You asked for it and we listened. In this column, we ask operators of all sizes and from all walks of the industry a question about their business and report their answers so you can assess how your own company compares to your peers. If you would like to participate, please email Rob Smentek at rob@chauffeurdriven.com for next issue’s question.
TOPIC: Have you been the victim of false negative online reviews? If so, how did you handle it?
Just recently someone left a 5-star review—but the username was extremely racially offensive. The comment praised our service, but based on the name and context, we strongly believe it was posted maliciously with the intent of harming our reputation or stirring controversy. We immediately reported it to Google and submitted multiple removal requests, but unfortunately, the review remains live. We decided to publicly respond with the following statement: “We strongly believe this individual has never used our service and that this post was made with the intent to harm our reputation. Despite multiple attempts to have this review removed by Google, it unfortunately remains. We felt it was necessary to publicly address this, as the language used is in direct conflict with our values and commitment to providing a respectful, professional, and inclusive service to all. We take this matter very seriously and will continue pursuing its removal. Discrimination in any form has no place here.”
At the end of the day, we know who we are and what we stand for. While we hope platforms like Google improve their systems, we’ve found that a strong base of loyal clients and consistent, high-level service continues to outweigh isolated bad-faith reviews.
Kirk Bagger, Corporate Travel Manager & CEO
Captains Car Service in Cleveland, Ohio
We had a nightmare scenario occur several years ago when an employee was a distant relative of a famous Civil War general, whose birthday coincided with June 19. The employee just mentioned on their social media that their great, great, great-grandfather had a birthday on the same day as Juneteenth. They were attacked for the post by thousands of entities and spammers. To make it even worse, because the employee listed us as their employer, all those spamming entities attacked our social media, Google reviews, and email accounts. In the matter of hours, we received more than 4,500 negative Google reviews that stated that our company hires racist employees. Thankfully, we have cyber-security insurance, which has a policy add-on that protects us from virtual slander, terroristic cyber threats, and discrimination. With the policy we were luckily able to get 99% of all the negative Google reviews removed within days, and eventually every single one of them was deleted. Between our cyber policy and our legal counsel, we spent more than $15,000 for what the employee felt was a very innocent post, spun out of control by cyber-bullies and terrorists. We now have very strict social media policy guidelines that all of our employees have to adhere to and sign off on.
Michael Barreto, President
Metropolis Passenger Logistics in Essington, Pa.
We have experienced false reviews, and the best way I feel to handle them is to reply to them in a professional manner and indicate that they’ve never been a customer. For example, a few years ago, we did a shuttle job for temp workers during a strike, and the strikers posted 1-star reviews because they were upset that we crossed the picket line. I replied to each review, pointing out that they were never a customer. Nick Boccio, General Manager Buffalo Limousine in Buffalo, N.Y. We have become victim to these false reviews. When I notice them, first I report the review as either false or spam—if that is an option—then I call the review site to have it taken down. This is not always successful, so my next step is to write a response to the review stating that it is not an accurate representation of our company and has been falsely made. Searching back in our database, we usually find that the person has never even used our service before, and I try to make that known as well.
Abdou Brahim, President & CEO
VA Executive Sedan & Limousine Service in Hampton Roads, Va.
The absolute best way to handle negative reviews is to respond to them. People leave bad reviews because they are dissatisfied with the service received, or had a bad experience, and want to express their frustration to warn others, or seek resolution. In that same open forum, if the issue is verified and addressed, the public will see that the person or group wasn’t ignored, and an appropriate action was taken. Addressing the issue presents a softer and gentler approach to a difficult situation.
Maurice Brewster, CEO
Mosaic Global Transportation in San Jose, Calif.
When we encounter these fake or malicious reviews—often written by scammers or competitors—we follow a strategic approach. First, we immediately flag suspicious reviews and document them with screenshots, timestamps, and any relevant evidence to support our claim. Then, we submit formal reports to the review platform (Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, etc.), highlighting policy violations such as impersonation, conflict of interest, or false content. Next, we post a calm, professional reply clarifying the situation, without attacking the reviewer. This shows our integrity to potential clients and builds public trust. Furthermore, we proactively ask our satisfied clients to share their genuine experiences. Authentic positive reviews help drown out false ones and reinforce our quality of service. However, in extreme cases of defamation or sabotage, we may pursue legal advice to protect our brand and business.
Fernando Carlison Jr., CEO
Mundi Worldwide Chauffeured Services in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Any negative review can be tough to read and handle, but when they’re false or misleading, they harm us. A single bad review can be the deciding factor for someone searching for a reputable transportation company.
We always keep our responses professional and calm. Reacting emotionally can make things far worse. Before we respond, we take the time to investigate the claim to see if the review has any merit. If it’s clear the review is false, we defend ourselves publicly.
We acknowledge the review and express a sincere desire to resolve the issues raised. This at least shows potential clients that you truly care about the service you deliver. Next step is to move it offline. This is our standard response: “Thank you for your feedback. We take these matters seriously and would love to discuss this further to better understand your experience. Please reach out to us directly so we can resolve this.”
If the review is clearly false, we report it to the social media platform. While not all platforms will remove reviews, it’s worth trying. A thoughtful, professional response can turn a negative situation into a positive one while protecting our brand’s reputation and even strengthen customer trust.
Harry Dhillon, Founder & President
Ecko Group of Companies in Santa Clara, Calif.
Receiving a negative review never feels good, particularly when it’s not necessarily accurate or warranted. Always reply—even if you don’t agree with the client’s assessment. Be as specific as possible by using telematics or any other data collected. Establishing your company’s view from multiple perspectives will certainly help your position and hopefully help set the record straight.
Len Joseph, President
On The Town Limousines in Frederick, Md.
