Receiving a negative review can be very discouraging. However, there are several ways to deal with them. Read each solution carefully to find out which one suits your situation.
Replying to the negative review
On SafariBookings, you have the ability to post a reply to the review. This option is also available if you sign in to the Tour Operator Admin. To do this, log in to your operator profile and click on the ‘Reviews’ tab. By default, you will be taken to the ‘Manage Reviews’ tab.
From here you can navigate to the negative review in question and click ‘Reply to this review’.
In your reply, it is best to explain:
- What went wrong
- Why it went wrong
- What attempts you have already taken to fix it
- What further measures you are going to take to fix it
It is not recommended that you post a defensive reply saying that everything the reviewer said is not true. That will only create a worse impression.
Please note: You should only reply if a review is negative and you want to share your side of the story.
Also, it is prohibited to share any personally identifiable information (e.g. surnames, phone numbers, email addresses) that the client does not already mention.
- Click on "Reply to this review".
- Write your reply in the box provided
- Click "Publish Reply"
We sometimes notice tour operators paying tour clients to amend their (negative) reviews. Please note that this is STRICTLY PROHIBITED according to our review guidelines. Tour Operators caught buying the opinion of clients will be subject to account suspension.
Get more positive reviews
The best way to deal with negative reviews is to invite satisfied clients to write reviews about you. People understand you can’t please everyone and they don’t mind a negative review if the majority of reviews are positive. In this way, having a couple of negative reviews can even add credibility to your overall rating.
You can use our invite service (available in the Tour Operator Admin), or invite clients yourself. If you invite clients yourself you can include the link available on your Reviews page in the emails you send them to make it easier for them.
For more information, please read our article Collecting new reviews.
You will discover how to use our invite service for new clients and how to add your rating widget and SafariBookings reviews to your website.
Please keep in mind that you (or your employees) cannot write a review on behalf of your past clients. This would be seen as fraudulent and we take it seriously - it can cause the permanent closure of your account.
What if the review was not uploaded by a former client?
If you believe the review was not uploaded by a former client, you can report it as fraud:
- You can sign in to the Tour Operator admin and go to the Reviews page.
- Navigate to the review you think is fraudulent.
- Click the 'Report Fraud' link.
After this, we will immediately take the review offline and ask the reviewer to show proof they indeed booked a tour with you. If they can’t show proof, we will delete the review. If they can show proof, we will put the review back online with a message saying we, SafariBookings, confirmed they are indeed a former client. The following email is sent to the reviewer if you report their review as fraud:
If a former client posted a legitimate review and it was flagged as fraud, receiving this type of email could cause them to have a very emotional response. This may result in them taking further action against you or your company. We therefore do not recommend you report a review as fraud unless you are completely sure the reviewer did not book with you. Always check your client records as you may have just forgotten that they did in fact book and complete a tour with your company.