How to respond to negative comments and reviews
A bad review isn't the problem. How it's answered is what people actually judge you on — and most of the damage we see done to venues online is done in the reply, not the complaint. Here's how to handle it, what to say, and the handful of things that turn a one-star review into a genuine problem.
On this page
On this page
Every venue gets bad reviews. A run of five-star ratings with nothing below four actually reads as suspicious — people trust a 4.3 with a few complaints answered well far more than a suspiciously perfect 5.0. What separates venues that come out of a bad review looking good from ones that come out looking worse is entirely in the response.
If you only read one thing
- Never reply while you're annoyed. Write it, save it, walk away, read it again in an hour. Nearly every reply a venue regrets was sent within ten minutes of reading the review.
- Reply once in public, then move it private. Your public reply is for the hundreds of people who'll read it later, not for the one person who wrote it.
- Never argue the facts in public. Even when you're completely right — especially then. You cannot win it and everyone watching sees a business arguing with a customer.
- Never reveal what happened in the venue. Not that they were refused service, not that they were asked to leave, not what they'd had to drink. That's a privacy problem and a legal one.
- You can't get honest criticism deleted, so stop trying. Platforms only remove reviews that break their rules. Unfair isn't against the rules.
01 — TriageWork out what it actually is first
Five different things arrive looking identical, and they need completely different handling. Spend a minute deciding which one you've got before you type anything.
| What it is | How you can tell | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A fair complaint | Specific, plausible, names a real thing — a wait, a cold meal, a rude moment | Reply publicly, acknowledge it, take it offline. This is the one where a good response wins you customers. |
| An unfair complaint | Specific but wrong, or blames you for something outside your control | Still reply, still warmly. Correct the record gently and once, without contradicting them line by line. |
| A rating with no words | One or two stars, no text at all | Short, friendly, low-key reply inviting them to tell you more. Then let it go. |
| Abuse or a troll | Profanity, personal attacks, obviously trying to provoke, nothing to do with a real visit | Do not engage. Report it to the platform, hide or remove it on your own page, and tell whoever manages your socials. |
| Fake or mistaken | Wrong venue, a competitor, never been in, a duplicate, a bot | Report it with evidence. Optionally one neutral public line noting you can't match it to a visit — no accusations. |
| Something serious | Alleges illness, injury, discrimination, a safety issue, an assault, or anything involving police or a regulator | Stop. Don't reply at all yet. Straight to your GM. This is an incident, not a review. |
Before replying to anything specific, find out what actually happened. Ask the duty manager who was on, check the incident log, look at the booking. A reply that says "we've looked into this" only works if you have — and if the reviewer is right and you've said otherwise in public, you've handed them the moral high ground.
02 — ProcessWho replies, and how fast
- One named person, one named backup. Not "whoever sees it". Reviews answered by three different people in three different voices read as chaos, and it's how contradictory replies happen.
- Within a day or two is plenty. Fast enough to look attentive, slow enough that you're not typing in the heat of it. Nobody expects a venue to reply at 11pm.
- Anything about a staff member goes to the GM first. A public reply about an employee's conduct is an HR matter as much as a marketing one, and the staff member deserves to hear about it from you before they read it online.
- Agree the escalation line in advance, while nothing's on fire. Who can reply without asking? What has to go to the GM? What goes to the board or your insurer? Write it down once and it's not a debate at the wrong moment.
- Tell your staff what's been said. If a review names a shift or a section, the team will hear about it anyway. Better from you, with context, than screenshotted into a group chat.
- Reply to the good ones too. A one-line thank you on the positive reviews takes a minute, and it means your review page doesn't only show you responding when you're unhappy.
We'll usually draft the reply and send it to you before it goes anywhere — you know your venue and what actually happened; we know how it'll read to the four hundred people who see it later. For anything sensitive we won't post without a yes from your GM. If you'd rather we just handled routine ones directly, tell us and we will.
03 — Writing itThe shape of a good reply
Four parts, in this order, and short. Three or four sentences is the target — a long reply looks defensive no matter how reasonable the words are.
Thank them, by name if you have one
"Thanks for taking the time to let us know, Sarah." It sounds small. It sets the entire tone, and it signals to every future reader that you're not about to get defensive.
