What would you expect in this situation?

[nancybotwin]

This will be intentionally vague...really interested in feedback.

You work for a company; after working very closely with a client, it is clear this is a client situation that isn't a good match (your product/his expectations) and he decides to bring part of his business elsewhere. He keeps part of his business with another department of your company. In the meantime, he leaves scathing reviews of you and your department on different social media sites.

What would you expect from your boss/the CEO? To stop the reviews? To do nothing? To stop doing business all together with the client? Something else? 

[specialk]

This is almost too vague to know. Were his comments fair? What kind of rapport does your boss have with him? Is he an important client?

I would probably think the boss would apologize for his negative experience, ask him if he can help resolve this situation, and communicate back to you what went wrong.

[nancybotwin]

Good questions.

The reviews are mean (by any standard). There is probably a perception of truth in the experience but they are vilifying the worker (not me) disproportionately.

[FastHands]

Also how big/established is the companym can they afford to lose his business?

[nancybotwin]

Mar 30, 2015 18:57:05 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Also how big/established is the companym can they afford to lose his business?

Company is established but the business is definitely important. I guess I wonder where is the line of saying "your business is not worth it." Employee (about whom the reviews were written) is very hurt and upset and is a valuable employee.

[Deleted]

Can't opine intelligently without actual details.

Good luck.

[specialk]

If the business is important, I think the employee would probably have to suck it up, especially if there is truth to the comments.

[nancybotwin]

Mar 30, 2015 19:00:33 GMT -5 @misoangry said:

Can't opine intelligently without actual details.

Good luck.

What details would help?

[captainobvious]

What was the issue between the client and employee? Was it more of a personality clash or did employee make a costly mistake or ? What language is used in the reviews? Is it harsh but professional or are personal attacks being used?

[lime]

I agree that this is a bit too vague to give a good analysis of.

But, as a consultant, I would sit down with the client and try to resolve the issue(s). I would be assertive and upfront and have screenshots of the reviews so that they could not claim they were unaware.

Generally, I would suggest they tell me what it would take to resolve the situation, as they might ask for a lot less than I might tend to initially suggest. If we could not resolve the issue before leaving the meeting, I would probably tell them I did not wish to work on the additional project.

"No customer is better than a bad customer" is a phrase I often refer to.

Give us an update, if you can.

[nancybotwin]

Ok. PDQ

I am the head of a (somewhat) large private school. 2 years old through 8th grade. Parent has two kids in the school - one in preschool, one in Middle school. Parent didn't like something that happened in the preschool, pulled their child out and wrote a scathing review of the preschool director on yelp (though who looks for schools on yelp??) Preschool director is beyond upset, thinks it's unjustified, they worked hard with child and parents didn't really see child, feels her integrity and professional reputation are in question etc.

I am working through my own opinions and my response. On the one hand I think they have the right to say what they want. This is their perspective...on the other, I want her to feel supported (she really is a phenomenal director) and I want to maintain a certain level of kindness and certain expectations in how we treat others in our community. She (the director) can't believe I would even consider letting them stay in the school. I want other opinions.

[isabel]

I think I would expect the CEO to have a serious conversation with the client because the client is still doing business with the company, just in a different department. It seems kind of fucked up to me that he is continuing to work with the company while simultaneously leaving bad reviews, even if it is for a different department within the company. Ultimately, if we couldn't reach an agreement to satisfy the client AND get him to stop leaving bad reviews, I would cut ties. His business isn't worth it.

eta: After reading your update, my thoughts still stand. I don't think the negative reviews are worth keeping this parent. Find a way to make the parent happy and stop leaving reviews or tell them to find a new school. If the parent isn't happy with one aspect of the school, there's no reason to believe he/she will continue to be happy with other aspects of the school.

[lime]

Mar 30, 2015 20:42:06 GMT -5 @smace said:

Mar 30, 2015 20:33:48 GMT -5 lime said:

I agree that this is a bit too vague to give a good analysis of.

But, as a consultant, I would sit down with the client and try to resolve the issue(s). I would be assertive and upfront and have screenshots of the reviews so that they could not claim they were unaware.

Generally, I would suggest they tell me what it would take to resolve the situation, as they might ask for a lot less than I might tend to initially suggest. If we could not resolve the issue before leaving the meeting, I would probably tell them I did not wish to work on the additional project.

"No customer is better than a bad customer" is a phrase I often refer to.

Give us an update, if you can.

Not always. When I worked construction law there was one client, a major floridian construction firm (so big, big, bucks), who sucked. We all hated them. But they brought in so much money, the two partners just took whatever nastiness they dished out b/c the money was a huge portion of the firm's overall income.

Well, the definition of "bad" here is what counts, and why we needed more details. Sure, the client above you listed was a PIA but were they trashing your company on social media and ruining future potential business? We've all dealt with customers that were assholes in other ways, of course. 

Given the OP's update, I would have the CEO sit down with the client and discuss what had happened. I think the most likely course of events here is that I would end up firing them as a client. 

I'm trying to think of a way I could move forward in a business relationship with them, but I just don't think it is possible. 

[sarahbear]

I'd tell the parent that we aren't a good fit for them.

[Deleted]

Yeah, details were important here. One student doesn't keep a school afloat, and integrity is more a part of a school's mission than it would be a different type of company

I would cut ties with the parents. The director is worth more than one parent, ergo, you cut ties. Easy call.

