On Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat, your average rating is one of the most important factors for your visibility. A drop of 4.5 to 4.2 can lead to a 15-20% decrease in your orders in a matter of weeks. Understanding how to manage reviews – especially negative ones – is a key skill.
Why reviews matter so much.
Algorithms on platforms use the average rating to rank restaurants. Specifically:
- A score of 4.5 or higher: optimal visibility
- A score of 4.2-4.5: standard visibility
- A score of 4.0-4.2: degraded visibility
- A score below 4.0: strongly reduced visibility, sometimes suspension
The exact thresholds vary but the logic is universal. Maintaining your score is an ongoing effort.
Main Causes of Negative Reviews
- Problèmes de livraison: Retards, produits endommagés, erreurs d'adresse.
- Mauvaise qualité des produits: Matériaux de mauvaise qualité, fabrication défectueuse, ne correspondant pas à la description.
- Service client insatisfaisant: Réponses lentes ou inexistantes, manque de résolution des problèmes, personnel impoli.
- Expérience d'achat négative: Site web difficile à naviguer, processus de commande compliqué, options de paiement limitées.
- Faux avis: Utilisation d'avis fabriqués pour manipuler la perception.
Dishes arrived cold or poorly presented.
Often due to inadequate packaging or longer than expected delivery times. This is the number one cause of negative reviews in delivery.
Errors of command
Missing article, poor option, different dish: these errors almost systematically generate 1-2 star reviews, especially if the customer is not compensated quickly.
Excessive preparation time
The customer ordered, waited, and the delivery took 50 minutes instead of the 25 advertised. Total frustration, negative review assured.
Product quality below expectations
Too salty, meat overcooked, ingredients not fresh: the kitchen itself is to blame. More difficult to correct in the moment.
Delivery problem
The customer cannot fault the restaurant for an impolite or late delivery driver. However, they still do so via the restaurant's feedback note.
The 80/20 rule on reviews
80% of your negative reviews come from 20% of recurring causes. Identifying these 20% and addressing them solves the vast majority of the problem.
For each month, list:
- Negative reviews (≤ 3 stars)
- The identified cause for each
- If a cause appears 5+ times, it’s a systemic issue to address
How to respond to negative reviews
1. Don't Take It Personally
It's easy to feel stung when someone criticizes your business, product, or service. However, remember that negative reviews are often about the experience a customer had, not necessarily about you as a person. Try to detach yourself emotionally and view the feedback as an opportunity for improvement.
2. Respond Promptly
Aim to respond to negative reviews within 24-48 hours. A quick response shows that you're attentive and care about customer feedback.
3. Acknowledge and Validate
Start by acknowledging the reviewer's concerns. Use phrases like:
- "Thank you for bringing this to our attention."
- "We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience."
- "We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback."
Then, validate their feelings. Let them know you understand why they're upset. For example: "We understand how frustrating it must have been..." or "We can see why you'd be disappointed..."
4. Apologize (When Appropriate)
If the reviewer's complaint is valid, offer a sincere apology. Even if you don't believe you were entirely at fault, apologizing for the experience can go a long way. Avoid making excuses.
5. Offer a Solution
This is crucial! Don't just apologize; offer a way to make things right. This could involve:
- A refund
- A discount on a future purchase
- A replacement product
- A personal phone call to discuss the issue further
6. Take It Offline (If Necessary)
For complex or sensitive issues, offer to continue the conversation privately. Provide a contact email address or phone number. "We'd like to discuss this further. Please contact us at email protected"
7. Thank Them Again
Regardless of the outcome, thank the reviewer for their feedback. It shows you value their input and are committed to improving.
8. Learn From the Feedback
Use negative reviews as a valuable source of information. Analyze the common themes and identify areas where you can improve your products, services, or processes.
9. Don't Argue
Resist the urge to argue with the reviewer publicly. It will only escalate the situation and make you look defensive.
10. Highlight Positive Reviews
While addressing negative feedback is important, don't forget to showcase your positive reviews. This helps to balance the narrative and reassure potential customers.
All platforms allow you to respond to reviews publicly. This response is visible to future clients and counts almost as much as the rating itself.
Here are the principles of a good answer:
- Clarté: L'explication doit être facile à comprendre.
- Précision: Les informations doivent être exactes et pertinentes.
- Complétude: Répondre à toutes les questions posées.
- Organisation: Structurer la réponse de manière logique et cohérente.
- Pertinence: S'assurer que la réponse est directement liée à la question.
- Exemples: Illustrer les concepts avec des exemples concrets.
- Référence: Si nécessaire, citer des sources fiables.
Recognize the problem without denying or minimizing it. "Hello, we understand your disappointment regarding the delivery of your order which arrived lukewarm."
Please accept our sincerest apologies without any platitudes. “We are sorry that you have experienced this situation that does not meet our standards.”
Explain (without excusing) what may have happened. “The Friday evening surge in orders generated a longer delivery time than anticipated – it’s a topic we are actively working on.”
Offering a solution: refund, goodwill gesture, invitation to return.
Our team will contact you via private message to offer a commercial gesture.
Never engage in public conflict with the client, even if they are dishonest.
Here's a list of things to avoid:
- Don't be afraid to ask for help.
- Don't compare yourself to others.
- Don't dwell on the past.
- Don't be too hard on yourself.
- Don't take things personally.
