Add to Event ensures a fair and transparent review process, particularly when handling negative feedback from event organisers. This guide explains how negative reviews are processed, when they become publicly visible, and the best practices for suppliers to address disputes efficiently.
Over 90% of customer reviews left on Add to Event are five stars, but we’ve all had difficult customers or days that didn’t go our way.
If you receive a negative review (3 stars or fewer) after an event, it won’t go live on your profile right away. Instead, we'll follow a 4-step process designed to prioritise conflict resolution and maintain a supplier's reputation:
1. Submission of feedback
When an organiser is dissatisfied, they first submit private feedback to Add to Event. This feedback remains visible only to you (the supplier), the organiser & the Add to Event team initially.
It will not go public at this stage.
2. Notification to the supplier & the 7-day resolution window
Upon receiving feedback, we will notify you, giving you 7 days to reach out to the event organiser and resolve the issue directly.
During this time, we encourage you to engage constructively with the organiser, demonstrate a willingness to resolve issues, and request amendments to the feedback where applicable.
3. Organiser decision
After this 7 days has passed, the organiser has a further 7 day period to decide whether to escalate their feedback into a public review.
At this point, they can either:
Leave a positive review for you
Withdraw from the review process completely
Start the public negative review process
4. Public reviews
If the organiser decides to leave a negative public review after the 7 day resolution period, we will notify you of their decision. You will then be given an additional 7 days to respond to explain your side of the story.
After these further 7 days, the review and the response are then published & will be publicly visible on your profile.
If the organiser changes their mind and leaves a positive review, this will go live & you can respond publicly.
Or, if the organiser does not leave a public review, the feedback is archived and will not appear on your public profile or count towards your review / star rating.
How to handle negative review resolution
Responding promptly and constructively during the resolution period can significantly impact the outcome of negative feedback.
Consider the following recommendations:
Engage Directly and Politely: Reach out to the organiser to clarify concerns and discuss possible resolutions.
Explain the Impact: Politely explain how reviews influence your business and encourage the organiser to reconsider or amend their feedback.
How to respond to a negative public review
If the organiser chooses to make their negative review public, even if you believe their version of events to be incorrect, it often pays to briefly and politely respond with your side of the story.
You may not be able to win over every unhappy customer, but we often find those reading reviews are savvy enough to see through unreasonable complaints.
Future customers will be able to see both sides of the story and gain a more objective overview of the facts. This will allow them to make up their own minds about how much weight they should give to the review in question.
If suppliers engage in a constructive way and show that they genuinely care about their customers, this often leaves Add to Event event organisers/future customers with a good impression.
Each and every one of your less-than perfect reviews can be an opportunity. These can include:
Letting you show empathy, and show off your service by responding in a thoughtful and polite way.
Signalling authenticity and credibility (people tend to be suspicious if a company only has 5-star reviews)
Giving you the chance to solve problems and follow up on complaints.
Please note:
Reviews will not be published if the customer/event organiser is a direct competitor to the company you own, are employed by or work for.
We are not an agency and we do not get involved in the booking process, therefore we’re unable to manage disputes or refunds. We do not see ourselves as in a position to determine who's right or wrong, or which set of facts is correct. We don't have the same resources as a court of law.
If you require additional contact details for the customer you may request this from us.
Disputing negative reviews
If you would like to dispute a negative public review or report a review that you feel is inaccurate or unfair, please submit supporting evidence, such as correspondence or event absence documentation to the team at [email protected]