Managing reviews: collecting, replying and handling criticism
Almost everyone reads reviews before buying, yet most companies never ask for them and answer criticism with silence or argument.
Why happy customers stay quiet
Unhappy people write unprompted; satisfied ones got what they expected and moved on. The natural flow of reviews skews negative regardless of your quality.
So ask — directly, at the moment the customer is happiest, right after they get the result. A week later the feeling has faded.
Asking well
Personally, with a direct link. A Telegram message from the manager who handled the job beats any automated request by a wide margin.
Remove friction and suggest what to write about. A blank box paralyses people; a prompting question does not.
Answering criticism
Reply calmly, publicly and quickly. Your answer is read by future customers judging how you behave when something goes wrong, not by the author.
Thank, acknowledge, explain without excuses, offer a fix, move to a private channel. A couple of moderate ratings with good replies is more convincing than a flawless score.