Copied and pasted responses without personalization Excuses that reject blame (on the delivery person, on the weather, on the customer) Arguing or contradicting the customer about the facts Not responding at all
Positive reviews also deserve a response.
Many restaurateurs only respond to negative reviews. It’s a mistake. Responding to positive reviews:
- Builds customer loyalty
- Generates a positive signal about your commitment
- Encourages other customers to leave reviews
Thank you for your feedback, we're delighted that the order pleased you! See you soon.
Encourage positive reviews
Increasing the volume of positive reviews dilutes the impact of negative reviews.
Encourage:
- Little note on the order : "If you enjoyed it, don't hesitate to leave us a review"
- Sticker on the packaging reminding of the gesture
- Follow-up via message : if a customer has already ordered 3 times, you can (depending on the platform) suggest they leave a review
Attention: soliciting opinions must be ethical. Never pay for reviews, and do not pressure the customer.
Remove abusive reviews
Some reviews are clearly abusive: fake reviews, personal attacks, reviews for another restaurant. All platforms have a moderation process.
Criteria generally held for having a review removed:
- False review (malicious competitor)
- Offensive or defamatory content
- Reviews that clearly have nothing to do with it (bad restaurant, bad platform)
- Attempted extortion (negative review followed by a request for a gift)
Document each case and submit it to the platform support. The acceptance rate is variable but the gesture is worthwhile.
Measure the health of your reviews
Follow each month:
- Average rating per platform and its evolution
- Volume of reviews (low volume makes each review more impactful)
- Distribution of ratings (percentage of 5★, 4★, 3★, 2★, 1★)
- Main causes of negative reviews
Pepprio consolidates notes and reviews from all your platforms into a single dashboard. You can instantly see which platform is struggling.
Long-term management: continuous improvement
Beyond individual feedback processing, the goal is continuous improvement. For each recurring cause of negative feedback:
Identify the root cause (not the symptom) Define a corrective action Implement and measure Adjust
The plates arrive cold. This is due to insufficient packaging and the delay between when the dish is ready and when it's picked up by the delivery person. Actions: upgrade packaging, alert when the dish is ready, and follow up with the delivery person if it's not picked up within 5 minutes.
The role of technical infrastructure
L'infrastructure technique joue un rôle crucial dans le succès de toute organisation, quelle que soit sa taille ou son secteur d'activité. Elle englobe l'ensemble des éléments matériels et logiciels nécessaires pour permettre aux utilisateurs d'accéder aux informations et aux applications dont ils ont besoin.
Voici quelques aspects clés du rôle de l'infrastructure technique :
- Disponibilité : Assurer une disponibilité élevée des systèmes et des données est primordial. Les interruptions de service peuvent entraîner des pertes financières, une atteinte à la réputation et une insatisfaction des clients.
- Performance : Une infrastructure performante garantit une expérience utilisateur fluide et rapide. Cela inclut des temps de réponse rapides, des transferts de données efficaces et une capacité à gérer des charges de travail importantes.
- Sécurité : La sécurité est un élément fondamental de l'infrastructure technique. Il est essentiel de mettre en place des mesures de protection robustes pour prévenir les cyberattaques, les violations de données et les pertes de confidentialité.
- Scalabilité : L'infrastructure doit être capable de s'adapter aux besoins croissants de l'organisation. Cela signifie qu'elle doit pouvoir être facilement étendue pour prendre en charge un nombre plus d'utilisateurs, de données et d'applications.
- Fiabilité : La fiabilité de l'infrastructure est essentielle pour garantir la continuité des activités. Cela implique la mise en place de systèmes de sauvegarde et de récupération en cas de panne.
En conclusion, l'infrastructure technique est un investissement stratégique qui peut avoir un impact significatif sur la compétitivité et le succès d'une organisation. Il est important de choisir une infrastructure adaptée aux besoins spécifiques de l'organisation et de la maintenir à jour pour garantir sa performance, sa sécurité et sa fiabilité.
Many negative reviews are linked to operational issues that a good infrastructure prevents:
Order Aggregator: fewer missed or late orders KDS: fewer production errors Alert System: detection of anomalies before they affect the client Menu Synchronization: no orders for unavailable dishes
Investing in infrastructure mechanically reduces sources of negative feedback.
Voici la conclusion :
Il est donc clair que l'intégration de l'IA dans le secteur de la santé présente à la fois des opportunités et des défis. Les avantages potentiels, tels que l'amélioration du diagnostic, la personnalisation des traitements et l'augmentation de l'efficacité des soins, sont indéniables. Cependant, il est crucial de prendre en compte les considérations éthiques, les questions de confidentialité des données et les risques potentiels de biais algorithmiques. Une approche prudente et responsable, axée sur la transparence, la collaboration et la formation, est essentielle pour garantir que l'IA est utilisée de manière à bénéficier à tous les patients et à améliorer la qualité des soins de santé. Il est impératif de continuer à surveiller et à évaluer l'impact de l'IA sur le système de santé, et d'adapter les réglementations et les pratiques en conséquence. En fin de compte, l'avenir de la santé dépendra de notre capacité à exploiter le potentiel de l'IA tout en atténuant ses risques.
Reviews are both a risk (loss of visibility) and an opportunity (continuous improvement). Restaurants that succeed sustainably with delivery are those that take reviews seriously: regular follow-up, systematic responses, and action plans for recurring issues.
Pepprio provides the tools to track the health of your reviews across all platforms and identify the most impactful improvement levers.