--- name: review-responder description: >- Monitor customer reviews across platforms and generate thoughtful, brand-aligned responses. Flags urgent negative reviews for priority attention, drafts responses that turn detractors into promoters, and tracks review sentiment trends over time. metadata: author: cosmicstack-labs version: 1.0.0 category: shop-restaurant tags: - reviews - reputation-management - customer-feedback - google-reviews - yelp - social-proof - hospitality --- # Review Responder ## Core Principles Online reviews are the digital word-of-mouth that makes or breaks a shop or restaurant. A single 1-star review seen by 100 potential customers can cost thousands in lost revenue — but a thoughtful, timely response can neutralize the damage and even turn a critic into a loyalist. This skill treats every review as a reputation management opportunity. ### The Four Review Response Rules 1. **Speed matters.** Respond within 24 hours (ideally < 4 hours for negative reviews). A fast response signals you care. 2. **Personalize, don't templatize.** Generic "Thank you for your feedback" responses feel dismissive. Reference specifics. 3. **Take negative conversations offline.** Public arguments never end well. Address, apologize, and invite a private conversation. 4. **Amplify the positive.** A great review is marketing content. Thank publicly, share on social media (with permission), and reward the reviewer. --- ## Skill Workflow ### Step 1 — Connect Review Sources Ask the user which platforms they use. Common sources: - Google Business Profile (most important — appears in Search & Maps) - Yelp (critical for restaurants in the US) - TripAdvisor (key for tourist-facing businesses) - Facebook Reviews - DoorDash / UberEats (for delivery feedback) - OpenTable (for reservations) **For each platform, collect:** - Rating (1-5) - Review text - Date of review - Reviewer name - Any business reply already posted ### Step 2 — Triage by Sentiment & Urgency Classify each review: | Category | Rating | Sentiment | Response Priority | |----------|--------|-----------|-------------------| | 🔴 **Crisis** | 1 star | Angry, accuses of health/safety issue, public figure | Immediate (< 1 hr) | | 🟠 **Critical** | 1-2 stars | Significant complaint, specific issue, or repeat detractor | Same day | | 🟡 **Mixed** | 3 stars | Balanced feedback — some praise, some criticism | Within 24 hrs | | 🟢 **Positive** | 4-5 stars | Happy customer, specific praise | Within 48 hrs | | ⚪ **Neutral** | Any | Factual, no emotion (e.g., "They exist") | Low priority | **If a crisis review is detected:** > 🚨 **ALERT:** 1-star review on Google mentions "found a foreign object in food." This is a health/safety escalation. Recommend immediate owner response and internal investigation before replying publicly. ### Step 3 — Draft Responses by Category **🔴 Crisis / 🟠 Critical (1-2 stars)** Structure: **Acknowledge → Apologize → Explain (briefly) → Make it right → Move offline** ``` Dear [Name], Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I'm truly sorry your experience at [Business Name] didn't meet expectations — [specific reference to their complaint, e.g., "the wait time on Friday night"] is not the standard we aim for. We've already [specific action taken, e.g., "reviewed our Friday staffing plan to ensure faster seating"]. I'd love the chance to make this right personally. Please email me at [manager email] so I can hear more and arrange a visit on us. Best, [Manager Name] ``` **🟡 Mixed (3 stars)** Structure: **Thank → Acknowledge specifics → Address what they flagged → Invite another visit** ``` Hi [Name], Thanks for the balanced feedback. We're glad you enjoyed [specific praise, e.g., "the burger and fries"] — and we hear you on [specific criticism, e.g., "the slow service during the dinner rush"]. We've taken note and will work on [specific improvement]. We'd love to have you back to show you our best. Next time, mention this message and we'll [small gesture, e.g., "start you with a drink on us"]. Cheers, [Manager Name] ``` **🟢 Positive (4-5 stars)** Structure: **Thank → Reference specifics → Personalize → Invite return** ``` Hi [Name], Thank you so much for the kind words! We're thrilled you loved [specific item or experience, e.g., "the truffle fries and the atmosphere"]. [Staff member name] was especially happy to hear your shout-out. Looking forward to serving you again soon! Best, [Manager Name] ``` ### Step 4 — Sentiment Trend Report After processing all reviews, generate a trend summary: ``` 📊 REVIEW SUMMARY — March 2025 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Total Reviews: 23 Average Rating: 4.2 ⭐ Platforms: Google (14), Yelp (6), TripAdvisor (3) SENTIMENT BREAKDOWN Positive (4-5): 16 (70%) Mixed (3): 5 (22%) Critical (1-2): 2 (8%) ← Up from 4% last month COMMON THEMES 👍 Praised: "friendly staff" (8 mentions), "great coffee" (6) 👎 Flagged: "wait time" (5 mentions), "parking" (4) TREND: Rating trending down slightly. Wait time complaints increasing. RECOMMENDATION: Consider adding one more server during peak hours (Fri-Sat 7-9pm). ``` ### Step 5 — Escalation & Internal Learning For reviews that reveal operational issues: - Log the issue type (service speed, food quality, cleanliness, etc.) - Track frequency — if "cold food" appears in 3 reviews this month, it's a kitchen problem, not a one-off - Generate an internal ops note (not shared publicly) > **Internal note:** "Cold food mentioned in 3 reviews this week. Check: is the pass heater working? Are expo staff calling ready plates promptly? Address with kitchen team." ### Step 6 — Schedule Review Monitoring > "I can check your reviews daily and flag anything urgent. Would you like me to set that up? I'll prioritize critical reviews and draft responses for your approval." --- ## Trigger Phrases | Phrase | What Happens | |--------|-------------| | "Check my reviews" | Fetches recent reviews from connected platforms | | "Draft a response to [name/review]" | Generates a personalized response draft | | "Any new bad reviews?" | Shows critical reviews requiring immediate attention | | "How are my reviews this month?" | Generates sentiment trend report | | "Reply to all reviews from yesterday" | Batch drafts responses for unaddressed reviews | | "What are customers complaining about?" | Extracts common themes from recent negative reviews | | "Share our best review" | Formats a glowing review for social media sharing | --- ## Key Instructions Summary 1. **Connect sources:** Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, delivery platforms 2. **Triage:** Sort by urgency — crisis > critical > mixed > positive 3. **Draft:** Use structured response templates personalized to each review 4. **Track sentiment:** Generate trend reports with common themes 5. **Escalate internally:** Log operational issues for the team 6. **Monitor regularly:** Set daily check-in cadence for new reviews --- ## Common Mistakes 1. **Copy-paste responses.** Customers can smell a template. Reference their specific words. 2. **Arguing publicly.** "Actually, you're wrong, we were fully staffed" — never wins. Thank them for the feedback and move on. 3. **Ignoring 3-star reviews.** Mixed reviews are often the most actionable — the customer wanted to like you but something got in the way. Fix it. 4. **Slow response time.** A review unanswered for a week signals indifference. Set response SLAs. 5. **Not tracking patterns.** One "slow service" complaint is a person's bad night. Five is a staffing problem. Watch the trends, not the noise. --- *"Every review is a gift — even the painful ones. They tell you exactly where to improve."*