Helm › Helm University › Track 7 › Lesson 7.3
Lesson 7.3Replying to a review in public
You can reply to any review on your shop. The reply is read by everyone who comes after, which changes what a good one looks like.
Prefer to listen? This is the same lesson, word for word. The text below is the transcript.
This lesson prepares you to: Write a public reply that helps the next buyer rather than arguing with the last one.
Who you are actually writing to
Not the reviewer. They have their opinion, they have moved on, and one reply is very unlikely to change it.
You are writing to the person reading your storefront in four months, who has your item in their basket and is deciding whether to trust you. That reader is the entire audience for a public reply, and every rule below follows from remembering it.
What a good reply does
- Names what went wrong, plainly. "The listing did not say it runs small" beats "we are sorry you feel that way".
- Says what you did about it. "Refunded that day" or "I have added the measurements to the listing".
- Stops. Three sentences is almost always enough.
What a bad reply does
- Litigates. Nobody reading later can adjudicate it, so all they see is a seller who argues.
- Gets sarcastic. A single sharp line outlives a hundred polite ones.
- Blames the buyer for not reading. Even when it is true, it tells the next buyer that a mistake will be their fault.
- Posts private information. Never put an order number, an address, a real name or the content of a private message into a public reply.
Worked examples
| The review | A reply that works |
|---|---|
| "Took ages to arrive." | "It went out the next morning and then sat in transit for nine days, which I could not do anything about. I have switched to a faster service for orders this size." |
| "Smaller than I expected." | "Fair. The photo does not give a sense of scale. I have added the measurements and a shot next to a mug." |
| "Arrived broken." | "Refunded the same day. I have changed how I pack these, they now go in a box rather than a padded envelope." |
| A review that is just abusive | Do not reply. Appeal it. That is lesson 7.4. |
Replies can be moderated too
A seller reply can be hidden by moderation if it breaks the rules, exactly as a review can. If yours is hidden, you will still see your own hidden reply when you look at the review, so you know it happened rather than wondering why nobody responded to it.
The reply that earns you the most
A calm, specific reply under a three star review does more for your storefront than any five star review does. It is the only place a stranger can watch you handle something going wrong, which is the thing they are actually trying to find out.
Next: when to stop replying and appeal instead, and what grounds actually work.