Finding a new person to provide you with a service may take time, effort, and several attempts. If you don’t have a replacement ready, think about whether you’ll be in a bind before finding someone new and consider waiting until you have them.
In addition to obvious places like Yelp and Google, you can search for providers in places like Angi (formerly Angie’s List) or Bug for home projects. StyleSeat and Bookseller Can help you find hair, nails, massage and spa services. Homeless is good for pet services including boarding, dog walking and cat sitting, while Trusted House Sitters lists pet sitters and house sitters. For specific projects, such as moving or quick home repairs, taskrabbit It is a popular option.
Plan a clean break
Now comes the hard part: the actual breakup. If you hate dealing with confrontation and awkwardness, keep in mind that this happens to service providers all the time. Anyone in the service industry is used to turnover, and no one can meet their customers’ needs 100 percent of the time indefinitely.
If the professional relationship is not firmly established or has been short-term, it may be okay to simply stop scheduling service appointments and let things die on their own. You may receive a follow-up call or message asking if you would like to continue with the services and may simply say that those services are no longer needed. Ghosting someone who has been serving you for years, especially if they are trying to communicate with you, is not a sign that you respect the work you have done.
For these more established business relationships, it is best to be polite and direct and give the person a chance to respond. But even that may not always be necessary. Customer-facing industries like hair salons are used to losing customers and recognize that customers don’t necessarily owe them an explanation for cutting them off.
“Unless you’re very close to the person and you’ve been with them for years and you feel comfortable telling them, you don’t owe anyone an apology,” says Chelle Neff, who has done hair for 21 years and owns three urban betty salons in the Austin, Texas area. “I’d rather people fool me than have a strange explanation, an awkward exchange, or a lie.”
Neff said some customers just get bored and want to try something new, and some eventually return. But ultimately, he says, if you’re the customer, “you have to do what makes you happy.”
Keep things professional
Especially in small communities or industries where there are only a limited number of professionals doing the work, rumors spread and negative comments travel quickly. Think twice before leaving a negative review or badmouthing someone who worked for you with your new technician. When leaving any type of public comment, unless you have had an extreme experience that is worth warning others about, you should take the high road and simply state the facts as you transition to a new professional.
Obviously, using a bad review to hurl personal insults or criticize things that were out of the service member’s control is rude and unfair. Think about how others might perceive your review. To begin with, were his expectations about the work he hired the company to do unreasonable? Did the service professional promise something and then fail to deliver, or did they simply not fully communicate your expectations? You might want to ask a friend to take a look at what you plan to post before you hit Send. A negative review could backfire if you come across as a bad customer; If the facts favor the service provider, the review could reflect worse on you than on them.
If the person you broke up with works for a company and you take your complaints to their manager or business owner, it could hurt your chances of advancement or even get you fired. Make sure you are on solid ground and not acting in anger before taking action like that. As a business owner, Neff says contacting the business directly is better than leaving a negative review: “Nine times out of 10, if they’re a good company, they’ll make it better and connect you with someone else.” also.”
Whether it’s a review or reaching out to supervisors in hopes of finding a solution, stick to the facts, including documenting what you paid for and what was provided, and don’t make it personal.
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve already passed the hardest part. You’ve gotten out of a bad working relationship and are hopefully enjoying better service that will see you through to the end.