Yes, we have experienced false negative reviews on two separate occasions. In both instances, our priority was to respond quickly and professionally, addressing the concerns calmly and respectfully. We also took the necessary steps to dispute the reviews through the platform, providing any supporting evidence that demonstrated the reviews were not from actual clients. Maintaining transparency and professionalism in our responses helped protect our reputation and reinforce trust with our existing and potential clients.
Stefan Kisiov, Fleet Manager
K&G Coach Line in Park Ridge, Ill.
In November 2024, we were plagued by false 1-star reviews from people all around the county after we displayed support for a local political candidate who is part of our team. We were alerted to this attack because our operations manager pays attention to our reviews and jumped into action. We reported the reviews to Google one after another, and then we asked our community for help. Many of our local business owner partners put up positive reviews to help suppress the negative reviews. The negative reviews have been removed from our Google ratings, but it also made us painfully aware that we need to do a better job of getting positive reviews. We have started a campaign to ask our guests to give us a review at the end of their ride and post it to Google. That would be the positive that came from this hard-learned lesson.
Becky Laramee, President
All Points Limousine in Leominster, Mass.
In 2021, my company was hit overnight with 60 bad reviews by a competitor. I posted it on a Facebook group, and many of my fellow operators came together to report them and write new reviews. It was very stressful, especially during COVID when there already was no business. I am very happy to report that Google did remove all except one. This particular operator was already known for creating fake reviews for his other business. Despite the challenges we faced, the support from the community was overwhelming and helped us recover from this attack.
Jess Sandhu, Director of Operations
A&A Limousine & Bus Service in Kenmore, Wash.
Step one if you have a negative review is always to identify if it’s even a real client, an error, or a bot. If fake, report it to the website to be taken off. If they will not remove (I have one of those) then reply to the fake review that “this is not a client, person must be mistaken.” We also use the survey/review Addons tool with LimoAnywhere to notify us of anything under a 5-star review. That is an opportunity to sniff out any issues in advance. Nowadays, with computer keyboards giving an average person super-human abilities to complain, we must be vigilant in keeping the reputations we’ve worked so hard for in the best shape possible.
Quentin Shackelford, Owner
AllClassLimo.com in Wichita, Kan.
We follow a structured process to protect the integrity of our business. If a review is clearly false or if there is no record of the customer using our service, we flag the review as suspicious and report it to platforms for investigation. If the reviewer has used our service, we reach out directly to resolve the issue. We request the opportunity to make things right, ensuring that the customer feels heard and valued, which often leads to a positive outcome and potentially an updated review.
We actively encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. By doing so, we help balance out any negative feedback and maintain a strong, positive reputation on our profile. This approach ensures that we address negative reviews efficiently, protect our brand, and foster a trustworthy relationship with both current and potential customers.
Muhammad Tanveer, CEO
MM Trans in Los Angeles, Calif.
I think in any service business, bad reviews will happen because of people’s personal expectations. We have to understand that we will never know what someone really wants, even if they tell us, because that can be changed in the moment. We don’t read people’s minds or live in their shoes. This is why I constantly say that I want to be in the footsteps of human logistics.
David Uziel, CEO/Chairman
Urban Worldwide in San Francisco, Calif.
We received several false reviews when we did more retail work. We handled it by responding with facts and making sure we spoke to the truth of the incident. I believe this is important because there are always two sides to every story. Clients tend to share their views, and we make sure we gather all the facts and point them out. I think that clients appreciate this when reading the review.
Nancy Vargas, CEO
DH2 Chauffeured Transportation in Jamaica, N.Y.
Even when we get a review that is false or malicious, we always respond with professionalism. We avoid emotional or defensive replies, since they would reflect poorly on our brand. We might say something like: “Thank you for your feedback. We take all concerns seriously and would love the opportunity to resolve this issue directly. However, we don’t have a record of your service. Please contact us at [email/contact] so we can look into this further.” This lets potential customers see that we are open, responsive, and professional—even when under fire.
If we suspect a fake review, we flag it (if it violates guidelines). Platforms like Google, Yelp, or TripAdvisor will allow you to report reviews that are fake or posted by someone who never used your service, contain hate speech or inappropriate content, or are clearly meant to harm without context. We are very persistent—sometimes it takes multiple flags or legal documentation to get the post taken down.
We find the best defense is a strong offense. We always ask happy clients to leave genuine reviews. A stream of positive, detailed feedback will push the false ones down and dilute their impact. We include a link to leave a review on our ride receipt and we text clients asking for feedback after every ride. When the public sees mostly 5-star reviews and thousands of likes, negative reviews don’t hold much water.
Rick Versace, President
A1A Global Ground in Boca Raton, Fla.
Sometimes, I try to carefully, tactfully, and elegantly showcase the reviewer’s pettiness with overwhelming give-back. And, fortunately, it has not resulted in others taking advantage of our grace.
Our public reply shows over-the-top concern for the client’s ultimate satisfaction. For example, we might carefully disclose that their wait was (only) 11 minutes before another Teddy’s car pulled up to resume the trip, or how we’re glad the chauffeur fixed the flat and got them on their way in record time and with plenty of time to spare before their flight. I often mention how frustrating it is when an issue is out of “both your control and ours” to highlight how our make-good is a gift for an issue outside of our control. Plus, given the nature of B2B travel, and all for the benefit of anyone else reading, years in the future, we carefully hope that their last 106 trips, over the last four years, went well.
Charles Wisniewski, President & CEO
Teddy’s Transportation System in Norwalk, Conn.
We’ve loved hearing your answers to our benchmarking questions—but we always welcome suggestions for future topics, too!
Send an email to rob@chauffeurdriven.com you just might see your query answered in our next e-News.
[CD0425]