You finish a long day, pick up your phone and see it.

A one-star review.

Perhaps you recognise the client immediately. Perhaps the version of events feels completely different from what happened. Maybe you’re angry, embarrassed or desperate to explain yourself.

Your first instinct might be to respond immediately.

Don’t.

Online reviews have changed the way beauty businesses build—and lose—trust. A negative review can appear in Google results while prospective clients are deciding whether to book, and screenshots can move quickly through social media and community groups.

But a negative review doesn’t automatically damage a good business.

Often, what matters just as much is how the business responds.

For salon and clinic owners, reputation management is therefore becoming an essential business skill.

1. Don’t Respond While You’re Emotional

Negative reviews feel personal because beauty businesses are personal.

You’ve invested your money, reputation and enormous amounts of time into building your business.

But an emotional response rarely improves the situation.

Before responding:

• Read the review carefully.
• Check the client’s appointment history.
• Speak with relevant staff.
• Review treatment notes where appropriate.
• Establish what actually happened.
• Decide whether the complaint should move to a private conversation.

Then respond calmly.

Your response isn’t only being written for the person who complained.

It’s being written for every future client who reads it.

2. Don’t Try to Win the Argument

This is one of the biggest reputation-management mistakes businesses make.

A salon owner writes a lengthy response explaining exactly why the client is wrong.

The client responds.

The owner responds again.

Soon, a complaint has become a public argument.

Even if the business is technically correct, prospective clients watching the exchange may simply see conflict.

Your objective isn’t to win.

It’s to demonstrate professionalism.

A response such as:

Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that your experience didn’t meet your expectations. We’d appreciate the opportunity to discuss your concerns directly and review what occurred.

can often communicate far more professionalism than six paragraphs of defence.

3. Be Extremely Careful With Client Information

This is particularly important for beauty and aesthetic businesses.

You may have information that appears to completely disprove a client’s complaint.

That doesn’t automatically mean you should publish it.

Depending on your business and the information involved, client records can contain personal information and potentially sensitive or health-related information.

Australian businesses subject to the Privacy Act need to understand their obligations when handling personal information. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner provides guidance on Australian privacy requirements. OAIC privacy guidance

Never treat a public review as permission to publish information from a client’s confidential records.

4. Acknowledge Without Automatically Admitting Liability

There’s an important distinction between acknowledging someone’s experience and agreeing with every allegation.

You can say:

We’re disappointed to hear you weren’t satisfied with your experience.

without saying:

We performed the treatment incorrectly.

Likewise:

We take concerns about treatment outcomes seriously.

is different from:

Our treatment caused your reaction.

This distinction can become particularly important when complaints involve injuries, adverse reactions, refunds, allegations of negligence or potentially significant financial claims.

Serious complaints may require professional or legal advice before a detailed response is made.

5. Take Detailed Conversations Offline

Public review platforms are rarely the right place to investigate complex complaints.

Invite the client to communicate privately.

That might involve:

• A phone conversation.
• An email.
• A follow-up consultation.
• A meeting with the salon manager.
• A formal complaint process.

This allows you to gather information without conducting the dispute in front of an audience.

However, moving the conversation offline doesn’t mean removing documentation.

Keep appropriate records of the complaint, communication and resolution.

6. Know When a Review Should Be Reported

Not every negative review should be removed simply because you disagree with it.

But some reviews may breach the platform’s policies.

Examples could include certain forms of:

• Spam.
• Fake engagement.
• Impersonation.
• Harassment.
• Irrelevant content.
• Conflicts of interest.

Google has policies governing prohibited and restricted content in Maps contributions and reviews. Google Maps user-generated content policy

If you believe a review breaches platform rules, use the platform’s reporting process rather than attacking the reviewer publicly.

7. Don’t Threaten Every Unhappy Client

Threatening legal action because someone left a negative review can escalate the situation dramatically.

Australian defamation law is complex, and not every unpleasant, inaccurate or damaging comment necessarily amounts to actionable defamation.

If a review contains serious allegations that you believe are false and materially damaging, obtain appropriate legal advice rather than conducting a legal battle in the review section.

8. Build Reputation Before You Need It

The best defence against an occasional negative review is a strong history of genuine positive client experiences.

Imagine two businesses.

Salon A

★★★★★ 4.9
312 reviews

One unhappy review appears.

