Remember sellers, while every once in a while you might get a marketplace troll giving you a bogus review (it's happened to me), 99% of the time, a less than perfect review is an honest one in which the customer genuinely feels that the product did not meet their expectations.
As the owner of Mad Designs in SL (Second Life), I know that customer critiques are invaluable feedback - you want to know they're thinking this. And typically, for every one not perfect review you receive, there are ten other unhappy customers who didn't even bother leaving one. We know this because outside of the virtual world of SL - out in the real world - businesses have conducted study after study that shows this to be true.
So what should you do? Apologize to the customer if you believe it warrants a response. Never talk down to the customer - ever. Other potential customers will only see that and feel very put off by it. And don't send ugly IMs threatening to have Linden Labs (the company behind SL) take down their review. I read about one customer who had left an unhappy review of a what the seller later admitted was a buggy product only to be contacted by a hostile seller later via IM demanding the customer try on the updated outfit immediately and update their review accordingly. When the customer informed the seller they were at a wedding and couldn't drop everything instantaneously, the seller threw a fit. Ask yourselves, what does this achieve?
Studies show that a dissatisfied customer is many times more likely to tell others about their bad experience. And trust me, you won't get a chance to share your side of the story - customers will simply not come to your store and you'll lose revenue. If it's something you've fixed or can fix, mention that in your reply under their comment so that they and other shoppers know you care. And maybe follow up with the customer in IM to let them know you've fixed the problem. Customers want to know you care. A couple of months ago, I realized that some of the perms of a product I was selling were off (thankfully, a customer told me this or I would never have known!). I went back and found every person who bought it, sent them an apologetic IM and gave them a freebie along with the corrected version of the product they bought. A good relationship with customers creates loyalty.
You are selling more than a product when you put your name out there - you're selling a service and putting your name up as collateral. While the proverb says a good name is to be chosen than many riches, often one can lead to the other; it's certain that a ruined reputation will impede the latter in the marketplace.
Treating customers with respect isn't just how we should manage bad reviews, either. Start before you even release your product. One seller thought it would be a great way to drive traffic in-world and get people to join his group by offering a freebie on MP; however, when customers placed their orders, they were shocked to discover all they received was a landmark to the in-world store where the actual freebie was.
This misdirection - though mentioned in the small print - left many customers with a touch of empty cart syndrome. Whatever you say in the small print doesn't matter - the only thing that matters to you and can impact your business is how the customer feels. In fact, making your customer feel stupid is the very last thing you should be trying to do.
One reviewer expressed their dissatisfaction and to make matters worse, the seller retorted with condescension saying, "these are the rules". Well, no they're not - they're your rules, pointless rules that drive away probably more customers than they keep or attract. Bear in mind, this was a very small seller and not a massive retailer so each lost customer is going to be felt.
The seller basically just committed merchant suicide. I suggested that instead maybe he could actually give them a freebie via MP and along with that freebie say, "and if you come to our in-world store, we have a second free item that we'd love to give you." It's a win-win and the good will will almost certainly draw that customer to your in-world store.
I had a customer a couple of weeks ago who bought one of my mermaid tails. But she had some trouble understanding the instructions in the notecard I included with it. So I got together with her and walked her through setting up her tail and just being a friend to her. Mind you, this was over something under 100L. But she tipped me 1000L afterwards just for caring enough and on top of that, she wears it all the time now and tells others how much she loves it. I could have just blown her off and called her names or belittled her as I've seen some sellers do to their customers but I didn't. It serves as an example that being nice to your customers not only is the right thing to do - it's the smart thing to do if you are serious about growing that business.
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