Did I handle this the right way? Terrified of bad review?
I've been a Rover sitter for a couple of years and love it. I've never had a bad review. We've had situation where we've dealt with aggressive dogs but we know how to handle that. Then we tend to just not take them again. What we've never dealt with is a truly difficult owner.
We had a pair of dogs stay with us over the weekend and they were super sweet. We had a massive storm on Monday night and one was so scared I stayed up all night with her. I really thought we did well with both dogs. We followed instructions, gave medications. They don't wear tags (red flag) so we kept them in our yard for potty breaks. One had a blast playing with our younger dog and they both seemed happy and relaxed.
The day after pick up, I got a complaint from the owner that her younger dog's fur was matted underneath. (The dog is a long haired dog.) I had told her at pick up that we had tried to brush her but that it was impossible (the dog nipped and wiggled 2 much). Even she admitted that she's the only one who can brush her. So in this message, she demanded to know if the dog got wet. Ummm...we had a massive storm so yes. When we took the dogs potty in the morning, even I got wet!! The dog is also 10 months old and played half the day with our younger dog. That would cause matting too.
I was professional in my response but she just kept at me. I think what she wanted was a refund of some sort. I finally responded that it sounded like we aren't the best sitter for her dogs. That we loved watching them and that we appreciated her allowing us to do so. But that Rover could potentially find someone with more grooming experience.
Did I handle this the right way?? We only made $79 dollars from the stay so I wasn't going to give her a refund. I stayed up all night with one of the dogs! That same dog had to have her rear end wiped after every potty break. I earned that money!! But now I'm terrified of getting my first bad review. I'm dumbfounded by this. How does she expect a long haired dog who refuses to be brushed to NOT get matted?? This whole experience has been so confusing!!!
Does anyone know how Rover handles unwarranted reviews?? She hasn't reviewed us yet but I'm very concerned. And has anyone lost business because of one bad review??
Rover doesn't remove reviews even when you prove that the owners lied. You handled it perfectly but unfortunately it does affect business. You can respond to their review to explain your side. I wish Rover did more, or at least let sitters access other sitters' review of the dogs and owners.
No matter WHAT business your in there will always be someone you just cannot make happy no matter what you do. Sounds to me that you had done everything possible for these little fur babies