Salon B

★★★ 3.4
11 reviews

One unhappy review appears.

The same negative review creates a very different impression.

Develop a consistent process for inviting genuine clients to leave honest feedback.

Don’t wait until something goes wrong to start thinking about reputation.

9. Never Buy Fake Reviews

A perfect five-star rating can be tempting.

But manipulating reviews is risky and undermines consumer trust.

Australian businesses also need to be mindful of Australian Consumer Law when making representations to consumers. The ACCC specifically warns businesses about fake or misleading online reviews. ACCC guidance on online reviews

Build reviews through genuine client experiences instead.

A smaller number of authentic reviews is more valuable than manufactured popularity.

10. Turn Complaints Into Business Intelligence

Not every complaint is justified.

But every complaint is worth examining.

Look for patterns.

If several clients mention:

Long waiting times
Your scheduling may need attention.

Confusing pricing
Your website or consultation process may need improvement.

Feeling rushed
Appointment times may be unrealistic.

Unexpected treatment outcomes
Consultation, consent or expectation-setting may need strengthening.

Poor communication
Your follow-up systems may need work.

One complaint can be an opinion.

Ten similar complaints are data.

What You Can Do This Week

Review your reputation-management process rather than waiting for the next complaint.

• Search your business name on Google.
• Read your recent reviews objectively.
• Check whether someone is responsible for monitoring reviews.
• Create an internal complaints procedure.
• Train staff not to argue with clients online.
• Review how client complaints are documented.
• Check who has access to your social and Google accounts.
• Create a professional response framework.
• Review your privacy procedures.
• Encourage genuine satisfied clients to leave honest feedback.

ABA Expert Tip

Write every public response for the next 100 prospective clients who may read it—not simply for the person who wrote the review.

Calm, concise and professional responses demonstrate how your business behaves when something doesn’t go perfectly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The most damaging responses often happen because an owner reacts emotionally.

Avoid:

• Responding immediately while angry.
• Publishing confidential client information.
• Writing enormous defensive responses.
• Blaming the client.
• Allowing staff to respond from personal accounts.
• Offering compensation publicly before investigating.
• Asking friends or employees to attack the reviewer.
• Buying positive reviews to bury negative ones.
• Deleting legitimate criticism wherever you control the platform.
• Ignoring recurring complaints.

Create a Review Response Framework

Your team doesn’t necessarily need a rigid script, but it should have a process.

A simple framework is:

Acknowledge → Show concern → Move private → Investigate → Resolve → Document → Learn

That creates consistency without making responses sound robotic.

Looking Ahead

Online reputation is becoming part of business infrastructure.

Reviews influence discovery, trust and purchasing decisions before many clients ever speak with your team.

And as AI-powered search and recommendation systems become more common, a business’s wider digital reputation—including reviews, website information and other public signals—may become increasingly important to how consumers discover and evaluate providers.

Reputation management should therefore sit alongside marketing, client retention and risk management as an ongoing business responsibility.

Final Thoughts

You won’t please every client.

Even exceptional salons occasionally receive criticism.

The goal isn’t to build a business that never receives a negative review.

The goal is to build one with enough professionalism, systems and genuine goodwill that an occasional complaint doesn’t define your reputation.

Listen carefully.

Investigate properly.

Protect confidentiality.

Respond professionally.

Fix genuine problems.

Then move forward.

Sometimes a thoughtful response to a one-star review tells prospective clients more about your professionalism than another five-star review ever could.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I respond to every negative Google review?

Generally, a professional response can demonstrate that your business takes feedback seriously. However, situations involving legal disputes, serious allegations, injuries or sensitive information may require advice before responding in detail.

Can I tell people what really happened?

Be careful. Your business may hold information about the client that shouldn’t be disclosed publicly. A review isn’t automatically permission to reveal information from client records.

Should I refund someone who threatens a bad review?

Don’t allow review threats alone to determine your complaints process. Investigate the issue objectively and apply your policies consistently.

Can I ask clients for Google reviews?

Businesses can encourage genuine customers to provide honest feedback. Avoid practices designed to create a misleading impression of consumer sentiment.

What if I believe a review is fake?

Document what you know and use the relevant platform’s reporting process if you believe the review breaches its policies.

Should staff respond to complaints?

Ideally, businesses should have clear responsibility for public complaint responses. Staff should know when an issue needs to be escalated to a manager or owner.