Acknowledge the experience — not necessarily the accusation
"I'm sorry your meal took that long on Saturday." You can be genuinely sorry someone had a bad night without agreeing to every claim in the review. That distinction matters if there's any chance of a formal complaint later.
Say what you're doing about it
One concrete thing. "I've spoken to the kitchen about Saturday service times." Not "your feedback is important to us" — that phrase reads as a form letter and actively makes things worse.
Offer a way to continue it privately, and sign off as a person
"I'd like to sort this out properly — could you email me at manager@… or ask for me at reception? — Dave, Venue Manager." A real name and a real contact ends the public thread and moves it somewhere you can actually resolve it.
Tone rules
- Write like a person, not an organisation. "I'm sorry" beats "the club apologises". Sign with a first name.
- Not a trace of sarcasm. None. It always reads worse than it sounded in your head, and it's what gets screenshotted.
- Never mention the review score or that it was "only" one star. It draws attention to it.
- Don't copy and paste the same reply. Anyone scrolling your reviews sees the identical wording five times and it undoes the whole point. Use the templates below as a starting shape, then change them.
- Reply once. If they come back arguing, take it to private messages or leave it. A public back-and-forth is worse than the original review every single time.
04 — TemplatesCopy-paste replies to adapt
Starting points, not scripts. Change the details, change the wording, sign your own name.
Slow service or a long wait
- Reply
- Thanks for letting us know, and I'm sorry you waited that long on Saturday — that's not the standard we aim for. We were short-staffed in the kitchen that night, which is on us to manage better, and I've talked it through with the team. I'd like to make it up to you; could you email me at manager@venue.com.au? — Dave, Venue Manager
A meal that wasn't right
- Reply
- Thanks for the feedback, and I'm sorry the schnitzel wasn't up to scratch. That's disappointing to read because it's usually one of our better plates. I've passed it to our chef. Please ask for me next time you're in and I'll sort you out with something better. — Dave
A complaint about a staff member
- Reply
- Thanks for telling us, and I'm sorry you felt that way about how you were spoken to — it's not how we want anyone treated. I'd like to understand what happened properly, so could you email me at manager@venue.com.au with the day and roughly the time? — Dave, Venue Manager
- Never
- Never name the staff member, never say who was on, never defend or blame them publicly. Handle it internally.
A complaint that's factually wrong
- Reply
- Thanks for the feedback. I think there may be some crossed wires here — our kitchen is open until 8:30 on Sundays, so I'd like to find out what happened when you came in. Could you drop me an email at manager@venue.com.au? Happy to sort it out. — Dave
- Why it works
- It corrects the record once, calmly, for the benefit of everyone else reading — without calling anyone a liar or going line by line.
Someone who was refused service or asked to leave
- Reply
- Thanks for your feedback. We're not able to discuss individual incidents publicly, but if you'd like to talk it through please email manager@venue.com.au. — Dave, Venue Manager
- Critical
- Say nothing more than this. Do not mention intoxication, behaviour, a ban, RSA obligations or anything the person did. Even when the review is wildly unfair. Especially then.
A one-star rating with no comment
- Reply
- Sorry to see this — we'd genuinely like to know what went wrong so we can fix it. If you have a minute, email manager@venue.com.au. — Dave
A review you don't think is genuine
- Reply
- Thanks for the review. We haven't been able to match this to a recent visit — if we've got something wrong, please email manager@venue.com.au and we'll look into it properly. — Dave
- Then
- Report it to the platform with whatever evidence you have. Don't accuse them of faking it in public.
A good review — don't skip these
- Reply
- Thanks Sarah, that's great to hear — I'll pass it on to Michelle and the kitchen. See you next Friday. — Dave
- Why
- Costs a minute, makes your review page look like a venue that's paying attention, and your staff genuinely like seeing it.
