Less then accurate reveiw.

[Calvin14]

I have got this review that is not very accurate, and i want to leave a coment back but im not to sure if it will sound too "Harsh" Id like to get some feedback before i leave it.

Guest Review

I'll start our review with cons and then pros.

CON 1: Lack of cleanliness PRE-NOTE: To be fair, the host did offer to have a maid come in to clean the place, which was a great testament to the host's hospitality. 1. There were dust bunnies all over the edges of the floors. 2. There were urine stains at the bottom of the toilet seat. 3. The floors were so dirty that you could wipe a paper towel across any area, and it would turn brown 4. There was a layer of dust or unknown particles over almost every surface. 5. The couch and bedsheet linens had lots of hair and dust particles on them. 6. As a result of all of the above, we felt that it was very difficult to know what spaces we could and couldn't trust were safe to use.

CON 2: Accuracy The place is advertised as fitting 3 parking spaces. This is technically true. But the problem is there were thorny bushes right next to the driveway, so passengers of the right-most car wouldn't even be able to get in or out of the vehicle. We had to drive the vehicle out first before passengers could even get in or out. Also, the ironing board seems like it was designed to be drilled into a wall, making its current setup unusable. PROS: While cleanliness was wanting, all amenities were readily accessible: cooking equipment, dishware, linens and towels, cleaning products, fast WiFi, large TV. Overall, the place was for the most part worth it. The place was very spacious. Though for the price tag, you would have expected more general upkeep of the space.

Response

First let me start by saying I am sorry you found Cons with our place! We really do try to go above and beyond for our guests, and it saddens me to know that your experience wasn't the best possible. When we spoke in person on your first night I repeatedly asked you to let us know of any other concerns, but you did not contact us during your stay. This means that we were unable to address anything that you have mentioned in this review after the fact. If you really were so uncomfortable, we would have loved to help… at the time of your stay. Let's address your concerns:

1. Cleanliness- You did mention on the first day that the apartment was not up to your standards so I ran over with a vacuum and offered to clean the place myself. As you said, we did offer to have a maid come back and clean but you rejected the offer. You also told me that the mess was not that bad when we spoke in person, but would not let me into the apartment to see for myself. As such, I can only go off of what I saw the day before you checked in, and the unit was definitely cleaned after the last tennant. We personally strip the beds and wash the linens in industrial washers. Certain things, like small lint and dust left over after washing are beyond our control and we apologize for that.
2. Accuracy- The listing says that 3 cars can fit, and out of your stay there were only 3 cars for about a third of the days. The other days you had more than enough space for parking. That being said, the thorny bush that you mentioned is again out of our control. We have asked the neighbour to trim it, but since it is completely his property, there is nothing we can do about it. The driveway is shown with three cars parked in a picture on the listing so I really do not understand how you think anything about this was inaccurate.

Regarding the ironing board, it has been at the unit for quite some time, and others have used it without complaint. Perhaps it was user error? Again, if you had let us know, we would have been more than happy to drop by and help. Once more, when I spoke with you in person I said that I was very close by and could come for any concern!

Finally, I would like to address price. Out of our past bookings, you are the first and only person to say that you did not get what you paid for. We have the listing at a very competitive price and have shopped around to make sure we are offering more than other units near us. That being said, we were unfortunately not able to address ANY of your concerns, because you simply did not mention them during your stay. Airbnb is a community of home-owners and travellers that are meant to communicate! We hope that this experience can help improve your expectations as a traveller, and our expectations as hosts!

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

Say this and only this:

We appreciate your feedback as we are always looking to ways to improve.

That's it.  You delivered five paragraphs of defense and that will not serve you well.

Never argue.  Never defend.  Accept and move on.

[Robin4]

@Calvin14

Agree totally with @Wendy-and-Frank0 here. His review was not great but it gave you accolades in spots and was not all that bad either. But Calvin, your response mate is a shocker. The main thing you must always keep in mind, what you say here will stay with you forever more and to get into verbal 'fisticuffs' with a guest make you look like a difficult and easily antagonised host.

Your response will be compromised and compounded by the fact that you gave Dan a good review...."Dan was a great guest, he kept the house very clean and easy easy to communicate with ! Come back any time !" People will see that review and then see your response if you post it and go...'What th'.

You should always keep your review short (which you did)  and generic. You do have a duty to inform the hosting community about issues that may affect other hosts but keep it loose so that which ever way the guest review goes, you won't end up with egg on your face by having to 'back track'! Say something along the lines of...."Dan was a good communicator and I hope he enjoyed his stay"....that's it Calvin, there is no need to say any more than that.

