What would you REALLY like to say after a bad review??

[Irina47]

To every host that just needs some encouragement after a bad review..

I recently received my first two star review. After nearly reaching 100 positive reviews, I get slammed with this guy's out of the blue nasty review.

I believe the guests expected daily room service. I was always home on site, they would walk past me without saying anything. I checked in with them and made sure to launder anything they needed. The review reads as follows:

Insufficient linens, rooms never swept, beds never made (in 5 nights). No coffee pot. Bedroom is upstairs and bathroom is downstairs. This is inconvenient in the middle of the night. Owner only communicates through text. However, location is nice and privacy is good.

What you didn't read is all the private "feedback" they gave me in which they complained about everything, from not getting enough towels, to only receiving messages from me!?

After reading all of the community posts on bad reviews and how it's best to just respond nicely, I took a deep breath and made a corporate nice guy response, and now at 3am I am losing sleep over it. What I would really like to say to him, and on behalf of every host that goes out of their way for guests only to have an ungrateful and terrible review in the end is...

"Dear Guest. Insufficient linens would mean you didn't see the stack of two sets of clean sheets I left for you in the closet, which I washed and ironed while keeping my toddler and new baby entertained. You also complained about not having enough towels, the math here doesn't add up because during a five day stay, you used up 8 towels and still have three clean ones in your room. It was hard for you to walk upstairs to your bedroom? Well our listing title let's you know the room is two stories, so I'm sorry you didn't know you'd have to walk ten step to the bathroom at night, maybe you should have carried less towels. Yes your bed was not made for you, that is something most adults learn to do on their own."

[Huaai0]

I have been in similar situations. Family doctors, dentists, professors...all receive anonymous reviews online and there are many, many nasty ones, for sure, no matter how good they are, because there are always patients and students who are upset with one thing or another, or who have a bad day, or who suffer from personal stress. You can't make everyone happy; you can't make everyone send a positive review. 

Therefore, I'm totally okay with subjective, inaccurate, and negative reviews. Don't let them ruin your life--know it's their problem, not yours. If you are real good, most people will figure it out from the majority of the reviews. I would respond with a strong and objective reply, instead of arguing back. 

Also, I see negative reviews, albert inaccurate most of the time, as an alert to remind me to always improve my service. 

[Huaai0]

"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway."

"The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway."

--Mother Teresa

[Irina47]

This is actaully a great way to look at it, thank you!

[Christine1]

@Irina47,

Hi Irina, your response was very professional, private and controlled. Well done.!

I am wondering about your right to review; when I checked the guest's profile, there was no review from you.

Is it too late for you to write a short review?

Something controlled, and you are adept at that.... which at leasts indicates that while this guest may have observed some correctness, they had expectations which were in excess of the services you offer, and some of the issues such as stairs were clearly indicated.... Some of the issues you explained were reasonable to be restated in a review.....

As a host, I would feel very vulnerable if I were to accept a booking from a guest who commented so harshly about things that should not have been an issue. This guest was somehow expecting daily hotel service.... but nothing in your site indicates this should be expected.

Plus I don't think that claims such as "never swept" are provable, nor to be expected in such a short homestay.

Sweetheart, his review sounded uncharitable and reflected poorly on him as a guest. 

It hurts, but you handled it so well. Bravo.

Best Regards,

Christine.

[Sally144]

@Pete-And-Ivan0 your positive spin on the new 'highest review/lowest review' feature is heartening, thank you.

I have one damning review from what was a very difficult guest, and I just waited for it to disappear the way of all old reviews, and now it is back, like the proverbial turd that wouldn't flush, at the top of my reviews, thanks to the new feature. I was raging when I saw it, and have spent far too much of my time today composing my feedback to Airbnb on this subject. So it's nice to think that perhaps it isn't all bad 🙂

[Dede0]

@Irina47 We recently had our very first "problem" guest in 2 years. A hundred consecutive 5-star ratings (across the board, in every category) and text reviews over the moon. And then this one crazy guest who we actually had to ask to leave. That interaction made us sick to our stomach, and the expected negative review (despite our allowed rebuttal) may tarnish out bookings for months. Our rebuttal will be a minimalist and non-personal as it can be, and will reference the previous 2 years'-worth of over-the-top reviews. Dwelll on the positive, not the negative. Don't go into details, and don't make your response very long.