05 — LimitsWhat never to do
Always
- Read it twice before typing anything
- Check what actually happened first
- Keep it to three or four sentences
- Sign it with a real first name
- Give a private way to continue
- Reply once and stop
- Screenshot anything abusive before reporting it
- Answer the good reviews as well
Never
- Argue the details in public
- Say "we have no record of you"
- Name a staff member
- Reveal what the person did in the venue
- Call them a liar, or hint at it
- Use sarcasm or humour
- Offer anything to remove or change a review
- Delete genuine criticism
- Reply from a personal account
- Get staff or family to post rebuttals
The one that costs the most. "We have no record of your visit" reads as calling the reviewer a liar, and it's almost always answered with a receipt, a booking confirmation or a photo. You've then lost the exchange in front of an audience. If you genuinely can't identify the visit, the line is "we haven't been able to match this to a visit — please email me and we'll look into it."
And the one that's a rule, not a preference. Never offer a refund, a voucher, a free meal or anything else in exchange for taking a review down or changing it. Google treats that as a policy violation outright, and dressing up review manipulation as customer service is exactly the sort of thing the ACCC looks at. Fix the problem generously by all means — just don't make the review the price of it.
06 — RemovalWhen a review can actually come down
This is where most venues waste their energy. The honest position: a review being unfair, exaggerated, one-sided or bad for business is not grounds for removal. Platforms protect genuine customer opinion, including harsh opinion. What they will act on is content that breaks their rules.
Worth reporting
- Fake or spam — never visited, a bot, the same text posted across several businesses
- A conflict of interest — a competitor, a former employee with a grudge, someone with a stake in the outcome
- Profanity, hate speech, harassment or a personal attack on a named individual
- Off-topic — a political rant, or a review clearly meant for a different business
- Personal information — someone's phone number, address or private details published in a review
How it goes on Google
You report the review from your Business Profile. If Google decides it doesn't breach policy, you get one appeal, where you can add supporting material — records of the transaction, correspondence, whatever supports your case — and Google typically comes back by email within about five business days. Expect a fair number of knock-backs; the bar is genuinely policy violation, not unfairness.
Don't mass-report reviews you simply disagree with. It doesn't work, and flagging negative-but-legitimate reviews is explicitly discouraged.
Under Australian Consumer Law, businesses aren't meant to suppress or remove genuine negative reviews, or edit them to strip out the criticism — the ACCC treats that as potentially misleading conduct, and its 2023 sweep found 37% of businesses were engaged in some form of misleading review practice. Removing abuse from your own page is fine and sensible. Systematically hiding legitimate criticism so your page looks better is a different thing entirely.
General guidance only, not legal advice — if something's escalating, get proper advice.
08 — LegalThe legal edge, briefly
Two things worth understanding, because they cut in opposite directions.
Suing over a review is much harder than people assume
Since the 2021 defamation reforms, someone bringing a claim generally has to show the publication caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to reputation — annoyance and embarrassment don't clear the bar. In one case a one-star review that sat up for a fortnight was dismissed because there was no evidence it had been widely seen. On top of that, most companies can't sue for defamation at all unless they're small or not-for-profit, which for a registered club is worth actual legal advice rather than assumption.
The practical takeaway: a bad review, even a wildly unfair one, is very rarely a legal matter. Treat it as a reputation matter and answer it well.
The risk running the other way is yours
You publish too, and a reply is a publication. Publicly stating that a reviewer is lying, or setting out what they did in your venue, is where a venue can create a problem it didn't have. Keep replies to your side of it — what you're sorry about and what you're doing — and never characterise the other person.
Anything alleging food poisoning or illness, an injury, discrimination, a serious safety failure, assault, or anything already involving police, a regulator or a lawyer. Preserve the evidence, don't reply publicly, and let your GM decide the next step with proper advice. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
09 — OffenceThe real fix: more good reviews
One bad review among forty good ones is a rounding error. The same review among six is your reputation. The most effective response to negative feedback is usually a steady flow of honest positive feedback — and there's a right and a wrong way to get it.
- Just ask, at the right moment. When someone says they had a great night — that's the moment. "If you get a minute, a Google review really helps us." A card on the table or a QR code at reception makes it a two-tap job.
- Ask everyone, not just the happy ones. Cherry-picking who you ask is itself the kind of practice the ACCC frowns on. Ask consistently and the average takes care of itself.
- Incentives aren't banned, but they must be disclosed. Offering an entry into a draw for a review isn't illegal in Australia — but the incentive has to be disclosed, and the reviews clearly labelled as incentivised. Honestly, it's more trouble than it's worth. Just ask.