When his review came you can elaborate in your public response without crossing swords with the guest with something like...."I thank Dan for the feedback he has given in his review, I do value his concerns which I would love to have acted on at the time, but I can assure Dan the next time he returns every endeavour will be made to supply that 5 star experience. Thanks for your stay and your comments and I wish you all the best for the future Dan" 

Sounds a touch flowery but Calvin it makes you look like a gracious and appreciative host, the sort we would all like to know.

Remember what you say in the review system says as much about you as it does about the guest and people will assess what sort of person you are by the way you carry yourself in the review process. Dans review will soon slide off your recent reviews and the only thing that will drag peoples attention back to it is you stir the pot here.

Take Wendy's good advice....all the best Calvin

Cheers.....Rob

[Annette33]

@Calvin14 , sorry you got such a crappy review. Good idea that you came here first, before posting a response. As both @Wendy-and-Frank0 and @Robin4 have advised - don't post any detailed response, arguing or defending yourself, it will not look good - it will only reflect on YOU, negatively.  

that review speaks for itself, with first mentioning con 1 , then con 2, and even mentioning the ironing board, as if that guy would have used it, or 3 parking spaces....some people are just negative to the tenth degree ! readers can see right through it, especially in light of all your other positive reviews. Rise above it, just perhaps say something like, "so sorry my place did not fill all your expectations, perhaps a hotel stay would have better suited your needs."   

don't sweat it - occasionally we all come across such a** holes..... but do consider checking up on the overall cleanliness of your place, sometimes there are valuable suggestions in criticism....

good luck! 

annette

[Robin4]

@Annette33.....off the topic but guess what, tried to respond to your DM and got the 'Oops can't deliver your message right now' yet again. It wasn't a long response and I thought it was in reasonable time so I didn't copy it and of course lost it. 

I think I am pretty much over the DM thing Annette.....it is simply way too unreliable to be of any constructive use.

We are going to have to find some other way of contact!

Cheers.....Rob

[Annette33]

@Robin4 , hahaha, that is  funny! You are the one that taught me to always copy my messages before hitting the send button....

[Robin4]

@Annette33

I have lost track of the times I have had to eat my own words.....that's why I have a tummy of generous proportions!!

Annette.......along with Lizzie, I have been trying to work out why sometimes the DM thing works and sometimes it doesn't. My first thought was that it had a character limit on it....500 words for example but, some messages I have got are way beyond that. 

Next I thought it may be tied to a time limit....you have x hours to respond, but I have been able to sucessfully respond after a day or more in the past. Then I thought maybe you only get to offer a response once to a particular DM but I have had some that I have broken into two messages and been able to send.....so I am out of ideas, it's just a completely unreliable method of contact.

I eat my words because....yes, yes, yes, I did tell you to 'copy and paste' into a DM, and here I didn't, but my response to you was only a few lines and was within an hour or so of receiving it, so I thought it was odds on to go through but....not to be.

Hands down the most frustrating bit is, you lose it...it just disappears as though you have performed some sort of illegal activity and offiocialdom has removed all trace of it from existence! At least with a post on the forum if you have a service drop-out or some problem, it still remains there for you to retrieve and have another try but, not so with DM. If the system says no....it's bye bye.

I don't like posts that tie up threads on entirely unrelated matter, but DM is sooooo unreliable that I feel I need to jump in and respond whenever I see that persons tag that I want appear.

I will go back to eating 'humble pie'!

Cheers.....Rob

[David126]

Personally I do not respond to reviews, just responding to a negative aspect seems the worst option but if you are going to do so a sentence is plenty.

[Calvin14]

Thank you everyone for you feedback, i will keep my reply short and sweet !

[Robin4]

@Calvin14

Good on you Calvin, you will have pangs of regret on a couple of levels. Firstly you will feel dudded that you didn't tell the world what an out of step individual this guest was and secondly you will feel you let your fellow hosts down by not having your say! But mate you did! All of your reviews tell the rest of us all we need to know about this guest. There will always be that one person who will frustrate us and make us wonder what in the hell we do this for....fortunately for me, mine hasn't walked into my life yet, but I know it's just a matter of time before it happens, and I would love to think I will heed my advice to others when it does happen.

Let this guy go Calvin, you will possibly never strike another like him, and just get on with what you obviously do so well.....host.

Cheers.....Rob 

[Devi1]

Hi Calvin,

Hope you will get better guests in future. I would like some feedback for onethnig. When Listing it always says that my address in not accurate and I have not been able to proceed further to Stage 2 to download my rooms and bungalow. What is the problem I cannot understand.