Protect your online reputation over customer billing disputes

There are a million reasons why individuals might lodge an online complaint against your business. Perhaps they felt they received poor customer service, or they had a hard time finding your establishment. Maybe they just didn’t like the way your office was decorated. Whatever the case, whenever people are talking about your business online, it can have an important effect on your personal and professional reputations.

Billing disputes are a common complaint that business owners face online. For medical practitioners like doctors and dentists, these disputes are particularly complicated because they involve confusing insurance policies — not to mention issues of patient privacy.

What if a patient or customer incorrectly claims online that you overcharged them? Should you respond online? If so, how? This article will advise you how to deal with a billing dispute online in a way that neutralizes potential reputation damage to your business.

Try to make the conversation private.

You can’t deal with upset customers online unless you know they’re out there. Begin regularly monitoring your name and the name of your business on Google. When you uncover a public complaint on a business review website like Yelp, try to take the conversation offline.

Contact the patient or customer through a private message or by phone. Never start a “flame war,” or a back and forth argument, with the upset individual. As the description implies, a flame war will do nothing but burn you and your reputation. If you can’t convince the individual to resolve the situation privately, be prepared either to acknowledge your mistake or explain why you aren’t in the wrong — which leads to the next tip.

Investigate the complaint.

If you are in the wrong, then your customer or patient has a right to be upset. You might not like the fact that they took their complaint online, but it does no good to dwell on something you can’t control. Investigate the individual’s complaint thoroughly to see if their argument has any merit. That could mean talking with your staff or going over invoices or bills. The important thing is to get to the truth. If there was a mistake, be prepared to apologize and offer some kind of solution.

If you learn that you weren’t at fault, however, you shouldn’t feel obligated to apologize. Politely but firmly state the facts and refer the patient or customer to the appropriate channel for their complaint, like their insurance company, for example. See if you can help them figure out how to resolve it; your assistance will go a long way toward smoothing any hurt feelings and possibly creating a positive online response.

The Internet doesn’t give customers the license to make up lies about you or your business. If you truly feel defamed, you might consider retaining an attorney — but this is often a costly and unsatisfying endeavor. Even if you do secure a legal victory, it will feed into the perception that you don’t care about customers. Web surfers are surprisingly savvy; if you are polite and stick to the facts, they will generally see your position.

Don’t ignore the problem.

Above all, never ignore an individual’s complaint online. Even if you respond only to refute their claim (based on your diligent investigating, of course), you simply must take time to address every negative review online. Hell hath no fury like a customer scorned, and if you ignore someone long enough, s/he might lash out in other ways.

Take United Airlines, for example. After United Airlines baggage workers broke musician Dave Carroll’s guitar through careless handling, he sought to deal with the problem privately by calling customer support. After getting the runaround, Dave channeled his frustration into a song called “United Breaks Guitars.” The resulting song and music video became a YouTube hit, leading to tons of bad publicity for United (and a pleasant career boost for Mr. Carroll).

The point is this: Though billing issues should be taken care of privately, you can’t count on a customer or patient playing the game by your rules. You should address issues quickly and decisively when they arise and prepare for them in advance through proactive branding and social media management. It’s the best way to maintain a strong and Google-friendly online reputation.