Writing Negative Reviews for Local Businesses

Help, please. How do I gently write a negative review of a local business? I have a review sitting on the back burner, waiting for it to gel in my mind. The review should be negative, not because of the staff, but because of how items are financed through their business. I had to beg for written information about financing my article. I ultimately received the information via US mail. However, I ended up not financing but paying the total price because my “intuition,” “gut,” and common sense were all screaming “NO.” I want to be able to warn people to ask for the information upfront in print and read it carefully, perhaps take a day or two to think about whether they want to finance or not.

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Hi, @Cercis

You can check the Solution in this thread ( How to write properly a bad review on Maps ).

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@Cercis Hola espero te sirva esta guia para escribir reseñas.

https://support.google.com/local-guides/answer/2519605

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@iorikun301 Thank you for your suggestion. I will follow up and read it.

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You’re welcome, @Cercis

Just be aware when you share a bad review about a business and the business’ lawyer want to sue you because of that, Google will not help you.

“… Google doesn’t get involved when businesses and customers disagree about facts” (Understand which reviews to report for removal ).

You share bad review at your own risk.

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@iorikun301

Thank you for that warning! I appreciate it.

Cercis

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@MagarDesign

Thank you for your reply and the reading suggestion.

Cercis

Hi @Cercis !
Politeness does not take away from courage (it’s an old saying where I live)
Just tell the truth by giving the specific information about the inconvenients to future customers.
Usually, there are businesses with good service, but with a bad system.

In almost all my reports I include some comment about financing. It is a vital part of the buying process.
Tks

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@Fernandito_1976

Thank you for your observations and for taking the time to respond to my question. Your reply is helpful. I am still thinking about the wording of my review. And now believe that it might be best if I write my “warning” in terms of my expectations and how they were ultimately fulfilled.

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I avoid writing negative reviews, but if I really want to write a negative experience, I try to do this as honest as possible. I would suggest you to write it as you wrote your original post: tell the positive things about the staff but indicate that some info isn’t clearly readable and that a customer should think twice when buying something they can’t pay at once (or whatever the situation is). I e.g. wrote a review about a restaurant I visited nearly a year ago and that I found too much focused on the concept instead of the food. The food itself was okay, but I found it too much hassle to eat in that place: sharing foods isn’t easy when a couple is visually impaired and the desert must be shared with others. I try to start with positive things, but I also indicate what I didn’t like. If you state that “the food is bad”, this isn’t indicating much info. But when you wrote “the music was too loud and the acoustics was very hollow”, you are giving concrete info for others. Be as honest and concrete as possible, avoid conflicts (I would say). Hope this can be of any help.

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Thank you for your objective reply. I seek out locally owned and staffed businesses to do business with and write reviews about whenever possible. More and more, if I cannot find an answer to standard questions on my list, such as where is accessible (handicapped) parking, I seek out someone in a managerial position and ask. I am not confrontational and often find bits of information that add to my review.

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