I am devastated, humilaited and embarrased to have gotten a 1 star review.
After almost 30 5 star reviews I am going to quit the platform.
I did make a stain on the kitchen table and break a mug but I took great care of the pets and to have such a scathing, nasty review is just horrible. They said I provided adequate care and just for the fact the pets were fell fed and healthy I was given 1 star.
I shall miss doing pet sits, been doing them with THS for almost 3 years, but noone is going to want to book me now and always have to defend myself regarding the 1 star. Sad because otherwise I have had a great experience.
I think youâre over reacting. I got two bad reviews in a row, both 1 star and Iâm still here and just got a 5 star one. Itâs admittedly tougher now to get sits but that doesnât mean to just quit because the going gets rough!
There is no time limit on you responding to their review. Just state the facts.
As you have so many excellent previous reviews your track record should speak for itself. You could also mention in your profile that you are willing to discuss the review with potential hosts if they are concerned.
Iâm sorry; I can imagine how demoralizing that must be. Were there other frictions with the host overall? Have you reached out to them to inquire why they were so harsh?
As others have indicated, I wouldnât let this deter you. Maybe take a break for a bit; take a deep breath & give it a bit of time. Use the forums to vent it out â thatâs one of the things itâs here for. And then once youâve gotten some distance from it, definitely post a factual, non-emotional rebuttal to the negative review.
Youâd be surprised how much investigation people do when they see an anomaly like yoursâŚhandled properly, sometimes a negative review bites the person who posted it far more than the person who received it.
Thanks, no I prefer not to talk to them after that review, it was shocking. I am going to take a break and see how I feel again in future but my nerves are shattered, just so upsetting really and humiliating.
Weâve all made stains on tables or broken a mug and far worse things at home!! This is normal life. How you manage these hiccups is however important, and highlights your character.
Your reply to their Review should describe the facts of what happened and your apology and contrition. Also add how you communicated these things to the HO at the time and what you did to make things better, for example did you replace the mug?
The learning from this is
âBad news earlyâ is a useful maxim to use in life. Always let HOs know about errors but at the same time tell them what your solution has been (or what you tried to do).
Nobody is perfect, we all stumble so ensure that you land higher than others. What this means is that you learn from this episode.
In the scheme of things this isnât a disaster theyâre only things, forgive yourself and know that in time youâll get some perspective.
Choose a kind HO for your next sit to get your confidence backâŚâŚmake a joke âon my last sit I broke a mug so please hide your mugs away!â I also accidentally stained a table, Iâll also bring a table protector with me ok!â
Of the 5 review categories, which one did you receive a 1? Depending on the category, it may not have as big of an impact as you think. Definitely need to comment on their review and explain the 1 in any application, especially if it wasnât a big deal.
I had a similar experience recently. It was 4 months ago, & I still canât make sense of her comments & stars!!
But it was the 2 star review for cleanliness, when her own cleaner visited the day before I left to do her usual FOUR hour weekly clean, that really got me wonderingâŚ. What on earth happened?! Why was she so resentful towards me??
And the truth is, I will never know. Sometimes folks act in ways that donât meet your expectations⌠yes I was upset to start with, but I utilised my right to reply, stating why I was baffled by her comments, & then let it go.
It doesnât seem to have affected my chances of sits, in fact ive received a few invites, plus im on a sit currently
Iâm sorry. FWIW, with 30 previous great ones, this one will look like the outlier and reflect more on the HO than on you. I know it hurts to read critical, insulting words.
I had a sit (about 5 sits back now) where the HOs acted all super nice and thankful and then wrote a blatant lie about me in the review and rated me 3/5 overall. No subsequent HOs have even asked me about it. Perhaps some have declined me as a result? Maybe.
Iâve learned to be very wary of peopleâs regular cleaners or other hired staff. Perhaps the cleaner claimed you made a terrible mess and thus they had to work extra hard (more $$). Maybe they even made messes and took photos as âevidence.â Perhaps they were resentful that you were getting to stay there or of having to clean up after youâand they may not know itâs not paid.
My gut feeling on this doubts it was anything the cleaner would have done or said. I got on really well with herâŚ. With google translate assisting! She was lovely.
First, the fact that you have 30, 5 stars with 5 stars in each category is something to be proud of so own it! I think the homeowner who gave you the 1 star really shows more about her than you. I stay away from hosts who give one stars unless they say the sitter burned half the house down or the pet was half starving. If you quit THS because of it then she wins. You will be giving her so much power over you. She scared you away from something you enjoy. Donât let anyone have that much power over you. Step back for a short time and then go get yourself a great host and continue to enjoy the journey!
As a HO, a one star review for simple mistakes is rude. Things break, and sometimes we are all a little careless where we place things.
I would look at that review and discard it, especially since it had nothing to do with the care of the pets. Also, my home finishings are comfy but not fancy. If you broke a mug it wouldnât matter much to us LOL. I think you just got stuck with overly pretentious hosts.
Take some time and think it over, but donât let their rudeness and lack of empathy dissuade you from pursuing something you enjoy.
I am to0 upset to read the whole message they wrote, all I have seen is that I received a 1 star with comment that I only deserved that, I am guessing for pet care which they described as adequate so I am presuming they rated me 0 for everythig else?
I understand your feelings and wanting to take a break.
The only (unsolicited) advice I have is that when you are ready you might consider a response. It sounds like this was a difficult a sit with a lof ot âfeeliingsâ on both side, but the response should just try to tell what happened without the emotions so that sitters as well as homeowners can get what looks like the truth and not a subjective viewpoint. Response is not attack. Donât think of a response as a defense or attack.
Itâs hard for me to imagine a broken mug and a stain on a table alone as being the reasons for a 1 star review, so as a host Iâd want to know more about what actually happened before I ruled you in and out. As a sitter, Iâd also be concerned about a host giving a 1-star for those reasons alone.
As a home owner, when I see sitters with 30 5 star reviews and one one-star, I would surely invite them. I would doubt if that 1 star review was fair, but even if it was, it would mean that something accidental had happened, which can happen to everyone. So donât worry, you will be invited.
Respond to the 1 star review in a calm and fair manner, accepting that you accidentally broke a mug and made the error of putting (whatever it was) onto the table, which very unfortunately caused a mark. State that you informed the host and take responsibility for your misjudgement (did you offer to replace the mug, or take steps to minimise the table stain?) and that you will take extra care to ensure such errors donât happen in future.
A fair, balanced and responsible reply will earn back your credibility, and will likely show this HO in a poor light. We wouldnât sit for someone whoâd left a sitter such a scathing review and deduced 4 stars because of something like this. Itâs a shame they didnât place any value on the things you did right!
Chin up! In this case, it says more about them than it does about you.