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If there’s one takeaway, it’s that ignoring negative feedback from the Membership Survey — even when it’s polite and constructive — can hurt your business and cost you customers. When you read criticism, remember it’s not personal.
Even if it feels like an attack on the business you’ve poured your heart into, you can’t respond defensively. Keep in mind, it’s often hard for customers to voice complaints in person. Your team might hear glowing praise at the table, only to hear critical comments later. It happens all the time. Instead of getting frustrated, shift your mindset. Use feedback as an opportunity to improve, win back a customer, and show them that you’re a reasonable, engaged business that genuinely cares. Ideally, you repair the damage and prevent a negative online review. Here are six additional tips to help you cope while handling negative feedback:
1
Be Calm & Keep Perspective. A single negative comment won’t break you, especially when you have a steady stream of positive ones; it provides you with an opportunity to improve or fix the situation, preventing them from venting online. The Member Survey and Online Review Accelerator will help ensure that one critical comment gets quickly balanced by many positive ones.
2
Acknowledge The Concern. Even if you disagree with their point, they’ve taken the time to voice their frustration—and that’s valid. Use empathetic language like, “We understand how that could be frustrating…” to show you’re listening.
3
Offer A Solution. What can you do to improve their experience, make it right, or prevent the issue from happening again? Even better, can you share what steps you’re taking to address the problem?
4
Stay Professional—Always. Whatever you do, do not argue, assign blame, or get defensive. It only makes you look petty and unaccountable, and that can fuel the fire. Keep it respectful and constructive — even when it’s hard.
5
Take A Breather If You Need To. If the comment gets under your skin, wait 24 hours before responding. There’s no urgency to answer. Use the time to cool off, investigate what happened, and come back with a clearer head.
6
Get A Second Opinion. Have someone else review your response before you reply to the customer. A fresh perspective can help identify poor tone or wording that can be misinterpreted.
See It In Action
Turn survey feedback—and your response—into a marketing message:
Survey Comment:
“No waiting area indoors limits my coming in bad weather or during busy times.”
Response in Weekly Email:
“We recently got a thoughtful customer comment: someone mentioned how tricky it is to wait for a table with no indoor space—especially in bad weather.
We can help! In case you didn’t know, we have a waitlist system that allows us to hold your spot in line and text you when your table is ready – so you can stay warm in your car, pop into the bookstore next door, or wait wherever’s comfortable. No more standing outside in the cold! We hope this helps makes things easier.”