create a more accurate impression of your practice and minimize the effect of the solitary negative comment. Be careful not to have a group of "glowing reviews" show up right after you notice the negative comment. Savvy patients key into the fact that you are reacting to a negative comment and become even more cautious of your practice.
This is a case where the best defense is a great offense. If a negative review is surrounded by positive comments, before and after the review was posted its impact is minimized.
Individual situations are different, but these general guidelines will help you protect your most valuable asset, your good reputation.