[snipsnsnails]

In the past when I worked for a particular organization, I had a not-very-nice interaction with a client. I felt attacked and that their claims were unfounded. When I went to my boss, he listened and then told me that we were a team and he would always have my back (although he phrased it much more professionally-ha). It was so reassuring to hear that.

In your case, I'd support your director if the claims are with little to no merit.

[readyin07]

Mar 30, 2015 20:42:06 GMT -5 @smace said:

Mar 30, 2015 20:33:48 GMT -5 lime said:

I agree that this is a bit too vague to give a good analysis of.

But, as a consultant, I would sit down with the client and try to resolve the issue(s). I would be assertive and upfront and have screenshots of the reviews so that they could not claim they were unaware.

Generally, I would suggest they tell me what it would take to resolve the situation, as they might ask for a lot less than I might tend to initially suggest. If we could not resolve the issue before leaving the meeting, I would probably tell them I did not wish to work on the additional project.

"No customer is better than a bad customer" is a phrase I often refer to.

Give us an update, if you can.

Not always. When I worked construction law there was one client, a major floridian construction firm (so big, big, bucks), who sucked. We all hated them. But they brought in so much money, the two partners just took whatever nastiness they dished out b/c the money was a huge portion of the firm's overall income.

I am so curious what company (used to,work for a large florida developer)

[rosiebear]

Mar 30, 2015 21:10:50 GMT -5 sarahbear said:

I'd tell the parent that we aren't a good fit for them.

You'd kick a kid out of junior high because of something her parent did? That seems like an unjustifiably harsh consequence for the kid. For both kids, but finding new friends and switching schools in junior high is rougher than in younger grades, in general.

[sarahbear]

Mar 30, 2015 21:58:51 GMT -5 rosiebear said:

Mar 30, 2015 21:10:50 GMT -5 sarahbear said:

I'd tell the parent that we aren't a good fit for them.

You'd kick a kid out of junior high because of something her parent did? That seems like an unjustifiably harsh consequence for the kid. For both kids, but finding new friends and switching schools in junior high is rougher than in younger grades, in general.

Yes.

[rosiebear]

OP, I'd definitely let the parent know that her remarks were not keeping within your community guidelines and that you'd like her to take them down or modify them.

I wouldn't make the junior high school kid find another school, though, unless the parents escalate from there.

Can you write a rebuttal on yelp, or is it best just to ignore?

[mcc]

Don't defend yourself publicly, it looks bad. I would write back on yelp, apologize for the situation and take it offline to smooth it over. Chances are she's just pissed and may realize she looks like an idiot when she recovers.

Not every school is the right fit for every child and parents will realize that. People do use yelp for your business for sure. If you have any other marketing efforts, pump those up - blog about community activities, new enrollment, charity work, spirit days, etc. to beef up your presence on social media and show happy lively kids. Tag parents and kids on social media if allowed to make the posts have a broader reach and encourage sharing. Yelp is super powerful and can kill a reputation for a small business so be proactive in other efforts, apologize on yelp and take it offline. You'll look better to potential new parents. Also if you have some other parents who you're close with, it wouldn't hurt to ask them to add a positive review to yelp or FB.

If this post is too identifying, I'm happy to edit

[LoveTrains]

I also work in an independent school setting. If a parent trashed our school on yelp we would probably reach out to some other parents to write favorable reviews and bump this one down. I would also apologize on yelp and then take it off line and have a meeting with the parents. I would hope that they might consider editing their review to take out any personal insults. I don't think we would ask a family to leave over this though - especially not in the middle of the year. We also mail contracts to existing families for re-enrollment at the end of January.

[franklin]

I guess I would approach it from a combination of ways already posted. Yes, one kid will not sink the school. However, saying the school is not a good fit for the other child could just make the parents even more upset that they had to take one kid out and then the school "kicked" their other child out. I would meet with parents to try and address the issue(s) to see if they can be resolved or move forward based on the outcome of the meeting. DS attends a Montessori school that goes from six months to eighth grade and going through the processes of finding the right school for him and dealing with parents at his current school, I know parents "talk" and be a huge pain in the ass depending on how many children they have enrolled and how many connections they have.

[lolo]

I would have the director's manager schedule a meeting with the parent about what happened.

Signed, a parent who definitely reads yelp reviews when looking for schools

[flamingeaux]

I assume she followed all the procedures in place during the incident that led to the bad review. If this is the case I think the manager should respond on yelp. Employee is a good worker and great at their position. Everything she has done has been in accordance with our company policies. Please contact me, and we will set up a meeting to discuss clarification and possible revisions to the policy, if necessary.

[nancybotwin]

Thanks for the feedback - definitely helpful!

[nancybotwin]

Mar 31, 2015 6:26:45 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

What is the result you are looking for? Getting mom to remove/edit her yelp review? You might not be able to do that, and I'd tread lightly. It's unfortunate that the director is taking it personally, but taking action against the mom in the form of kicking the other child out would come across as vengeful and I guarantee would NOT make the mom relent and take down her review. In fact, she'd likely go on an even bigger social media rampage with it.

It's a good question. I want her/them to stop this vicious talk...it's incredibly hurtful and harmful to the community. I also want to stand for something...our school takes great pride in the way our kids act towards each other; everyone in the community should demonstrate those same values. Obviously the preschool wasn't a good fit for their family but they shouldn't publicly shame professionals who work so hard and do so much for hundreds of other kids.