What should vets do about negative comments on their Facebook Pages?

Pete Wedderburn’s recent blog on VetHelpDirect.com raises some interesting dilemmas for veterinary practices on facebook.

Respond to the disgruntled clients on facebook or ‘go nuclear’ and delete and block the user that is the question posed by Pete Wedderburn, Telegraph Vet and Practice Owner, following a difficult situation on his own practice facebook page. You can read the blog here

Delete the complaint and you could leave the unhappy client feeling frustrated, risking them leaving unpleasant comments somewhere else on the internet where you have less control. Respond to it and the complaint will remain on your page for all to see BUT you will be showing that you are transparent and caring and, with a bit of luck, you will retain the client who made the complaint.  Your facebook page is full of your biggest fans, people have to ‘Like’ you to join and loyal happy clients will often leap to your defence turning a negative situation into a positive one. 

When the complaint verges on the abusive, spam or ‘Trolling’ the situation is entirely different, you don’t want to bore or upset your facebook community with the rantings of a minority. This is where we would recommend deleting and sometimes blocking the user from your page. 

So Pete, for what its worth, we think you did exactly the right thing. Deal with reasonable complaints reasonably, taking care not to break client confidentiality, and ‘go nuclear’ with the unreasonable.

We would be very grateful to hear the experiences of anyone else who has dealt with a negative comment on their facebook page.