Receiving a negative review or a review you disagree with can be really frustrating and disappointing! We recommend making the choice to respond professionally and calmly. 

First up, reach out privately to the reviewer.

You will have received an email from Cratejoy when the review was posted, which will include the name of the reviewer, the text of the review, and contact information for the reviewer. We recommend reaching out via email to the reviewer to clarify any issues they might have raised.

What if I can’t find a customer with that email address in my Cratejoy account?

If the reviewer's email address doesn't match any of your subscribers, we recommend reaching out to them via the "Email {Customer Name}" link, or by searching for their name in your account. The reviewer might not have used the same email address to write the review that they used to sign up for your subscription, or perhaps the reviewer was the gift recipient of a gift subscription.

What we find works well when working with an unhappy reviewer:

  • Apologize sincerely and briefly! Apologizing can go a long way to making an unhappy customer felt heard.
  • Offer a solution or resolution if you can. Check out some tips and ideas below.
  • Focus on the product and concerns raised in the review, not you/your store or the reviewer. Negative reviews can feel like personal attacks, but we recommend keeping the focus on the issues raised in the review, not you or the reviewer.
  • Thank them for the feedback. The subscriber took the time to review their experience, and maybe left you some good feedback about how you can improve your products or services to grow and retain other subscribers.

Solutions you can offer an unhappy reviewer.

When it comes to resolving or offering make-goods to your subscribers, you have a lot of options at your disposal within Cratejoy! Once you have the subscriber’s contact info, you can:

Not every review requires a public response, but you should consider posting a public response to any 1-2 star review. We’d recommend keeping the following in mind:

  • Keep it simple! We recommend that responses be between 50-250 words, just enough to explain or address the issue and offer some sort of resolution.
  • Show off your stellar customer support. Potential new subscribers will see these responses as an example of what kind of customer support they’ll receive or what sort of help they can expect if something goes awry! Stay calm, friendly, and customer-focused.
  • If you can, mention what you’ve changed or are doing differently based on their feedback. Show how you’re changing your business based on their feedback and suggestions! This is particularly important if potential new subscribers might have the same concerns as those raised in reviews.
  • Avoid thinking of it as “telling your side of the story.” We recommend sticking to the product and issues discussed in the review, rather than bringing in any other contact you’ve had with the reviewer. Potential new subscribers and existing subscribers who might read this review don’t want to see a full play-by-play of a disagreement or a line-by-line listing of everything that the reviewer got wrong. Potential new subscribers want to see you handle customer issues with warmth and empathy. Write your response with that audience in mind, not the reviewer.

Moving Forward After Negative Reviews

You’ve dealt with the negative review. Now it’s time to move forward. 

You can encourage customers to provide even more reviews. If you have a core group of pleased, long-term subscribers, encourage them to write a review about their experience! You’ll be able to show potential new subscribers how many people love your product, and what it is they love about it.

Focus on your proactive communication. We see many negative reviews boil down to shipping and communication.

  • It’s important to proactively communicate with your subscribers -- especially if it’s their first shipment with you! We recommend clearly communicating in your listing and your welcome/order receipt emails when they can expect to receive their first shipment. Check out our white paper on shipping communication for more tips and suggestions.
  • If, for some reason, your shipments will be delayed, proactively communicate that!
  • Check your customer support email address, and try to respond to customer support questions or issues in a timely manner. Some reviewers will post a negative review out of frustration if they feel like a subscription’s customer support team has ignored them.

Ensure customers have the right expectations for your product. Sometimes negative reviews come down to the subscriber having a different expectation of what they received vs. what they paid for!

How does Cratejoy protect me from fake, harmful, or fraudulent reviews? 

Cratejoy moderates all Cratejoy Marketplace reviews to ensure they are legitimate and helpful reviews of the subscription products you offer. We’ll specifically…

  1. Moderate and check reviews posted by non-subscribers that are not real reviews of the subscription product or service (e.g., “This looks like a copy of So-and-So box…”)
  2. Moderate and check reviews posted by non-subscribers that might be fraudulent or fake.
  3. Moderate and avoid publishing duplicate reviews posted by the same reviewer.
  4. Moderate reviews to filter out the hateful or hostile language.

As a seller, you will only receive a notification when a review has been moderated and posted.

Can Cratejoy Remove a Review From My Listing? 

Cratejoy will remove a review only at the request of the reviewer who wrote it if they submit a ticket to Cratejoy Support here. Cratejoy will not remove a review at the request of a seller, as painful as that is! We have to preserve the integrity of marketplace reviews, even from unsatisfied customers.