Good Reviews That Backfire?
 

Have you ever had good online reviews that seem like they backfire on you? I changed how I advertise for this school year. I've felt like I get more "different" families than ever before, and I wonder if it's from the positive reviews.

Like, two reviewers said that I am so safe. Then I got my first suspicious, nervous family. A couple of reviews said that I was so kind. But then I got families that are hard to communicate with about their children's problems, and I get the feeling that the children might have been shown the door in their previous daycares.

So if my reviews say that I am so kind am I going to get kids that try my patience? If my reviews say that I feed healthy food am I going to attract health nuts? If my reviews say that I give kids individual attention, am I going to attract special snowflakes?

I totally get it. I had one family leave a review that said that they loved how flexible I was ... see where this is going?
The family started questioning my policies, paid late, picked up late, didn't come and then asked for a discount etc.
Yeah, I'm flexible, on certain things! And please ask before just assuming that I'll be fine with it!

Damn it, now you've got me questioning the review I left my daycare that says they have been accommodating with schedule changes!

Originally Posted by happymom:
Damn it, now you've got me questioning the review I left my daycare that says they have been accommodating with schedule changes!

Don’t worry, daycares will always end up meeting people who are super frustrating. Daycares can turn away difficult customers but they can’t change the reviews they get. happyface So keep being honest!

... on the other hand it’s so funny to imagine what kind of person they’ll get as a result of that review :lol:

It never crossed my mind that a specific word or phrase attracted certain clients or not. WHY or HOW they got got my contact info is usually irrelevant to me as ALL inquires go through the same filtering process so it's never something I've ever thought about. Interesting thought process though......

Originally Posted by dreamer:

... on the other hand it’s so funny to imagine what kind of person they’ll get as a result of that review :lol:

Right? My definition of accommodating is probably different than someone else's anyway. It's just funny, I never thought about how saying something good about a company could be seen as a negative when it comes to reviews. :lol: I can definitely see it in this case though!

:lol: I love this point though i really don't think that the parents think that much into the reviews as we do. I think they look more at the star rating and negative reviews like most at a product. But the one about attracting a "special snowflake" is worry some, but worry some in any home childcare I feel.
I just put my info up for review on the web so nothing yet and I've already attracted those special snowflakes and boundary pushers.
So what Im saying is I think that the ratings can only help your roster. Maybe it just means more filtering through applicants needs to be don't with these reviews in mind to make sure you don't have one of these families enrolling ??

I think yes some parents could/would misinterpret and stipulate over positive reviews, but thankfully we do get to figure them out during interview and we can clear all that up before they enroll.
location, pricing and negative reviews are the main things parents around here look for:)