A general manager in the U.S. learned a lesson the hard way. A couple purchased a van from a Florida dealership. Upset with their experience, they left a negative Google review.

The general manager saw the review and took it personally. He allegedly began “review bombing” the couple’s family upholstery business by leaving dozens of negative reviews. The couple brought attention to the situation by posting a video on TikTok, which was viewed 1.4 million times. After the video went viral, the dealership’s social media pages were flooded with negative comments calling for the general manager to be fired.

The general manager has since been asked by the dealer principal to take some time away from the dealership and reflect on his actions.

This story is a masterclass in how not to handle negative reviews. The general manager had several better options available.

First, if the customer’s concerns were legitimate, he could have chosen to address them. Not every deal will be a winner. Some sales may end up costing you more than you make. However, word-of-mouth matters. If you build a reputation as a dealership that sells quality vehicles and goes above and beyond for customers, people will notice.

Second, the general manager could have simply ignored the review. Reputation matters in car sales. A negative review can hurt business, especially for a small dealership. However, sometimes problems become bigger when you give them more attention. The general manager turned one negative review on the dealership’s Google profile into 1.4 million negative views on social media. If he had ignored the review, he could have focused on selling more vehicles. The positive reviews from other customers would likely have outweighed one negative review.

Third, get a second opinion. The general manager could have discussed the situation with a colleague or an organization like the UCDA to get another perspective. Sometimes, talking through a problem with someone else can help reduce tension and identify the best course of action.

Instead, the general manager did none of these things. He took the review personally and made one of the worst possible choices. Had this occurred in Ontario, a regulator, such as OMVIC, could have even characterized this conduct as unprofessional, contrary to the Code of Ethics, and sought to revoke the general manager’s license over it.

Members dealing with difficult customer situations are always welcome to contact the UCDA’s Legal Department at (416) 231-2600 or toll-free at 1-800-268-2598.