Amazon demands a high level of customer service when

it comes to responding to messages. They expect you to

send a reply within 24 hours no matter what time or day
of the week you receive the message. It doesn’t matter if
it’s the weekend or a public holiday – or even if you’re on
vacation. Amazon still expects a prompt reply.
As indicated by the list of potential subject lines that a
customer can choose from, most will use private
messages to lodge a complaint. These subject lines
include “where’s my stuff,” “can you ship faster?” and
“received the wrong item.” The good news is that even
though these buyers have a complaint, they are at least
willing to keep their issue with you private — for the time
being.
If you address buyer concerns in an open, efficient, and
friendly way, buyers will probably keep their complaints
private.

Tips on How to Handle Customer Complaints

Effectively

1. Acknowledge the complaint quickly. The sooner

you acknowledge the complaint, the sooner you can
 start to resolve it. Respond to the customer within 24
hours, even if you don't have a solution yet.
2. Empathize with the customer. Put yourself in the
customer's shoes and try to understand their
frustration. Let them know that you are sorry for
their experience and that you are committed to
resolving the issue.
3. Investigate the complaint. Gather as much
information as you can about the complaint,
including the order number, the product involved,
and the customer's contact information. This will help
you to understand the issue and find a solution.
4. Offer a solution. Once you have investigated the
complaint, offer the customer a solution that is fair
and reasonable. This could include a refund or a
replacement product.

5. Follow up with the customer. After you have

offered a solution, follow up with the customer to
make sure that they are satisfied. This will show the
customer that you are committed to resolving their
issue.

By following these tips, you can effectively deal with

Amazon customer complaints and maintain a positive
customer experience.

Product Reviews
Amazon actively encourages people to send product
reviews and some of them can be quite detailed. Buyers
can produce their own detailed reviews about a product
and add a star rating. If you can keep this rating high,
you’ll have every chance of building and growing your
sales.
Product reviews should be focused entirely on the
product rather than your performance as a seller. They
appear on the product’s detail page rather than your
seller profile and can be left by pretty much anybody
regardless of whether they have purchased from you or
not.
This particular rule has created all sorts of problems for
Amazon as it can be open to misuse and
manipulation. Fake reviews are a constant both from
sellers looking to boost their own profile and from those
looking to harm the competition.
Buyers can remove product reviews – and indeed they
often do, often because they have changed their mind
about how good the product is. However, you can never
ask the buyer directly to remove a review. The decision
has to be theirs alone.

Seller Feedback
The third feedback group is directly related to your
reputation as a seller. Buyers will have the opportunity to
leave seller feedback. This starts by answering a few
basic questions such as:
 Did the product arrive on time?

 Was it in good condition?

 Was the product as described?

 Did the seller offer courteous and friendly customer

service?
In addition, they will be able to leave a review about their
experiences and give you a star rating out of five. Both
your customers and Amazon will pay close attention to
this feedback. Buyers are not likely to purchase from a
seller that has a low star rating with a high incidence of
negative seller feedback. Amazon also looks at your
negative feedback rating and, if this gets too high, they
may recommend that you adjust your sales practices.
The good thing about seller feedback is that it is easier to
remove than product reviews. There are a number of
situations in which Amazon may decide to remove the
feedback:
 Obscene or abusive language.

 They have posted personally identifiable

information about you.

 The feedback is actually a product review.

How to Encourage More Feedback

Those are the three main types of Amazon feedback.
Each of these will be vital in its own way. Feedback can
often affect your visibility on Amazon and are likely to
have an impact on your future sales. In general, the more
feedback you have, the better. The good news is that
there are many things you can do to increase the number
of reviews you receive.
Amazon does have strict guidelines about how you can
contact customers, but if you phrase your emails
correctly, you can encourage people to leave positive
reviews without breaking any of these guidelines. You
should never offer an incentive in return for a review, but
you can send emails about the order and its shipment. In
these emails, you should include links to your product
review and seller feedback pages.
For example, you can send an email to follow up on a
purchase and check in to see that everything is going
well with the product. From there, you can politely ask
the buyer to leave feedback or a product review in order
to help other buyers come to a decision about your
product. Most people will forget to leave feedback without
a little prompt, so this can significantly increase the
amount of feedback you get.

