Episode 20: What to Say, and Not to Say! Online Review Advice from Flower Clique Specialist Leslie Bridendolph
Fresh off a busy Mother's Day, Vonda and Lori bring in Flower Clique's customer success specialist Leslie Bridendolph — a research fanatic who answers reviews and manages online listings on behalf of flower shops every day. Lori has known Leslie since childhood (her sister Julia has been Lori's best friend since age five), but today the conversation is all business: exactly what to say when a review stings, and why your Google listing may be the most important free advertising you own.
Why reviews matter more than ever
Leslie cites the classic figure that about 65 percent of shoppers read reviews before buying — and Vonda suspects the real number is even higher now, as people want confidence in their purchases. Here's the reframe that changes everything: your response isn't really for the unhappy customer. It's for everyone who reads it afterward. Lori proves it with her own vacation-rental shopping habit — she skips the complaints and goes straight to how the owner responded. A calm, sensible reply from the business can completely neutralize a "negative Nelly."
What to say when a review stings
Leslie's formula is short on purpose. Take a deep breath. Don't make excuses — tone never comes across correctly on the internet, and explanations read as blame-shifting even when the customer is wrong. Instead: acknowledge they had a problem, say that's not how your business normally handles things, state your goal ("our number one goal is customer satisfaction"), and invite them to call so you can resolve it offline. Keep it businesslike and simple. Answer negative reviews within 24 hours or so — never let one sit for two days unanswered — and acknowledge positive reviews too, even with a quick "Thank you, Linda — we're so glad we could be part of your special day."
Her favorite trick for venting safely: go ahead and write the horrifying response you want to write — then delete it and write the one you should. Before posting, ask yourself: if I read this response as a stranger, would I still shop at this store?
The order-gatherer problem — and a smart script
After every major holiday, shops get slammed with negative reviews from customers who actually ordered through an order gatherer and think they bought from the local shop. Don't say "that's not our problem," Leslie warns — instead, plant the seed for future readers: "We can't find your name in our records. Could you have ordered from an online order gatherer? Please contact us so we can resolve this." It flags the red flag without sounding like blame-passing.
Other lightning-round answers: if you're just starting to respond to reviews, only go back three months — older responses look like obvious cleanup (the exception is new ownership, where "we've recently taken over, please give us another chance" works well). You generally can't get reviews removed, even from disgruntled ex-employees, though you can respond and report conflicts of interest. And once you resolve a complaint, absolutely ask the customer to edit their review — a bad review turned good is, in Leslie's words, more powerful than an initial positive one.
Google My Business is king — and free
Leslie's soapbox: over 90 percent of people search on Google, and your free Google My Business listing — hours, location, photos, reviews — is your best online advertising. Claim it, verify it, and keep it current, because a claimed and maintained listing helps your search ranking too. The scary part: anyone can "suggest an edit" to your listing — changing your hours, your website, even marking you temporarily closed — and Google may also change your information on its own using data it finds elsewhere. Some shops have been marked closed without anyone knowing who did it, and bad actors were swapping florists' websites around Valentine's Day. So check your dashboard regularly (daily during holiday weeks), and set up notifications on Google, Yelp, and Facebook — though note Yelp's default is not to notify you, so you have to turn it on.
Citations, listings, and the "big five"
For everyone confused by SEO jargon: citations and online listings are the same thing — anywhere on the internet your name, address, and phone number (the "NAP") appear. Leslie's priority order: Google first, always. Then Apple Maps, the default for iPhones and Siri. Then Bing — the search engine you don't realize you're using, powering Alexa and Microsoft defaults and roughly 36 percent of desktop searches. Then Yelp, whose reviews feed Apple Maps (use the free listing — you don't need to pay). And finally Facebook, which customers assume the owner keeps current. If it feels overwhelming, eat the elephant one bite at a time — and consider assigning a tech-comfortable employee to check it all daily.
Key takeaways
- Respond to negative reviews fast, briefly, and without excuses: acknowledge, state your customer-satisfaction goal, and move the conversation to the phone.
- Write for the future readers of the review, not just the reviewer.
- For order-gatherer mix-ups, use "we can't find your name in our records — could you have ordered from an online order gatherer?"
- Claim and verify your Google My Business listing, watch it daily during holidays, and turn on notifications everywhere — including Yelp, where they're off by default.
- Keep your NAP (name, address, phone) consistent across the big five: Google, Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp, and Facebook.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist