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What if a Pet's Owner leaves a VERY MISLEADING review? Which could be bad for your 'business'.

Amanda P.'s profile image

I took care of a dog last summer, and for the most part, it went very smoothly, for a 1 night stay, and the owner left me and amazing review directly afterwards. The owner had me keep him overnight to test out the waters for a future-week-long stay. During his stay though, the guest-dog would randomly have lash-outs (vicious growl and lunge) when one of my big dogs would walk by him, and again when one of my big dog's walked past him while he was eating to get to the doggie door. Well, this dog was very sweet when he wasn't doing those things, but I also have an 11 pound Miniature Pinscher who could be easily killed if he were to be attacked by him, and did not want to take the risk of keeping the dog for a whole week, without 24 hour supervision. So I explained this to the owner politely, and told her I would definitely take care of him on a short-term basis, but could no longer commit to the entire week. It's been 1 year since that conversation. I have taken care of another dog since then and got another great review! Which was wonderful! However, I checked my account today, and a year later, the owner of the dog I didn't feel comfortable watching for an entire week wrote this new review (did I mention it's been a year!):

"Really nice yard and housemates. I think she was still gaining experience with guest dogs when ours stayed with her Summer 2014. Initial squabbling among dogs over toys and territory is not uncommon, and food protection is also a frequent issue when mixing dogs together at first. With some coaching, she could be fantastic."

This upsets me SO much, no where in that random review does she state it was her dog who was the problem, and it eludes that my dogs might be territorial or mean, which is farthest from the truth. This one review could be terrible for my pet-sitting future, and I don't know what to do. There's no way to delete it, and I feel very strongly that it should be deleted based off the vague statements she wrote.

I am not new at mixing dogs, I have three, and have many doggie friends visit often. The aggressive approach of her dog was unlike the normal 'miscommunications' that dogs have at the initial meeting. I appreciate the coaching tip but I have been working with dogs and taking care of them my whole life and the safety of my own animals is my #1 priority, and I don't think I should have a review posted on my profile that reflects badly on me for simply doing what I thought was right.

Comments

Misleading reviews are the worst and is one of the things that bugs me the most! People try to manipulate the review system and tweak their words in their favor or just to bring us down and it's not right. We stick with our trusted dog walker http://mdpetcare.com/ and it's helped avoid any issues.

Anoosh K.'s profile image Anoosh K.

I just had this happen to me I went to a meet and greet with this blonde girl didn't seem nice at all traveled 5.3 miles I said ho how's your day nice yo meet u as I walked in she's said yeah no I don't like you sorry I'm gonna go with another sitter her dog liked me tho

Gata S.'s profile image Gata S.

And I'm like is their a reason we haven't even discuss anything yet and she's like if u don't get out of my house I'll leave u a bad review and I'm not one to continue arguing so I was like okay I'm leaving bye have a nice day slammed the door in my face to me as a emotional person made me sad

Gata S.'s profile image Gata S.

To be treated this way first time being treated this way and feels horrible

Gata S.'s profile image Gata S.

I had a personal emergency at my home. and couldnt complete my visit with her dog. I felt horrible. I hoped the owner would understand but no! I requested that Rover refund her money and they did. She wrote that I was the worst rover dog sitter ever. So that fine.. This owner is very strange..

Natasha B.'s profile image Natasha B.

7 Answers

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Rosie C.'s profile image

Unbelievable she would write that review a year later.. I have had a similar situation and trust me I know how easy it is to dwell on it. Not just for the fact that it's untrue, but it also stings your own self esteem especially when you go out of your way to create a happy and healthy environment for your own and guest doggies. I also contacted Rover to try and have it removed and based on policy they could not. They did recommend to respond to that review, that the owner would not receive an email that you responded AND the owner could not respond to your response. I feel your response you provided above is perfect to use for your response. Stick with the facts and leave out any opportunity to finger point. Take the high road and get your message across, while pointing out the obvious AND acknowledging this was a year ago. Stay professional and make it very clear your intention and how serious you take the well being of your resident dogs, as well as any guest doggies your have the privileged caring for. If new clients only perceive that review as negative, maybe that is a blessing in disguise and they wouldnt be a good fit. However, I think the pet parents will see your intention and will appreciate your transparency and loyalty to doing the right thing. Who knows, that bad review can turn out to be the best review in retrospect. Hope this helps. Keep up the good work and staying true to your own instincts. Rosie

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Lisa T.'s profile image

You are doing what is right for your home. She can easily take her dog somewhere else that may tolerate that behavior or she can put it in a kennel. I'm sorry but I would not accept that dog back in my home with that behavior. That is telling me that the dog is not comfortable sharing it's space and therefore should be booked in a home where it is the only dog. You can respond to that review on your page and say something to the effect of "I'm sorry your dog was not a good fit in my home, I hope he finds a space that is better suited for him." something like that shows you acknowledge the critic but are responding responsibly. I would let it go seems like they are still processing this dogs behavior because I'm sure your not the only one hes acted like this with. Good Luck Lisa

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Michelle V.'s profile image

While it's unfortunate that the review is misleading I would still reply to it in a positive way for clarification. Also, I would not mislead dog owners about their dog's behavior though as someone else suggested. They need to know how their dog behaves in a stranger's home. If the dog marks, shows aggression, chews, etc, then they should know that...if they don't know it and they book with another sitter they will convey that all is good and that their dog is perfect in a stranger's home. I let my owners know in advance that I'm going to let them know all about their dog's behavior so they know. A couple owners have been flat out surprised by the feedback, other owners have been 100% accurate in their description of their dog, and those in between just take it in stride and can sometimes offer suggestions...some dogs do behave differently in a new environment and the owner should know that. I don't think letting them know would cause them to give a bad review. And if it does then they are not someone I would want to service.
Other than a surprised reaction I have received apologies from owners and the owners have stated their embarrassment which I quickly convey that it's ok, again, I'm just being honet...two dogs had separation anxiety and I couldn't even sleep in another room without them yipping and until I figured that out lost a lot of sleep...the owner apologized and said they sleep through the night at home and we agreed that they feel safest around me (it HAD to be me in the room - no one else would suffice)... anyway, I wouldn't tell clients all is rosey when it's not. That's not fair to anyone involved.

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Deb A.'s profile image

Yes, I too have received an unfair, misleading review (posted on another dog care site) where a dog was aggressive, growled, barked, lunged, snapped, and attempted to terrorize the other calm small dogs, who were minding their own business in their beds or just walking around indoors. There could have been serious problems had I not kept a constant watch the entire time. In addition, this "house trained" dog, repeatedly marked, peed & pooped indoors multiple times despite walks every few hours...sometimes doing so right after coming in from a walk. When the pet owners returned early without notice, I hurriedly put on the harness, got their stuff, and rushed outside to meet them. They asked how it went and I shared a brief summary, which led to their posting a negative misleading review.

When I contacted that support team, they advised me to not comment on it because sometimes pet-parents are very defensive and lash out on the internet and it can escalate. As a result, I rarely tell pet-parents what negative behaviors their fur-kids engaged in or if asked I make light of the situation, but on future requests I'm simply not available to host those dogs. In one recent instance, I directed the person to the phone support team and suggested her dog would be happiest with a sitter where it was the only dog and did not elaborate on the aggressive behaviors exhibited. It's tough when people write damaging statements, but I try to not think about it and just focus on the dogs that I care for. However, I do write an honest review every time, so the support team for sitters is aware. You may be interested in a similar discussion thread link below. https://www.rover.com/community/quest...

Comments

I wish I would have read your post yesterday. I had a dog that barked the whole weekend. When I told the owner he seemed offended and had a 2 minute conversation with me. Not sure if this is going to lead to a bad review, I just wanted to inform him so he can be aware for other sitters :(

Frances M.'s profile image Frances M.
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Lisa M.'s profile image

Does Rover not have a policy to address bogus or unfair reviews?

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Emma Y.'s profile image

Good morning-

How did they add a comment a year later? Because they didn't leave a comment yet? They updated a previous comment (is this possible)?

How many stars?

Were you able to reply to their comment?

Regards,

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Aleksandra S.'s profile image

Rover doesn't remove bogus reviews. I received a bad review once that was all lies and said nothing specific at all. It was a jab at me because I sent the dog home the same night for behavior issues. Long story short, it was a first time, short notice stay. For the meet & greet, the guy promised up and down that his dog was trained and great, but was in a rush to leave and only stayed for about 25 minutes. I thought nothing of it at the time because people do have things to do. On the day of the stay, I had another little fluffy dog staying with me and the owner swore that his dog gets along with other dogs. The dog was dropped off about 40 minutes late and there was nothing but problems the entire time. This dog lunged at the little dog staying with me every chance it got. I was not willing to take the leash off this dog because it just stared at the other dog like it wanted to eat it. I kept the two dogs separated but when it came time to go to bed, this dog would not stop barking! and the dog didn't follow any commands at all. Since the owner failed to provide me with any paperwork, other than his phone # (despite me asking many times), I just had to call him and have him take the dog home because his dog was being crazy and woke up my entire apartment building. He was very apologetic and told me he was happy he didn't have to get stuck going on a ski trip with a bunch of family, but when he wrote his review, he claimed that I ruined his vacation LOL He shouldn't have waited to write the review for when he got back from the trip, but there isn't any wi-fi where he was going, so there's fail #1. Worse, he saw on my profile that I train dogs, and clearly this guy assumed that I was going to train his dog for free out of necessity. He said that I was far from a trainer but he never asked me to trained his dog! LOL Fail # 2. He used a fake name to sign up for Rover too, which Rover customer service didn't seem to care about either, and as far as the review went, the customer service people said "we can't remove a review because we want to convey an honest account of the client's experience". Basically, the guy tried to scam me and Rover doesn't care. Thanks Rover! Best thing to do is to have a VERY strict screening process in order to avoid any issues in the first place. If someone seems shady, or if you're getting a funny feeling, it's best to just say you're not available. If it's already too late and you have a... (more)

Comments

In my experience rover does absolutely nothing to back up their sitters. Its totally ridiculous and makes zero sense to me.

Aubrey K.'s profile image Aubrey K.

That is what happened to me to they dont care about the sitters at all all about new businesss only and nothing about the people who actually provide the service they really are a terrible company

Elle G.'s profile image Elle G.

Equally disappointed when I had a client completely mislead me about her dog who had special needs she didn't tell me about until halfway out the door. She left a one star review after I was unable to administer the time intensive care she had been expecting (couldn't leave the house to eat!)

Elly J.'s profile image Elly J.

I just got a bad review because I had another dog at my house and the guy went off. He never said the dog cant be with others. He basically dropped him off and left. No emergency numbers, nothing to add except his dog sneezes funny. Im a bit miffed.

Chelsea F.'s profile image Chelsea F.
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