A used-car dealer is going viral after sharing his bewildering brush with a one-star review—left, he says, by someone who never actually bought a car from him. Once he discovered what had happened, he decided to take matters into his own hands. In a recent TikTok, creator @mistaconnas says he rolled out of bed after a packed weekend only to discover that his shop had been slapped with a one-star rating. "I start thinking, 'Did I call anybody an [expletive] last week?’" He jokes. But the culprit wasn’t a wronged customer. According to him, it was a man who came in with $3,000 "thinking he was going to buy a $6,000 car." When told the math wouldn’t work, the customer allegedly stormed off—and later left the one-star review as payback. For a small dealership, a single rating can linger like a stain, and that’s what frustrates him most. As of this writing, his video breaking down the saga has pulled in more than 4,000 views. Why Did The Customer Leave A Bad Review? According to @mistaconnas, the situation wasn’t a misunderstanding—it was basic arithmetic. His dealership is an all-cash operation with no financing and no payment plans. He says the customer knew that going in. The man showed up without enough money and was told, plainly, that nothing could be done. "Start praying…that two grand is going to magically appear in your pocket," @mistaconnas says he recalls telling the man who visited his shop. After seeing the review, @mistaconnas says he actually picked up the phone and called the customer to ask what happened. The explanation, he says, was blunt: The man was angry that he didn’t get the car. What @mistaconnas can’t wrap his head around is why that’s his fault—and why a review he considers unfounded is now "permanently glued" to his dealership’s page. "Online reviews are out of control," he wrote in the caption of his TikTok. How One-Star Reviews Affect Small Businesses One-star reviews can hit small businesses harder than most people realize. Some research suggests that they can scare off new customers and even chip away at a shop’s credibility. And because small businesses don’t have thousands of other positive reviews to buffer the blow, a single one-star rating can do outsized damage. At the most basic level, bad reviews cost customers. Plenty of people won’t take a chance on a business that has received negative marks from others. One harsh comment can flip someone’s decision at the last minute, leading to lost sales, a damaged business reputation, and higher costs to bring new customers through the door. Consultants at Sanguine Strategic Advisors say that a decline in trust often hurts the most because it feeds hesitation among people who might have otherwise bought something. There’s also the visibility issue. A sudden dip in ratings can push a small business down in search results, leading to fewer clicks and less foot traffic—a spiral that is hard to stop once it starts. And for shops with only a handful of reviews, the stakes are even higher. One unhappy customer can drag the whole average down and make an otherwise solid operation look shaky. Small businesses depend on reviews to build trust, so a negative one lands harder. The good news for business owners is that a single bad review isn’t the end of the world. As one of the commenters on @mistaconnas’s clip suggested, owners can blunt the impact by responding calmly and trying to make things right when they can. Thankfully, most people know no business gets everything right. What matters is the pattern over time and whether a business shows it’s paying attention. Commenters Offer To Help Car Salesman Viewers who watched @mistaconnas’ clip were just as fired up as he was about a customer trying to tank his business over something he couldn’t control. Some even jumped in with offers to help offset the damage. "Never been to your dealership, but I’d be happy to leave you a 5-star review," one woman wrote. "I’ll leave you a 5-star review, my guy," a second chimed in. "Just left you a 5-star review," a third announced. "Post up dealership name I’ll give you a 5 star just because I love the videos," a fourth added. Others backed him for calling the customer out, arguing he was well within his rights to confront someone trying to jeopardize his livelihood. "The fact that you called him is amazing!!! Lol I HAVE bought a car from you! I’ll leave you a review!" another person wrote. Small business owners also weighed in with their own horror stories about people who seemed bent on seeing them fail. "Also a used car dealer and one of my worst reviews was someone else bought the car as they showed up an hour after they said they would be there," one commenter wrote. "We got a one-star review from someone who we NEVER met in person who NEVER came to our lot," another said. "He gave a lowball offer on Facebook which we politely declined and then left a one-star review." And a few people argued that businesses need better tools to push back against unfair reviews. "You should be able to respond to the review, when writing a response write it with the public in mind, don’t focus on the person who left the review, instead focus on public image," one person suggested. Motor1 has reached out to @mistaconnas via a direct message on TikTok. We’ll update this if he responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team
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