Whether you have been in business for decades or are just starting out with building a name in your local community, there’s one thing that every company is bound to experience—a negative customer review! Negative reviews can cause panic and frustration for business owners that are worried about how the customer’s words will affect their reputation with future clients, and there is no question that there is a right and a wrong way to handle a bad review. While you may (or may not) be responsible for the customer’s negative experience, you still need to make it a priority to respond quickly, positively, and compassionately to mitigate the damage that a review can do to your company, and we’ve put together five simple steps for handling even the most challenging customers: 1. Don’t React—Respond!? It is easy to get defensive if you are reading a poor review from a past customer, and this is even truer if you are struggling to understand exactly where that customer is coming from. However, the trick to managing this challenging situation is to respond to the customer with consideration and respect—not with an argumentative reaction. Remember, your words will be laid out on your website for all of your followers to view, so you want to be aware of how your response sounds before clicking the “post” button. 2. Move Fast with Damage Control? While it may be tempting to ignore the negative review in the hopes that other customers don’t notice, that is never a wise idea. You need to respond to the review as soon as possible, both for the customer’s sake and for the sake of your reputation! Timely responses show that you take the customer’s concerns seriously and that you are making every effort to ensure that the wrongs they…