Understanding Negative Amazon Feedback

If you do receive a complaint, good customer service is
crucial. You want to put right whatever has gone wrong.
You can assess where the responsibility for the problem
lies and identify whatever steps are necessary to remedy
the situation.
First thing’s first, you need to consistently monitor your
feedback.
As soon as feedback comes in, the clock is ticking. The
sooner you can get in touch with the buyer, the greater
your chances of resolving their complaint.
Negative feedback may come in two forms: private or
public.
With private feedback, the buyer may message you
directly with their complaint. Once you are done being
grateful that they didn’t leave public feedback, you need
to respond. Whether the complaint is about a defect in
your product or damaged packaging from a careless
courier, you need to offer a solution. If, for example, you
offer a replacement the customer complaint can quickly
become an extremely positive interaction. This exchange
may even land you some positive public accolades by
way of positive seller feedback or a positive product
review.

Dealing with Public Feedback

All customer feedback is important but public feedback
can have an immediate impact on your reputation.
Negative feedback sits out there for all potential buyers
to see. Customers will be less likely to purchase from you
if appear to have a shoddy product. Negative seller
feedback can impact your seller rating and, again, turn
off potential buyers. Too much negative feedback in
either category and Amazon may even take action
against you.
If you receive negative feedback, all is not lost. You
should get in touch with the customer immediately to
determine what is wrong. Your goals here are simple:
make sure the customer ends up happy and to remove
the negative feedback.

Under very specific circumstances you may be able

to ask Amazon to remove the feedback. These
circumstances include:
  Explicit or offensive language: Obviously,
anything rude or offensive will be removed by
Amazon.
 Reveals details which might identify you as a

seller: Your privacy is meant to be sacred so

anything which compromises this will be deleted.
 Relates to an issue with delivery for products

sold through Fulfilled by Amazon( FBA): With

FBA, Amazon takes on responsibility for the
shipping and customer service. As such, any
problems with shipping are their fault and they
should take responsibility for that and strike the
negative feedback from the record.
 Problems which were the fault of the

courier: As long as you have held up your end of

the bargain in getting the product to the courier in
good condition Amazon shouldn’t expect you to
suffer the consequences for a courier’s mistake.
Product reviews are a slightly different matter, but you
may still be able to get these removed if you can
convince Amazon that the reviews are fake. This might
happen if a competitor is trying to spoil the online
reputation of your product. There are various tell-tale
signs which might cause Amazon to suspect the review is
not genuine, such as if the review is vague or generic,
suggesting the reviewer has never used the product, or if
several reviews come from the same IP address. This
suggests someone is trying to drive product reviews up or
down.

Removing or Amending Negative Feedback

The first step is to look at the feedback itself. Have a look
at what the customer says to see if there is any way you
can take action to remove it. If it fulfills any of the criteria
mentioned above you can report it to Amazon.
If not, then never fear. All is not yet lost. You may still be
able to persuade the customer to remove it or amend it.
This will be difficult and delicate. Amazon’s guidelines
forbid asking explicitly for them to remove negative
feedback or offering any kind of incentive. For example,
you mustn’t make a refund contingent on them removing
the feedback.
However, if you deliver some grade A customer service,
there is a chance that the customer might have a change
of heart. For example, if a product arrives damaged or
stops working after a couple of days the customer may
remove the negative feedback if you quickly provide a
replacement item which works much better.
In the case of negative product reviews, respond publicly
to the review with your contact information. This ensures
that even if the reviewer never amends their product
review, potential buyers looking at your reviews see that
you are a caring seller who will make things right should
something go wrong.

Learning from Negative Product Reviews

Even if you fail to get negative product reviews removed,
these can still present you with an opportunity. These
complaints will tell you where you go wrong.
Many of your customers will already be doing this, even if
your feedback score is pretty good. They will want an
idea of the kind of things that can potentially go wrong
with your product. Amazon may also be paying attention.
If they see phrases like ‘not as advertised’ cropping up
too often, they may take measures against your account.
If they start seeing you as a questionable seller, you
could be on the slippery slope towards account
suspension.
From your perspective, though, these can negative
product reviews offer great learning opportunities. They
highlight issues with your products and help you put right
anything you need to. If you embrace these criticisms
rather than shy away from them, they can help you
become a better and, ultimately, more successful seller
Mastering your Feedback
Amazon feedback and product reviews can be a murky
field. The rules of the game can be quite complicated and
it’s not uncommon for both buyers and sellers to get
things confused. However, if you understand the different
types of feedback available and how they can help you. If
you master feedback management, you can boost your
ratings, attract more sales and make more money.

Here are some additional tips that you can follow:

 Be polite and professional in your communications

with the customer.
 Avoid making excuses or blaming others.
 Focus on resolving the issue, not on winning an
argument.
 Keep the customer updated on your progress.
 Thank the customer for their patience and
understanding.
Parting Thoughts

By following these tips, you can show the customer that

you are taking their complaint seriously and that you are
committed to resolving it to their satisfaction. This will
help to build trust and loyalty with your customers, which
is essential for a successful Amazon business.