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What to do for an unhappy client?

Hi all, So I've just had my first unhappy client and I'm struggling to come up with the best course of action.

I completed a 12 night stay, watching this clients dog and guinea pigs in their home. We had two meet and greets and communicated during their vacation, sent photos, etc. At the end of the stay, I took the guinea pigs home with me to board them while they picked up the dog to go with them on a second part of the vacation.

The next day I was contacted by Rover support and told the client was "unhappy" with the stay and Rover had arranged a new sitter to pick up the guinea pigs. Rover didn't have a reason as to why the client felt this way.

Should I try to find out what happened? I know I took good care of their animals and their house was as good or better than how they left it. They kept tacking on extra housework/animal needs after the booking, and if I'd known everything up front I probably would have declined the stay (it was already way out of my service area). I did everything they asked to the best of my abilities.

Is it wise to contact the owner after they return from vacation to find out what went wrong or should I wait to see if they open a case through Rover? At what point would you offer a partial refund? Does Rover ever refund unhappy clients directly? I hate to lose more money because I way undercharged for the service they ended up getting, but I'd like to avoid a negative review and I do genuinely want them to feel satisfied.

Thanks for your advice

2 Answers

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I find it odd that Rover support didn't provide you with any details of the client's dissatisfaction but I would definitely reach out to them to find out why they were unhappy with you if you did something wrong or didn't follow their care guidelines it will be helpful for you going forward. I wouldn't offer a refund but you may want to reach out to Rover support again to ask if they have requested a refund. Sorry for your problem stay and best of luck going forward.

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It’s absolutely appropriate to reach out to an unhappy client to receive feedback on your services. But, first, reach out to Rover to see if they can give you any information on what happened. It sounds like there wasn’t an issue until their return home, which makes me believe there was something about the condition of the house or dogs that wasn’t to their liking.

If Rover can’t give you any information (or won’t), reach out to the client via message to address their concerns. “Hi, so and so. I received word from Rover that you were not satisfied with the care that Fido and Rover received during my stay. I was surprised to hear that, and I was hoping you might provide me some insight into your concerns? I take client satisfaction very seriously, and I welcome any feedback you might provide.”