As a business owner in the food delivery or takeaway industry, you know how important good reviews are to your business.
A bad Google review can directly affect your reputation and sales.
Whether it’s an unhappy customer, a misunderstanding or even a fake review, it’s essential to know how to handle this situation.
In this blog post, we explain how to remove a bad Google review and what you can do to protect and improve your online reputation.
Why are Google Reviews important for your Food Delivery or Takeaway Restaurant?
Google Reviews are often the first thing potential customers see when searching online for a restaurant to order food from.
Good reviews can increase your online visibility, improve your SEO and convince customers to order from you.
Bad reviews, on the other hand, can damage your online reputation and cause customers to choose a competitor.
Therefore, it is important to respond appropriately to negative feedback and, where possible, have unfounded reviews removed.
Step 1: Rate the bad google review
Before trying to remove a negative review, it is important to determine if it meets Google’s guidelines for reviews.
Google has specific guidelines for what is and is not allowed.
A review may violate the guidelines if:
- It contains false information (for example, allegations of fraud).
- The review is fake or posted by a bot.
- The review is offensive or discriminatory.
- It is a spam message or contains commercial content (such as promotions from another company).
If a review clearly violates these guidelines, you can take steps to have it removed.
Step 2: Mark the review for deletion
If you have determined that the review violates Google’s guidelines, you can mark it for removal.
You do this as follows:
- Log in to your Google My Business account.
- Find the negative review you want to remove.
- Click on the three vertical dots next to the review and select “Report as inappropriate.”
- Follow the steps and indicate why the review should be removed (for example, because it violates Google guidelines).
Google will then investigate the report.
If they determine that the review does indeed violate the rules, it will be removed.
Step 3: Always respond professionally
Even if you want a bad review removed, it is important to respond promptly and professionally.
This shows potential customers that you take their feedback seriously.
Here are some tips for a good response:
- Be polite and professional: Thank the customer for their feedback, even if it is negative.
- Acknowledge the problem: Show understanding of the complaint and apologize when appropriate.
- Offer a solution: Ask the customer to contact you to resolve the problem.
This shows that you are willing to correct mistakes.
Even if the review is eventually removed, a professional response can save your reputation and shows that you are customer-focused.
Step 4: Ask customers for more positive reviews
Another effective way to reduce the impact of a bad review is to encourage customers to post positive reviews.
The more good reviews you have, the less impact one negative review will have on your average score.
You can ask customers for feedback by:
- Sending them a friendly email or text message after an order asking them to leave a review.
- Offer discounts or promotions for customers who leave a review.
Step 5: Proceed review removal at Google Support
If you are unsuccessful in marking the review for removal, you can also contact Google Support for help.
The process is as follows:
- Go to the Google My Business support page.
- Select “contact us” and choose the option that best fits your problem (for example, problems with reviews).
- Clearly explain why you think the review violates the guidelines and ask for help in removing it.
Although this process may take some time, Google may still remove the review after investigation.
What do you do if the review cannot be removed?
If Google does not remove the review, even after notification and contacting support, there are still ways to limit the damage:
- Continue to actively respond to reviews: Show other customers that you are engaged and handle feedback professionally.
- Improve your SEO: By actively working on your local SEO, for example by using keywords such as “best food delivery in [stad]” and “reliable takeaway in [stad]”, you can ensure that positive content pushes the negative review down in search results.
- Continue to encourage customers to leave positive reviews: Positive reviews increase your average score, making the negative review less noticeable.
In conclusion
Receiving a bad Google review can be frustrating, especially if you know it’s unjustified.
But by following the right steps, such as flagging the review for removal and responding professionally, you can protect and improve your reputation.
Remember to keep working on collecting positive reviews and improving your SEO to make your food delivery or take-away restaurant stronger and more visible.
By keeping your focus on good service and customer focus, you can turn a negative review into an opportunity to show that your business values customer satisfaction.