First bad review

@Dan_Gonzalez

Dan here is how I handled it.

Her first review 1 star…

Darlene reviewed Steve’s Window Cleaning —
5 star
March 29 ·

HOW RUDE I called in Feb to make an appointment in March 28 to be exact at 9 AM He did not call to say he was not going to make it So I called and got answering machine at 9:30 Left message Where are you? No call back I called again at 5:30 and got answering machine Left message March 29 No call back
He either does not want my business or his answering machine does not work!

My response….

Steve’s Window Cleaning Good Morning Darlene Petrin. We would like to take this moment to respond to your comments, you are correct you did call in late March to schedule an appointment so we did book a tentative appointment for March (weather depended) you called on our CL special of $99 that we posted on Feb 21st (as an early bird special) then on March the 2nd we started an ad on FB for $125 for 10 double hung windows and if you booked early in March you would receive a $25 discount off your invoice (that makes your invoice price $99 ). As we all know technology is not always perfect when I entered your information into our CRM in Feb it must not have populated into the program correctly and your appointment did not show up on are full schedule, we apologize for that but it does happen time to time in all business. In regards to your phone calls they we received this morning in a notification which was was not seen until this morning. We hate to see when thing dont work out the right way but thank you for reaching out to us this way, sorry to see the bad review but it does happen from time to time to people and company’s. We hope you find another Window Cleaning service to help you out.
Then here’s her apologizing, and the 5 star review…

I’m a really nice guy… I believe there are bunch of people out there that love to abuse companys with there bad reviews until they are called out in a public way ( there friends and other service providers see how they act.)

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True. And, a professional reply with the apology and explanation always helps. If people actually take the time to check out the one star review,they can understand the rating better if you add your two cents.

If it was me, and I read a one star review that said it was an address mix up, vs. “the guy doesn’t know how to clean windows”, it makes the review null and void in my mind.

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Nailed it. A consultant from homeadvisor told me about a survey where most homeowners prefer a business that isn’t perfect. Shows they make mistakes like everyone else. Messing up a service area is no big deal. Burning a house down… probably a big deal :slight_smile:

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Big deal…small pile…ash packs pretty small

Yes it is. That’s right in studio city. That’s our border.

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Cool, can I plug you in my reply to his 1star review?
Or maybe he called you already?

Sure go ahead. Not sure if he did or not. I’d have to get his name and ask our customer service representative in the office.

Thank you!

1 Like

Sooooo, this was my reply. I hope it sounds professional and apologetic because IDK if I can edit it.

Sorry again Gilbert, like I mentioned in our conversation, we should have started with your address, which I forgot to ask for at the beginning. I apologize, and I’m sorry that you missed the day at work, I understood your son would be there, not you. It seems this could have all been resolved with a better communication venue(a telephone conversation) as opposed to just emails. Once again, that’s probably my fault for not asking you for it initially. I went ahead and searched in my contacts for the best window cleaners in your area. Contact Mark at Superior Window Cleaning 888-227-6623. They service the North LA and Ventura County areas. He will provide you with a fantastic and professional service.
My apologies again, Im not new to the labor part of window cleaning, but I am new to the business side of things so lesson learned. Thank you for the review Gil, I will use it for future reference and provide our future customers with a better service and experience

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IMO i would of taken that out.

Not probably…take the responsibility. Its more professional and any customer reading that will appriciate you not pointing blame.

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I disagree. This customer shares in the blame and was, IMO, irrational in blowing his “steam pipe” over what makes simple sense. I have low tolerance for people like that. One irrational review should not rule your world. He handled it fine, now it’s time to get back to work.

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Taking the blame doesnt mean your letting the customer off the hook. But pointing a finger at them shows future customers that you may blame them for your mistake or something. Taking the blame, imo, shows prospects that you are admitting you are a fallible human being.

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It is not finger pointing to address the obvious chain of events - 2 hour drive to a service call? We will have to disagree on this one. May your next job tip you well. :slight_smile:

The first thing we ask on every estimate is “What town are you located in?”

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if he replies to your reply i wouldnt answer. i just looked at his reviews that he has written and hes written several nasty [and prolly fake] reviews on other businesses

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A perpetual complainer huh?

one of his bad reviews [of a car repair biz] gets a reply that theyve checked their booking in register and he never took any car to them,maybe hes mistaken the address?

he didnt reply.

sounds like hes a proper professional asshole !

2 Likes

It was all through email.
It’s probably my fault for assuming that if he is contacting me, it’s because I appeared in his area on his yelp search… Don’t you think?

I agree. You get your rebuttal and make it professional and you have your say, then move on.

1 Like

You are right. We have a very limited service area and get calls from all over as well

The very first question to ask is a customer’s address. If the first words out of your mouth (after saying hello) are not “what is your address” you are doing something wrong. New customer, existing customer it does not matter. You can’t be fully prepared for a conversation without an address.