Exactly that happened when I looked for a hotel in Laos.
The hotel in question was overall reviewed quite favorably. There where a few complaints, notably that two of the bungalows where very loud, or about the restaurant. Essentially quite small fry.
For each of those complaints the management took the time to address the specific issues, acknowledging specific problems and indicating how they intend to fix them.
This convinced me to book and I didn't regret it at all.
There is a big difference between boilerplate bullshit of the "your call is very important to us" variety and taking complaints seriously, responding to them on an individual basis and really trying to make it right.
That's often quite visible from how a company handles complaints.
BTW: The noisy bungalows where no more when I stayed there.
Yeah, methinks the general rule is: You don't really know a company until you see their reaction to shit happening. Deflecting blame and stonewalling are the worst kinds of response.
Thank you. I kind of agree - honest answers, acceptance of criticism etc. are key, especially when your talking about small companies that can't hide behind their size.
+1 When a company responds to these negative reviews, this shows that they are being honest on their part. Atleast they are addressing the review. Its good that this tea maker stand out for his company.
Sometimes it gives me a more favorable view of the company in question, actually.
The only time I really pay attention to stuff like this is when there is a bunch of negative reviews and the company never responds to any of them.