7 Vital Steps to Deal with Negative Feedback

Negative feedback is quite a common issue in the event planning field and to survive in this industry, you have to deal with these in the right way. Though it may not feel like that at that moment, negative feedbacks actually help you in a number of ways.

These help to highlight the flaws and this way you can identify those issues that can become a wider problem later on. Dealing with one irate attendee is much less costly and much easier than dealing with hundreds when that becomes a wider problem. It helps to improve your future events in more ways than one.

Added to that, this also offers you to showcase fantastic customer service. It is capable of creating a great impact on you company if you can turn a negative experience into a positive one.

Now let’s discuss how you can tackle the negative feedback.

• Acknowledge the Problem – Recognising that there is a problem and the fact that you are admitting it, will pacify the attendee to some extent as you deal with the issue. Portraying that you understand and are taking some actions against the issue will convey the message to the client that you care. This will help to cool down the attendee. Another benefit is that this way all of you remain in the same page and thus, further confusion is avoided and if there is any confusion with the problem you can solve it then and there.

• Be Grateful and Thank Them – You should always thank the attendee as he or she has taken out time to offer feedback. This feedback, either negative or positive is always quite beneficial as it helps to detect whether you are on the right track or not.

• Say Sorry – If the mistake is done by you or your brand then apologise in the first place. Many-a-times, a brand cannot admit it. This attracts more negative feedback and can even be escalated. So do not go for it.

If you are not at fault then you can apologise saying that you feel sorry about how the attendee feels today. This will help to placate him and also not make you the defaulter.

• Explain the Situation – This is the time when you should know everything about the cause of the negative situation. You should detect any mistake done on either sides and and who is involved in the issue. At this point you should also clear any misunderstandings that the attendee can be having against your brand. Relay all the things that you have been doing till now to make him understand that you have not taken the issue lightly.

• Ask for Suggestion – Under certain circumstances, you can also let the attendees suggest you about what is to be done. This way the attendee will feel more a part of the brand rather than against it. You can retain their loyalty this way.

• Portray Goodwill Gestures– On the basis of the issue, the steps taken earlier and the behaviour of the attendee, you can take some actions to rectify the situation and make the person feel better. This may range from partial or full refund, free registration, discounted tickets or any gift. These are goodwill gestures that are offered to the attendees.

• Follow Up – You should also follow up and ask the attendee what he felt about how the situation was handled. 

The above are some of the steps followed by the reputed event planning companies. Just like chair hire in London is absolutely necessary, damage control is also essential for your brand as an event planner.