What to Do If an Employee Leaves a Bad Review

TRANSCRIPT

Introduction

Has an ex-employee left your business a bad review online? By the end of this video, you will know how to get that bad review down and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Hi, I’m Melanie Hughes, paralegal at Minc Law, the nation’s leading law firm when it comes to online defamation and content removal. A malicious negative review about your business can draw a lot of unwanted attention and cause harm to your profits. Today, we will go over the steps you should take to handle the situation with a disgruntled employee and get the review removed.

Let’s get started.

Stay Calm and Don’t Respond Emotionally

First Response

If you have discovered that a former employee has left a bad review, your first instinct may be to panic and reply with a fast emotional response to defend your business’s reputation. This is the exact opposite of what you should do.

First, take a deep breath. Take things slow and refrain from responding right away. Writing a response while you are in the heat of the moment may draw unwanted attention to the matter.

Legal Considerations

Doctors and attorneys have to be careful about what they post publicly because of restrictions like HIPAA and attorney-client privilege. This is especially important if you decide to take legal action against the employee, as any response you put up may negatively affect your future case.

Preserve Evidence of the Review

One of the most important steps to take next is to preserve evidence of the negative review.

How to Capture Evidence

You can do this by taking a screenshot or printing out a copy of it so you have it for your records. Make sure to expand the entire review and any comments or responses as well. In addition to screenshots, services and apps like Page Vault, Nimbus Screenshot, and Screen Video Recorder are useful tools to capture content on the internet.

Why Preservation is Critical

Keep in mind the review may be deleted or removed at any time, so it’s best to preserve a copy as soon as possible. Include any damages that occurred to your business because of this negative review. This could be a record of a decline in earnings, attendance, or other backlash online due to this review.

Report the Review for Terms of Service Violations

Platforms’ Terms of Service

After preserving copies of the review, your next step is to report it to the platform for terms of service violations. Common violations include bullying and harassment, discrimination or hate speech, including personal information, or a conflict of interest depending on the platform and the contents of the review.

Some platforms like Google and Yelp include in their terms of service that employees are not allowed to leave reviews for a business that they have worked for. Emphasizing this in your report can strengthen your case for getting the review removed.

What to Do if Reporting the Review Fails

Why Reporting May Not Work

Reporting it is a recommended first step, but the platform may not always remove the review. This could be for a number of reasons, including a quick influx of reports to the site or certain protections in place that disqualify the review as a violation of terms of service.

Alternative Options

If that’s the case, don’t panic. You have other options to get the review removed.

Consider Contacting the Employee

When to Reach Out

If reporting it doesn’t work and you know which employee has left the review, consider reaching out to see if you can resolve the situation yourself. Keep in mind that this step may not be the best idea for every situation. If the employee is hostile or left your company on bad terms, this may not be the most effective course of action.

How to Reach Out

If you plan to reach out to the employee yourself, we recommend doing it privately through phone call or email. Remember to remain calm and try to find a resolution. Often, listening to the complaints and responding with understanding goes a long way.

Sending a Cease and Desist or Retraction Letter

When to Escalate the Situation

If your conversation with the employee escalated the situation or drew even more unwanted attention, you’ll want to follow through with our next step and contact an attorney. An attorney can send a cease and desist or retraction demand letter to the ex-employee, demanding to have the review removed and refrain from posting further false reviews.

Filing a Defamation Lawsuit

You may want to file a defamation lawsuit if the allegations are very serious, like accusing your business of criminal activity. Often, if a cease and desist letter doesn’t get the review removed and you’re not getting results from the employee, escalating to a lawsuit may be the best course of action. Consult with an experienced defamation attorney to discuss if this situation qualifies as a defamation claim and how to file a lawsuit.

Handling Anonymous Reviews

If the review is anonymous and you’re unable to accurately pinpoint which ex-employee is behind it, an attorney can help you file a John Doe lawsuit to identify them.

Conclusion

If you have received a bad or false review from an employee and are looking to have it removed, give our office a call at the number on the screen or visit our website, Minclaw.com, and fill out one of our contact forms. If you have a valid defamation claim, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we’d be happy to help you explore your options.

Thanks for watching. This is Melanie Hughes at Minc Law, and I’ll see you in the next video.

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