Don’t worry. Something similar happened to me. All 5* reviews and suddenly 2 3* reviews for cleanliness. Ridiculous. And I was sad and furious as it was ridiculous. After showing this to a friend he told me… ‘No one will take this comment seriously, just look what they are talking about. They show they are not nice people. Forget it.’
It looks like it’s the same for you. Get up, make your hair, go on and forget it. Don’t waste your good mood, funny let them into your thoughts again.
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Hi @Rohana
I think you make a lot of great points here. The only thing I wouldn’t agree on however is making a 5 star rating an ‘exception.’
I think the criteria for the highest rating really depends on the particular thing being evaluated. When considering ratings in the specific context of something like the free exchange that is most house sitting arrangements, anyone thinking along those lines --especially as it pertains to rating sitters–would probably only give it out to people who they believe went above and beyond and did way more than expected of them. And I don’t think that should be the standard for something like this.
If someone fulfilled the core duties very well–left the house clean, communicated well, took good care of the animals,etc…-that should be sufficient to get a 5 star rating for the most part. Doing a good job as a house sitter, and fulfilling the basic responsibilities well isn’t actually all that difficult when you think about it, though that doesn’t mean anyone can do it, as evidenced by some of the stories I have read here from HO’s.
And if you have sitters who you really thought did an excellent job, or went above and beyond in any way, and think they are just fabulous, the written feedback portion provides an opportunity to elaborate on all of that.
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I just had my first negative one too. I was in shock and thought they’d confused me with someone else, but nope.
In my reply, I calmly addressed every single complaint and gave my version.
When your version is the truth, it should be obvious to the people reading it (especially when a bunch of other home owners are backing you up - and especially when you are the one that comes across as calm.)
I also think that when you address their complaints in detail, it makes future hosts think twice before making silly accusations. Maybe they don’t expect a detailed response that makes them look irrational.
The way I see it, if a future owner rejects my application based on that one review, then it’s a red flag for me. They are probably unreasonable people.
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Agreed. I probably overstated the ‘exceptional’ in order to make a point. 
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Thank you for your reply. I don’t waste my time with customer service anymore. They require basically a court case worth of documents and I’d rather not waste my time. It was an unfortunate sit. And honestly the animals were safe and loved, the house was returned spotless, and I’m now enjoying a lovely 7 week sit for 6 pets near the coast in Ireland. I’ve moved on. I’ll ask better/more questions for future sits.
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