Every business has bad days online. A customer posts that their order never arrived. A staff member is filmed being rude. A post with a wrong price spreads. Sometimes the problem is small and the reply decides everything; sometimes it is serious and the wrong reply makes it far worse. As a hired page manager, your job is to know which is which and to act in the right order.
The Digital Marketer track covers how to reply to an ordinary complaint: acknowledge, take it private, fix it and follow up. This lesson is about the operating side: how bad it is, who decides, and what you do in the first hour.
Three levels
Agree these levels with the client at onboarding, so nobody argues in the moment:
- Level 1: an ordinary complaint. A late delivery, a wrong size, a rude reply. You respond using the agreed approach and pass it to the person who fixes it.
- Level 2: a growing problem. Several people complain about the same thing, a post is being shared widely, or a local influencer or journalist picks it up. You stop and alert the client before saying more than a short holding reply.
- Level 3: serious. Safety, health, a legal threat, an accusation against a staff member, a death or injury, or anything involving the police. You say nothing beyond what the client approves, and the client may need advice from a lawyer or senior person.
Who speaks for the brand
Write down who can approve public statements at each level. At level 1, it may be you, using approved replies. At levels 2 and 3, it should be the owner or a named senior person. Have a backup contact in case the owner is travelling.