One step up from a hall monitor badge...pretty nifty

Ok don’t. Seriously. I was just kidding. Really. Please don’t sue me.

The settlement of a libel lawsuit regarding user comments on the review site Yelp bring concerns about validity in social media to the top of everyone’s minds. Ok maybe not everyone’s, but mine and most other peoples’ in my industry. My coworker Josh wrote a post asking for opinions on the social media ethics debate that this will enevitably spark on both sides so I decided to throw in my two cents. Here goes.

For Businesses:

To sue or not to sue, that is the question? Can you really say that suing a former customer who clearly had a gripe they were willing to post for the world to see could ever be construed as a positive, constructive, PR minded move? I think not. If you find that there’s been a negative review about you, yes you need to act, but you must think about the repercussions first.

If it’s true: you need to evaluate your business. Apologize for the gaff and try to make it right for them and then use that feedback to adjust your business moving forward.

If it’s wrong: reach out to them. Ask them why they think that, why they said that, ask what the situation was and how it could be made right. Maybe the customer isn’t always right, but they think they are and you need to deal with them on that level. Draft a public response to the review, the libel was written in the social media forum; try responding there first before taking it to court. Tell your side of the story in an adult, mature way. (No “they’re a big fat liar” type stuff.)

If that doesn’t help, think about this before you sue: If a potential customer sees the negative review how much will that affect them in the total of all reviews that have been posted versus if they read a news story about the review and how the reviewer is being sued? I don’t know about you but I’d rather not go to a chiropractor that has shoddy billing practices (according to one person – but this is the comment that’s been publicized above all others at this point) AND sues their customers.

For Social Media Users:

This is kind of scary. I mean I don’t really think about what I say on review sites before I say it. I just tell my side of the story, like I was complaining or raving to a friend. I don’t ever think about whether my exaggeration might be taken as libel.

Personally I’m not sure any of these cases will go actually go through without proof that the person had lied outright and maliciously. This one was settled and I think most of them will be (assuming more keep coming…see above.) So as long as you’re honest and stick to things that really happened and your opinion about them you should be safe.

If you’re still worried you can read this definition of Libel to make sure your comments don’t violate anyone’s rights.

For Everyone:

Maybe we all need an ethics refresher course. Be honest. Do the right thing. Treat others the way you’d like to be treated. If the business treats a customer correctly in the first place – no problems. If the customer is honest in their reviews and opinions of that treatment – no problems. It’s so easy people. Why can’t we all just get along….