How to reply to a review like this?

Conversation
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Client got pissed b/c i forgot to call and cancel cleanings when my girl got hurt at the gym… ( all was great and then girl got hirt amd client wrote this i was shocked to say the least , anc crappy thing is i told client the girl just did not want to work every saturday is all, this person has high yelp ranking so i asked them if they had any other yelp friends that could write a review as those stick amd i would offer discount pricing but it would have to be work comoleted and legit review write whatever they want…

Be aware: most, if not all of these good reviews are here because this company offers a discount if you give them a good review on here.

I originally booked ***** to clean the upstairs and downstairs of my home. She came every week and normally came with another girl that I never formally met. After a couple of months, the manager texted me to say that the work load was too much and the girls could only come once every other week.

At that point I informed the manager that I wouldn’t mind that as long as the girls did a better job. I told him that every time they came I would need to clean after them. I actually even asked them not to do the dishes because I always needed to wash them after anyway. He said he would speak to them but it never got better. One week they didn’t even clean the toilet!!! When I asked ***** about it she said there wasn’t enough cleaner but she never even told me the cleaner was running low!

Today I called because ***** was due today at 9am and it was 9:30am and she wasn’t here and I didn’t hear anything. He texted to say that she hurt her leg a couple of days ago and couldn’t make it and if I wanted he could try to get someone else…as if I have all Saturday to wait. I understand emergencies but in this specific situation, I should have at least received a text in advance so I could plan my day accordingly.

I love that the girls wear a uniform shirt,***** was always nice and the price was great but it’s time to switch to a better cleaning company.

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I have to clean after my cleaning lady too, sucks.

Sounds like you have a house cleaning business? Do the same cleaning girls do the windows or do you have another crew do it?

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Sounds like the complaint about the cleaner not showing up is truly your fault, cant blame her for being upset for waiting for someone to never show.

Just admit something went wrong and what corrective measures you will add to avoid it from happening again.

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Thethis never hapenni g again is not a problem it never did before and never will amd only reason jt hapennes is this was her job i had no profit from it and never thought about it ever as it was me saying thanks to that girl for good work… all was gret from what i knew but i did f up not notifying the client as i should have but i was flored to read this review … only bad review you will ever find flr me is i have problems keeping up with returning calls to ( only new clients) etc and been doing this over 1y years now full time.

I water fed pole all expetriors and have girls do interiors or i do it all, depends.

This is one bad amover board review and i have no idea if i should even reply

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We do a lot o my regular homes window cleaning and i am trying to build a second route for window + only.

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This really sucks amd hurts me personally as i never even used a friend to write me one since the way i see it is legit reviews stick amd pay off better in long run plus for anyone who ever paid or used friends if google or yelp make the connection one day then you r toast.
Like most any of us i offered write a review amd get a small discount - to encourage writing fast and not ever ( we all know people are busy and forget no matter how happy they r right after work is completed so its best if they take a minute of their time amd do it then lr what i did was provide a discount and they write whatever they want whenever they want , but since they got a thank you for taking your time discount they actually will do it,
Roman Beyond Maids inc.

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I own a home cleaning company and I get where the customer is coming from.

Look at it this way: How would you feel if the cable guy said he was coming between 9:00am and 10:00am Friday morning. Except the cable company wasn’t coming that day because the cable guy got hurt and the cable company never told you the situation. You would expect another cable guy from the same company to show up that day, and if not possible you would expect a phone call explaining why your Internet and TV won’t be hooked up for another week. Customers NEED communication on scheduling and this customer was right.
I am not trying to roast you here, but even you admitted that you are bad at returning phone calls. When you own a company it is 100% about customer service. If you can’t handle that, hire someone to do it for you.

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I would also like to note that my home cleaning customers are some of the hardest customers to please out of a commercial janitorial company with 30 employees, carpet cleaning company, window cleaning company, and home cleaning company. But the level of expectation is very different with house cleaning and the profits suck because everyone and their kids can get into it with little to no supplies and most run w/ no insurance and BWC.

I started the house cleaning a few years ago which we used to offer years ago and stopped when commercial took off. I wanted to start doing houses again since we things stabilized. It can be a head ache a lot of the time.

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^^^ That is why my cleaning company doesn’t provide house cleaning. Plus the scheduling for such small jobs is a problem.

