How to Deal with Bad, Fake Reviews

You work hard to give your customers a great experience and earn their trust. You’ve built a great reputation in your industry, but out of nowhere, comes this scorching online review. Aside from its negative connotation, you’re baffled by the fact that you have absolutely no idea who this person is or any recollection of this particular transaction. You quickly conclude that it’s a fake. Even so, others will surely see it and that’s just not good for business. So, what can you do about a bad, fake review?

Why Online Reviews Matter

Online reviews matter. They matter because people use them to judge the quality of a product or service. This is especially true on the internet because there’s no interpersonal input. Let’s face it, it’s a whole lot easier to read reviews than call and email dozens of people to get their feedback on something they might not even have purchased before.

These attacks can have huge consequences for a company’s bottom line. Eighty-five percent of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation and every one-star increase can lead to a 5 to 9 percent increase in revenue. Online reviews are also an important ranking signal in Google’s algorithm. —Forbes

This is widely understood and is the exact reason why nefarious individuals write bad, fake reviews. They are obviously trying to discourage others from doing business with the victim company. It’s probably a rival but it could be just about anyone — even someone who is just engaging in a malicious prank.

How to Deal with Bad, Fake Reviews

Regardless of who it is, you can’t let a bad, fake review hurt your reputation. You must do something about it. But, that doesn’t mean angrily snapping back. Here are a few helpful suggestions for how to deal with a bad, fake review:

  • Report the fake review. If you are certain it’s fraudulent, then contact the website where the review was left, whether it’s Facebook, Google, Yelp, or another. You’ll have to go through a process and it might take a bit of time and effort. So, be prepared for dedicating some resources.
  • Look for more bad impostors. Although you spotted this one, that doesn’t mean it’s the only one floating on the web. Search around to see if there are more because if it’s a concerted effort, chances are excellent there are more. (It might even be duplicated word-for-word on other sites.)
  • Respond, but do so strategically. When you do reply, write something like, “We take our customers’ experiences to heart. Unfortunately, we have no record or recollection of any transaction. If you’ve done business with us, we’ll be more than happy to look into the matter. Please contact [name] at [email] so we can mutually resolve this issue.” This probably won’t cause the fraudster to respond, but it does show you’re willing to take the matter seriously to others.

What other suggestions do you have for dealing with bad, fake reviews? Please take a moment to comment so others can learn about your thoughts and experiences!

Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Like this article?

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin
Share on Pinterest

Related Posts

Video thumbnail image

Alex Jones, InfoWars, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube — Why it’s All Gone So Bad

Alex Jones just got booted from nearly every major platform, and the backlash has reignited the free speech debate. But there’s a deeper lesson buried in the controversy—one that applies directly to your business. It turns out a single bad apple, left unchecked, can do more damage to your company’s reputation than you’d expect. Here’s what the social media purge can teach you about managing toxic behavior on your own team.

Read More »
2CT Media photo

How Visual Graphx Turned a Partner Split Into a $4.5M Fleet-Branding Powerhouse

.elementor-widget-text-editor{font-family:var( –e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif;font-weight:var( –e-global-typography-text-font-weight );color:var( –e-global-color-text );}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:var( –e-global-color-primary );}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap, .elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-default .elementor-drop-cap{color:var( –e-global-color-primary );border-color:var( –e-global-color-primary );} Family businesses run into a particular kind of growing pain when the next generation takes over: two people can share a bloodline and a company and still see completely different paths forward. That was the situation at what was then called 2CT Media, a large-format printing and visual branding shop built by a family patriarch and later run by his two sons. Two Brothers, Two Different Visions The company specialized in banners, decals, stickers, signage, and vehicle wraps for local and commercial clients, and it had real technical strength and healthy margins to show for it. But by the time Waters Business Consulting Group was engaged in January 2021, the brothers running it were pulling in different directions. One was focused on strategic growth, investment, and long-term direction; the other was heads-down on day-to-day operations. Neither position was wrong, but the imbalance created ongoing tension around who had authority over what, and it was starting to hold the business back. Underneath that leadership friction sat a set of operational gaps that made things worse: installation and job-completion standards weren’t documented, employee expectations around schedules and accountability were inconsistent, sales activity had little visibility, and compensation and commission structures were creating internal friction rather than motivation. The company was also carrying a fair amount of product and client concentration, which limited how much it could scale even if the leadership issues got resolved. Resolving Ownership First, Then Building for Growth Waters Business Consulting Group started where the real bottleneck was: ownership. That meant facilitating structured alignment discussions between the brothers, then supporting a valuation analysis and guiding a full buyout process so one clear leader emerged with unambiguous authority. With that resolved, attention turned to the business itself — analyzing product and client concentration to find where the higher-margin growth actually lived. That analysis pointed toward fleet-based vehicle wrap clients as the biggest opportunity, and the team helped leadership build a national fleet strategy around it, including recurring wrap-replacement cycles that could turn one-time jobs into repeat revenue. On the operational side, Waters Business Consulting Group provided guidance on performance standards and accountability, implemented sales tracking and workflow visibility tools, and supported leadership through the operational transition and delegation that naturally follows a buyout. From Local Shop to National Fleet Player The strategic bet on fleet vehicle wraps paid off in a big way: the company landed a major national fleet client and built a recurring revenue model around scheduled wrap replacements. Revenue grew from approximately $840,000 in 2018 to more than $4.5 million by 2022, with gross profit climbing to over $3.2 million alongside strong margin expansion. The business rebranded as Visual Graphx and repositioned itself as a leading visual branding provider with a genuinely national footprint — a long way from the partner tension that had been holding it back just a few years earlier. The Takeaway Visual Graphx’s story is a reminder that growth problems and leadership problems are often the same problem wearing different clothes. Resolving the ownership question created the clarity that let the company make a bold, focused strategic bet — and that bet is what turned a strong local printer into a national fleet-branding business. If unresolved partnership dynamics or unclear leadership authority are quietly capping your company’s growth, it’s worth getting an outside perspective before the tension does more damage than the market ever could. Waters Business Consulting Group works with owners and partners across Arizona to resolve exactly these kinds of challenges. Schedule a free consultation to talk through your situation. Contact Waters Business Consulting Group

Read More »

Imagine Selling Your Business…

How Would Your Life Change?

You didn’t start your business just to stay busy—you built it to create freedom, security, and options for yourself and your family. Selling your business can be life-changing, but the real question is whether you’re intentionally building toward that outcome or simply leaving it to chance.

Sign up below for a free consultative session to learn what your business could be worth today and in the future! 

Thank you for your interest in learning what your business is worth. We will be in touch shortly.