4 ways to turn negative feedback into a positive experience

Receiving negative feedback about your early childhood service never feels great but it’s important to remember that negative reviews and comments can actually be a good thing. Displaying negative reviews, rather than hiding them, shows that your service is transparent and builds credibility amongst the families who are considering you as an option for their children’s care and education.

In our research on parents’ behaviour when searching for the right early childhood service, trust is one of the top considerations when families are looking for care and early education for their children. 

Families do their research and look to social media, word of mouth and comparison websites, like Care for Kids, to gauge centre experience, staff turnover, quality of staff, facilities and other information that is not always readily available on service’s own websites. 

Many early childhood service websites don’t show NQS ratings or Google reviews, preferring to use their own curated testimonials instead. When this happens, parents feel that they are getting a one-sided view of what the service is really like. 

Here are 4 ways you can turn negative feedback into a positive opportunity and build authenticity with parents:

1. Build trusting relationships

Displaying negative reviews shows transparency; the service isn’t hiding anything and wants to build honest and open relationships with families. Being transparent means that parents and caregivers can build trust with a service.

2. Enable the opportunity for improvement

A negative review provides the opportunity for a service to improve on the situation the feedback is about and learn from mistakes. If a parent has an issue with a staff member, the service can encourage a discussion to work through the problem. If a negative comment is received about untidy spaces or lack of facilities, the service can address these issues and make improvements.

3. Begin a conversation

When negative feedback is received, take the opportunity to start a conversation with the reviewer/feedback provider and respond to their comments publicly. This shows other families that the service values their community and is committed to resolving issues and taking feedback on board.

4. Highlight the positive feedback

Families are more likely to believe positive reviews and feedback about a service if the negative reviews are also displayed. When considering an early childhood service, parents will compare positive and negative feedback. Seeing both pros and cons provides an unbiased perspective of a service, showing credibility.

Before deleting all negative reviews about your service, consider how you can benefit from this feedback and in turn build trust with your community.