Yikes! This is a question I received from an actual coaching session and it’s such a terrifying and frustrating experience that I wanted to share it with you.

Here was the question…

Help!

I just got a really bad review on yelp. I talked to the client on the phone and she was very apologetic and said she felt bad for saying those things. She said I run a great business and she must of had me on a bad day. Which she did. Our computers shut down. My previous client was so late and had so many questions after. She said she would take away the review but hasn’t.

Can you assist me at all in knowing what to do? I saw your post about loving what you do. But today I honestly want to quit. I pride myself on amazing customer service and people always love me. It’s so hard and hurts!

And, here was my response:

Breathe…

I’ve been there and I feel your pain. A good review can make our day and a bad review can hurt for weeks. I get it!

But the first thing you need to do is get the right perspective – these things happen even to the best of us. No one is immune. It’s a little scary how quickly people can express their opinion of our services in such an immediate and public way. Sometimes it feels like we are at the mercy of our clients and their reviews – bad days, unreasonable expectations and all. It feels unfair and sometimes it is.

One of the estheticians at my spa got a not so great (and not at all fair) review – mainly because Yelp had the wrong address attached to the google map and the client got lost for 20 minutes and showed up very irritated – rightfully so.

So, what did I do?

1. I called and apologized to the client.

You should always acknowledge it. Contacting the client gives you the opportunity to correct the problem.

2. I asked the client what we could have done differently to make her experience more enjoyable. I actively LISTENED to every word she said. Her complaint was that the esthetician did not tell her she could still perform the entire facial. Interesting right? I never would have guessed this would have been her answer.

Asking and listening gives you the opportunity to avoid this happening again in the future. Remember: most people just want to be acknowledged and heard and will appreciate you reaching out.

3. I expressed to the client how very important her business was to my spa and offered her a complimentary service.

Inviting the client back for a complimentary service tells them that you actually care and gives you the opportunity to gain a loyal repeat customer.

4. I called yelp and they corrected the map mistake.

5. I talked to the esthetician about how we could use this as a learning experience and how it would teach us to communicate better when someone comes in stressed.

This ‘bad’ review allowed us to improve our skills and develop a new customer satisfaction tool – it allowed us to up our game and get even better.

Then I had to let it go and move on, refocus on my business and know I did what I could to correct the situation.

You really do have to look at this as a learning experience. Whether or not you feel you deserved it is completely irrelevant. It happened. But, it will ultimately make you a better esthetician.

Most of the time these things happen when we are not 100% present in our practice and it’s a good reminder of what we need to be focused on while in the treatment room.

My best advice is: Don’t give up. This too shall pass and it will be a valuable lesson in your toolbox and will lead to helping you become even more successful.

Looking for more support and guidance in your esthetician practice? Join me beginning January 19th, 2014 for a game-changing virtual training event unlike any I’ve shared with you before. The response has been overwhelming! Check it out here: BeautyBizAbundance.com