[Linda393]

I am just wondering if you have a written letter or memo to your guests when they come in and give them oral instructions or introductory information while you have their attention.  Give it to them and tell them to make sure they read and understand the memo.  I go over them one by one what is in their and for the strict rules, it is highlightened and tell them if possible I want you to sign it (like no smoking and there is strict penalty) to make sure that know there is a penalty. The memo I am talking about is this for example, I used to do that when I was renting a room. You are paying this amount, which is way too low compared to hotels near by.  I only provide one set of towels to one guest all through out and tell them, there is a washing machine he can use.  If he prefers for me to wash the towels for him/her, there will be a fee of $5 extra every time.  There is also a $15.00 charge to change your bedding and a cleaning fee of $20 each time, let me know and I will call my cleaner to come and do it for you or I could do it for you for a lesser price. It is very important to communicate those things to your guest. I do provide coffee though, it does not cost much.  K-cups only amount to about 50 cents/cup. I think it is a good investment to offer.

As for the response, always come with a polite come back.  Just say you are sorry that you expected room service but for the price you paid those services are not included.  Let me know next time and I will arrange it for you to get all those but you have to pay extra. Thank you.

[Cindy84]

LOL

I feel for you.  I'm an eBay seller and have over 5000 positive feedback.

Recently I mailed a perfectly working Magic Bullet to a buyer.  When she got it she said it didn't work.  I told her that's odd because I tested it before mailing.  Why would I send her a broken blender.   She then got nasty and said "are you accusing me of lying?"  I tried taking the high road and kept my cool when I told her she probably put something heavier in it then it could handle.  It's just made for blending.  In any event I asked her to mail it back and I gave her a full refund.  She still left me a negative feedback.  Oh and she did burn the motor out.  I plugged it in and it started smoking.  I'm sorry you got a bad review but remember "You'll never be able to please all the people all the time." 😉

[Jeanette37]

It's frustrating when this happens, ie a very bad review, but I'm afraid it's just part of the territory of being in the customer service (accommodation) industry.  I'm sure you did everything you could for him but he was just one of those types of people who is extremely fussy and there's nothing that anyone can do to please them.  If he'd stayed in a motel I'm sure he would have given them heaps too.  I have been in customer service jobs all my life so know about and have copped similar behaviour from the small percentage of people who are set on making someone's life hell who just tries to help.  So I've just done my best and been glad when they have left the shop.  I totally get the fact that he ignored the clean towels left in his room etc but he was going to complain about anything and everything because that's the way he is.  I used to do some house cleaning for a woman who was very fussy and every time she suggested I do this/do that I did it but then she'd turn around and move the goal posts so it was difficult for me to keep up.  No-one who did any cleaning for her was going to come up to the mark.  She sacked the previous lot of cleaners too after a short time.  Chin up and keep on doing a good job for your guests.

[Devkunvar--Dinu--and-Ash0]

We just went through this last week. We are very new to this community and are just learning things. The bad review really hit us hard as we have always been kind, caring, and good hearted people and then to hear all this. But we are retired and will take it easy for a while.

[Catherine386]

Hi there,

I have just had a terrible experience with guests, a mother and daughter (Petra) from the Czech Republic. They complained about various things in my house and then sent me an email one day to say there had been a small accident when the above ground pool had caught fire from some ashes they had put next to it. We had a quote to fix it and they kept fobbing me off and then upped and left without anymore contact. I have missed the 48 hour deadline of editing a review I wrote in response to theirs about my home. I would really like to NOT recommend these guests and to warn other hosts about them. How do I do this?

[Huaai0]

@Catherine386Call Airbnb customer service and address your concern. Tell them you need to edit your review due to unforseen issues.

[Catherine386]

@Huaai0 Thank you for replying to me. I have tried calling, it is impossible to get through! I sent a message via the resolutions section. I am so disappointed with myself for trusting these people when they are scammers who should really be ABB blacklisted! There must be a way to do that! 

[Huaai0]

@Catherine386 You are welcome. We are located in North America, so we call a North America toll free hotline. Did you call the toll free number in your area? 

[Catherine386]

@Huaai0 Yes... I'll try again tomorrow when I am calmer!