Hotels, restaurants and other businesses that depend on good customer service reviews have all grappled in recent years with how to respond to online feedback on sites such as Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, Facebook and Instagram, where comments can often be more vitriol than in-person reviews because of the anonymous shield many social media websites provide.

But no matter how ugly the reviews get, businesses need to be willing to acknowledge mistakes and offer discounts to lure unhappy customers back, according to digital marketing experts.

One Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, allegedly posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly went viral last week.

What’s more, Amy’s Baking Co. had been featured earlier this month on the Fox reality TV show “Kitchen Nightmares.” Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay gave up on trying to reform the restaurant after the owners refused to listen to his advice.

The operator’s reaction to berate customers online is exactly how businesses shouldn’t respond to complaints or negative reviews, experts say. You have to stay on top of all your online reviews so that a problem doesn’t spiral out of control.

Another way to control the situation is to have responses that represent different potential complaints available for staff to refer to whenever bad feedback arises. This also helps keep your cool when you feel under attack.

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