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  • and - like any business , yeah the profit margin per when in comparison sucks real bad BUT its steady work , my schedule is booked and we r always on yime etc etc and clients VERY HAPPY, i did f it up on that one but all my ecuses dont matter , yeah we spike mybe 15-20min past scheduled time amd did offer someone else and apologise but none of it matter . How on earth. Do i reply to this or leve it alone, obvious problem is i cant say anything negative on client that wpuld be real bad but anything that comes to mind is countering what cliemt said …
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I do know and learned at least a year ago that i am now in the srewed boat lol, very often too busy ( too busy b/c i work all day too yet if all i did was phone and custumer service i wpuld be bored all day as just no where near enough ) but imposible to grow in house cleaning while trying to pay good wage and being honest etc.
Guess i will just leave this review be

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[quote=“Roman, post:1, topic:41984”], this person has high yelp ranking so i asked them if they had any other yelp friends that could write a review as those stick amd i would offer discount pricing but it would have to be work comoleted and legit review write whatever they want…
[/quote]

Once you tell a client something like this , then they will automatically think that all reviews are fake .

The best way to go around this situation is to call her and apologize for the miscommunication and for wasting her time . That you understand that her time is valuable . Ask her what is it that you have to do so she can re-review your company and maybe re- considered changing her review . Make sure you apologize.

A friend of mine got a bad review because he never returned one client VMs that she had left over a week . So she left a 1 star bad review , he actually went in person with some flowers to apologize and she Reconsidered her review

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Yes, you absolutely need to reply to this review. This review can MAKE your company but ONLY if you really choose your words correctly, SPELL YOUR WORDS CORRECTLY, and let it come from your heart.

This will without a doubt make you “real” in the minds of whoever reads the review.

One thing tho, you need to create a system to keep that from happening again. You know your weaknesses, you need to find a way to make sure it don’t happen again.

Such as, make yourself a checklist for your techs to follow that includes checking to make sure there is enough soap for the next job, or refilling or whatever you gotta do so that they don’t do a half assed job and blame it on a lack of supplies. Thats just a rookie move, and unprofessional. It shows a lack of caring about the client. You can’t do that and expect a good review.

I had a guy go do a gutter cleaning job back when I did it with a pressure washer, and my guy blasted mud all over this lady’s brand new WHITE patio furniture. He didn’t even bother to tell them about it or try to clean it at all. He DID however go and ask for the check, after which her husband called me to tell me about it. I asked him, did my guy see what he did, are you sure? He said absolutely. Because when he started to drive away, he stopped and rolled down the window and asked if she wanted some help!!

So I made a video of me ripping his check, I sent another guy out within the hour who cleaned everything for them.

Care. Thats all you gotta do.

Don’t worry about the review, put yourself in her shoes. You just payed money for this service and how did it go? With that mindset, THEN respond. Don’t over extend yourself because that’s also rookie. Apologize if you are sorry, and make it right. What would make YOU happy?

Maybe respond to the review first if she didn’t call to complain first. If she called first, you should call her first too and don’t say ANYTHING about the review. Call her and make it right if it kills you. When you hang up the phone, then write the review or wait til you have done what you say you were gonna do to make it right and then write your response.

Be honest in your response, and you could even say that the review made you take a long hard look at the way you do things and that yes it WAS because of the review you took action etc…

You could absolutely spin this and make this a turning point for your outfit.

A bad review makes you real.

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That’s wisdom right there

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Sounds to me like you need to reply with a REAL, hat in hand apology for poor communication (and explain with a solution for the problem that you’ve implemented) Even if your client doesn’t use you anymore, others will see sms appreciate that you’ve “owned” the issue and are taking measures to improve.

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Agreed.

The most important thing tho, is that he will be able to look everyone in the eye and tell them he is a professional.

I’ve had a bad review or 2 in the past. I’ve been asked about them on the phone too. I would reply with something along these lines:

"I’m not going to tell you we’re the best. I AM going to tell you that we are professionals. Yes, there have been an occasion or 2 where we’ve dropped the ball and messed up. Nobody is perfect. However, in EVERY single instance where that has happened, we without a doubt make it right. Don’t get me wrong, it rarely ever happens.

I’ve included proof for you. Included with the references I’ve provided of similar sized jobs where we’ve done an outstanding job, I have also included one where we dropped the ball. His number is there for you to call, and they will tell you what happened and how we resolved the problem. THIS is where we prove who we are.

Gotta be proud of who you are, stand tall with your head up. Our company is an extension of who we are. Show the world what kind of person you really are.

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Agreed. The only way to attempt to fix this is to own it and take what ever action is within your power to make it right.
And for certain - SPELL BETTER THAN YOU DID HERE. No offense to you, just be professional.

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If its a good customer an apology along with discount up to a free cleaning will suffice-if that doesnt work then move on.If you have a slew of bad reviews and a handful of bad ones-it wont hurt your ratings no one is perfect and most prospective clients realize everyone is human and some people are chronic complainers who overreact .unfortunately this one didnt you knew your employee was unavailable and you failed to notify client. Ive serviced homes and businesses for 30 years and 1 of our major rules i always notify client if you are late and unavailable as soon as you know you will be.
with texting-email-cells theres simply no excuse not to.

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