To be honest, hardly anyone asks this question – but in many cases, we wish that they did.
Small business owners are particularly hurt by reviews, because the damage isn’t just financial – it’s also emotional. Most work very hard in their business, it is a big part of their life, some might even describe it as a part of them. To be publicly attacked – especially unfairly, anonymously, for the world to see – is a bitter pill to swallow. What makes it worse is feeling powerless to do anything about it – they themselves will know that the review is fake, but not everyone else will. Some people will be scared off by it, thinking that “where there’s smoke there’s fire”.
So how does it feel? Unjust. Frustrating. Anger-inducing. Wild thoughts of revenge. Then later… deflating. It is hard not to take it personally, especially if happy customers are not speaking up with their support.
We speak to small business owners every day that are exasperated at how someone could do this to them. When their business suffers, they suffer. Unfortunately, it is the safety of anonymity, of posting things from within the walls of their living room, that perhaps disconnects people from the reality of what they’re doing.