Personalise responses whenever possible
Handling all this feedback might feel time consuming so it can be all too easy to be tempted to post identical responses - especially if replying to reviews one after the other that are broadly the same in content.
Although sometimes they can help, be careful about using stock phrases, templates or AI-generated responses. You should be double checking any auto-generated response is appropriate as you want the customer to feel their feedback has been recognised and appreciated by a human being.
So, whenever possible, try and personalise at least part of your reply – even if it is just a single sentence within a larger generic acknowledgement – as again this will build trust and loyalty with your customers.
Example review
‘’I stayed here for two nights and found the staff to be pleasant. The rooms were clean and comfortable. I ate one night in the hotel restaurant and thought the food was really good, if a little expensive and took a while to arrive.’’ – JohnM1985
Example response
‘’Hi John, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. Really pleased to hear that our staff and rooms met with your satisfaction. We do pride ourselves on cooking all our meals from fresh, using only local sourced, sustainable ingredients. I recognise this might impact on our prices and I offer our apologies if it was a little slower in arriving than you expected. We are introducing a new menu soon and we’ll certainly take your comments on board. I do hope you can visit us again.’’ – Jill M. General Manager
In this example the business has personalised the response by using the reviewer’s name and picking out specific elements of their feedback. They have thanked the reviewer for their positive comments and while apologising for the slow service, they have also used this as an opportunity to highlight the quality of their meals and that they are introducing a new menu.
