Dr. X’s review went something like this:

1 STAR Rating: “If I could leave a negative star review, I would. Avoid Dr X. My mom was on vacation when she fell.  Unfortunately, she was “cared” for by Dr. X.  Dr. X said, ‘unless my mom wanted to play professional sports, she did not need surgery’. My mom was in a lot of pain and when she returned home, she saw another doctor that said my mom needed surgery right away or she would lose mobility!  The HELPFUL doctor couldn’t believe that Dr. X didn’t even change the bandages…. Dr. X, bring light and good health to the world by retiring.”

Like anyone who receives a review like this, the doctor was upset and completely disagreed with the reviewer’s account of the visit. He immediately instructed the staff to post a response with the “facts”, and then began to pressure his team to have Google delete the reviewer’s comment. As you can imagine, even if the reviewer isn’t responding, the outcome is not positive for the practice or the doctor; and if the reviewer is responding, the outcome likely only gets worse.

So, we know that bad reviews happen, even to the very best of providers.  How should we handle them, and how can we manage the conversations within the clinic and with the providers?

Step One: Consider your options.

The first rule of Review Club: work the plan. It’s easy to allow any review, especially a not-so-great-one, to feel very personal.  The key to success is the consistent, long game. Just like managing any situation that isn’t going perfectly within the business, the goal should be to consider your options and work the plan. This is the very reason there is a Customer Review Strategy in place to begin with; it is the clinic’s time to shine.  An emotional response, particularly a direct response including any details around the patient visit, may not only validate the patient’s identity and easily be a HIPAA/privacy violation, but it often fuels the fire. Consider the options and work the plan; but what is the plan?

Step Two: Remove.

Does the review qualify as inappropriate in Google’s eyes? Getting rid of a Google review is not necessarily simple, but it isn’t impossible either.  Google only removes reviews if the reviewer breaks one of Google’s user policies. 

Google Review Policies:

1. Spam and fake content that is posted to manipulate ratings. This includes posting multiple times, including from different accounts.
2. Off-topic posts that are general in nature, such as political commentary or personal rants.
3. Promoting actions be taken or items purchased that fail to comply with local legal regulations. Such restricted content includes promoting alcohol, gambling, guns, pharmaceuticals, adult services, and more. 
4. Illegal or depict illegal activity, such as copyrighted content, endangered animal products, graphic violence, human trafficking, etc.
5. Terrorist in nature.
6. Sexually explicit or in any way sexually exploits children.
7. Offensive, obscene, or profane.
8. Dangerous, considered harassment or intimidating, or that incite hatred.
9. Impersonating others or having false representation.
10. Dishonest or biased. This includes posting reviews of your own business (or having a current or former employee do it for you) and trying to manipulate a competitor’s ratings.

So, does this review qualify for deletion under any of these policies? In this instance, our review does not qualify for removal.  If you believe, after reviewing the policies, your business can prove the reviewer broke one of Google’s policies, you have a chance to present your case. I’ve included an abbreviated overview of how to contact Google support below.

To contact Google’s support for small businesses:

1. Go to Small Business Support
2. Scroll down and select “contact us”
3. Select “customer reviews and photos,” and then “manage customer reviews”
4. Choose to receive help via phone, web chat, or email

Using any of these methods, one can expect help within 24 hours. If the practice chooses to contact Google via email or chat, it is helpful to have a screenshot of the review in question ready to go.

When the Google support team reaches out, it is up to the practice to explain why the review should be removed. Be ready to explain why the review is in violation of policy and defend your request to get it removed.

CLICK THIS LINK to request to delete a review from Google.

Step Three: Respond

If having Google remove the review isn’t going to work for the practice, the easiest way to have a review removed is having the patient remove it themself.  Typically, this is accomplished by contacting the patient offline with hopes to better understand what happened and find a way to resolve the issue.  Where this approach can become risky is when a well-meaning practice representative accidentally validates a patient’s claim during the casual phone conversation, for instance, by apologizing for the incident or mishap.  Apologizing opens the door, if only a crack, to admission in a malpractice action and trying to have the patient see it “your way” may inflame the patient instead of inspiring them to remove a post. 

Additionally, engaging with the reviewer may prompt more online discussion.  There is nothing stopping a patient from replicating their comments on multiple online platforms.  Businesses that have the most success responding to poor reviews utilize only their most experienced, skilled and disciplined staff, and those team members stay within a very defined framework.  Additionally, having some sort of fix readymade that directly addresses the patient concern is imperative.  The caller must have a plan to resolve the issue going into the conversation.

Step Four: Move On.

Sometimes time is the best healer. When a practice has an active reputation program in place, one bad review won’t be disruptive in the bigger picture; and confronting the reviewer is most often, not worth the risk.  If the practice has an active program to solicit reviews, in a few weeks this review will be buried by an overwhelming number of other reviews that for the most part, should be very good.  If this is a one-off, the manager or clinical supervisor can make note and move on.  If there seems to be a trend within the practice, this time is a great opportunity to meet with the provider or team to realign, fix a process or define a new approach. 

Overall, having an active reputation program in place, understanding your Customer Review Strategy and working your plan to consider, remove, respond or move on will improve the online reputation of your practice and the providers that work within it.