You want to know how to respond to a 3-star review without comments if you recently received one. Perhaps, you received a 3-star review on Facebook or Google that has no comment, and are considering how best to respond to it.
You should not ignore the review, especially if you believe it is fake. Treat it like any review with comments, and offer to improve the experience. You need to be able to prove that the accusations are untrue or that prospective customers can expect a better experience.
The three-star review could turn out to be an accident, and your response can have the reviewer delete it. Be careful though, some users can reduce the stars further with or without comments.
How bad is a 3-star review with no comment?
A 3-star review is generally inevitable, and can sometimes be fake. It brings a two-way impact on your review page, but getting more good reviews will drown them out.
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On one hand, 3-star reviews with no comments are not great. They are like “it could do better” and do not help to maximize potential profit.
On the other hand, 3-star reviews can be good for the statistics – keeps things from being just black or white. Potential customers seeing 3-star reviews will also know not to overestimate the positives and underestimate the negatives.
How to respond to a 3-star review without comments
It can be challenging to reply to a 3-star review with no comment expressing the consumer’s dissatisfaction. Nonetheless, you need to respond to every kind of review you think affects the business.
Follow these pro steps to prepare a response to any 3-star review without comments:
Thank the customer
Begin your response by thanking the customer for taking their time out to make a review. Although the customer has not provided any insight, the low rating is insightful enough to know that something is wrong, and needs a fix. It is your responsibility to figure out the problem to improve your product and service.
Also, since they did not leave any comments in their 3-star review, it will be hard to predict how they will respond.
Acknowledge their review
Since there is no clue to use to restate the positives the customer enjoyed, just go ahead and acknowledge their review. This shows you care about knowing what the problem is, and would be willing to fix it.
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Draw attention to the missing comment
Indicate in your response that you would appreciate it if the customer leaves a comment to help you serve them better. Potential customers seeing your response will forgive the review since, even though the reviewer left no clue, you are still out to figure out and resolve it.
If the reviewer left the 3-star review by mistake, they may be willing to modify it or leave a comment stating their problem. If you believe that the comment is fake, do not reply by saying something like “we can’t verify your purchase, so it is fake”. Just report the comment and try to have it removed.
Restate the positive
If the customer edits their review and adds comments, you now have the insight to work with. It could be a modification to increase the star rating above 3 or add comments.
Suppose the reviewer adds 3-star comments, begin your response by letting them know you are glad they enjoyed certain things about your product or services.
This also shows the reviewer that you have read the review, and further highlights the positive points for other readers.
Apologize
Just say “sorry”, notwithstanding whether it was your fault or not. Suppose their added 3-star comment shows they did not follow instructions. Take responsibility, and do not start blaming the person for misusing the product. A simple “We’re sorry about your experience” can convince a customer to add more stars to their review.
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If indeed the user-added comment shows your product or service did not meet expectations, say something like “We apologize for any inconvenience and are willing to rectify the problem”.
Fix the issue
A happy customer who gets their issue resolved will tell about 4-6 people about the experience.
If you fix the issue, an unhappy customer will purchase from you again. Just make sure to read the review carefully to see if the customer provided possible solutions or make your suggestions. If they did not use the item properly, point that out and tell them how to use it. You could post a URL to an online resource that resolves or discusses the problem broadly.
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If you decide to directly contact the reviewer, do not send a message like “Why did you leave a 3-star rating?” Some customers can return to publicly post that you asked them to change the review, which is bad for your business. Instead, your message should begin with an apology before you mention your willingness to know the problem and help to fix it.
End the thread positively
Remind the customer how much their support means to your business and that you look forward to hearing from them again soon. Depending on the platform, leave your telephone number or email for them to contact you if they wish to discuss or escalate the matter.
Be concise and personal
Your customer does not like it when they read lengthy explanations. Write a few lines acknowledging them, restate positives, and try to solve the problem. Personalize your response by including your name and theirs (if available). A dissatisfied 3-star reviewer who returned to add comments to their review wants to interact with humans and not automated responses.
Sample response to 3-star reviews with no comments
Sample #1
Dear [name]
Thank you for taking the time to share your opinions but you left no comment. Your comment means so much to us and will be so happy to hear that you [insert positive]. Consider dropping us an email or calling us on the details below to help fix the issue.
Thank you again for your feedback. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
[Your name]
Sample #2
Dear [name]
Sorry for your bad experience with us. However, it looks like you didn’t leave a comment though. Mind telling us how we can improve?
[Your name]
Sample #3
Dear [name]
We are very grateful for your review, although you did not mention your experience. Your opinion matters a lot to us as we are continually striving to improve our service. We would be happier if you could contact us to let us know what we could do to improve your experience.
Have a great day
[Your name]
Tips to get more positive ratings
You need to make up for any 3-star rating you cannot get rid of, even though a 3-star rating without comment is not as bad as the negative ones. Below are tips to gather higher ratings:
a) Report fake ratings
The platform you use may have a review policy. For instance, if you get a bad host review on Airbnb that violates the review policy, it can be removed. If you think a 3-star rating without comment violates the policy, use the report button to have them removed. This can be the case if the reviewer never used the product or services.
b) Ask for positive reviews
Do not forget to remind satisfied customers to leave reviews on your page. Some customers do not think it is impolite not to leave a review, so do not force this on anyone.
c) Make it easy to leave reviews
Have a link on your product page that easily brings customers to your review page. Your emails and newsletters should also include the link to the review page. Creating a QR code will also help customers capture the image and go quickly to your review page.
Positive reviews increase the confidence of your consumers, which leads to more sales from existing and new customers.
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