- Never buy reviews, and never have staff or family post as customers. Related-party reviews have to be disclosed, it breaches the platforms' rules, and it's the kind of thing that ends up in an ACCC action. It's also transparently obvious to anyone reading.
- Fix the thing being complained about. If three reviews mention the wait at the bar on Fridays, that's not a reputation problem, it's an operational one. The reviews are doing you a favour.
10 — QuestionsThe ones we get asked
Should we reply to every review?
Every negative one, yes — that's the one future customers read. Positives: as many as you can manage, even just a line. The exceptions are abuse and trolls, which you report rather than answer.
Can we just ignore a bad review and let it slide down?
You can, and the review stays there permanently for anyone who scrolls. An unanswered complaint reads as an accepted one. A short, gracious reply changes how it lands for years afterwards — it's the highest-return minute you'll spend on marketing all week.
Someone's posting repeatedly about the same grievance. What now?
Reply once, publicly and briefly. After that, don't feed it. Report content that breaches platform rules, hide what's abusive on your own page, keep a record of everything, and if it's sustained or targeting staff, that's a GM matter — and potentially one for advice.
Can we get a bad review deleted?
Only if it breaks the platform's rules — fake, abusive, off-topic, conflict of interest, or containing personal information. "Unfair" and "untrue in our view" aren't enough on their own. Report it, use your one appeal with evidence, and if it stands, answer it well instead.
A staff member wants to reply personally. Should they?
No. Replies come from the venue account, from the person who owns the job. Staff replying from their own accounts is how a review becomes an argument, and it puts them personally in the firing line.
Can you handle this for us?
Yes — drafting replies, moderating comments and flagging anything that needs your GM is part of what we do for venues whose socials we run. Talk to us about what you'd like us to handle directly and what you'd rather approve first.
What if the review is about the pokies or a gaming promotion?
Careful. Keep the reply general and don't discuss gaming machines, jackpots or gaming promotions in it — the same advertising restrictions that keep gaming machines off your website apply to what you publish in a review reply. Move it to a private conversation and take advice from your compliance manager if you're unsure.
11 — Print thisBefore-you-reply checklist
Keep it with whoever answers the reviews. It's mostly there to slow you down for sixty seconds.
Answering a negative review — before you post
Cyberry Know-How · cyberry.com.au/know-how
Before you type
- Read it twice — are you calm?
- Decided what it is: fair / unfair / troll / fake / serious
- Anything serious? Stop — GM first, no public reply
- Checked with the duty manager what happened
- About a staff member? GM knows first
Check the reply
- Three or four sentences, no more
- Thanks them, then acknowledges the experience
- One concrete thing you're doing
- A private way to continue it
- Signed with a real first name
- No arguing, no sarcasm, no "no record of you"
- No staff named, nothing about what they did in the venue
- Nothing offered in exchange for the review
- Nothing about gaming machines or gaming promotions
- Read it once more, an hour later
Last reviewed 25 July 2026. Platform rules and reporting processes change — the shape of a good reply doesn't. Nothing on this page is legal advice. For anything alleging illness, injury, discrimination or illegality, or anything that looks like it's heading toward a lawyer, get proper advice through your GM or board.
Would you rather not deal with it?
We'll draft the reply and you press send.
Monitoring, drafting, moderating and knowing when to escalate — part of running a venue's social presence properly. You keep the final say.
07 — SocialFacebook and Instagram comments
Comments on your own page work differently from reviews on Google, because you have moderation tools — which is both useful and easy to overuse.
Don't over-hide. A page where every mild criticism vanishes is obvious to regulars and it costs you the credibility you're trying to protect. The test we'd use: would a reasonable member think this comment was removed because it was abusive, or because it was inconvenient? Hide the first kind.
Screenshot before you delete. If a comment is abusive or threatening — particularly toward staff — capture it first. You may need it for the platform, for police, or for your own records.
Watch for a pile-on early. When one complaint starts collecting agreement, stop replying individually and post one clear statement instead. If it's still escalating after that, get your GM and us in the loop rather than trying to hold the line comment by comment.