Bonny, I'm not a small biz owner, so not sure if this is good advice. And I'm not an Angie List subscriber.

• you can not please all of the people all of the time, much as we try.
  
• some folks are just jerks, and nothing you can do will change that.
  
• can you write a rebuttal to a complaint on Angie's List?
  
• can you refund the $20, and say to the customer, "I'm sorry it has come to this. Please accept this with our apology. We do not wish to serve you anymore". It could be the best $20 ever spent. Think of how much more headaches he will cause, and how much that hassle is worth to *not* have.

can you write a rebuttal to a complaint on Angie's List?

Companies can definitely reply to reviews on Angie's List.

Can you say something like "There were two issues previously which were resolved to the customer's stated satisfaction. The third issue involved circumstances beyond our control which we resolved using the dog's safety as the priority but which the customer did not agree with. We did not believe that free service was the correct response."

Short, acknowledges history, states bare facts.

Honestly, your recap makes those situations sound worse than they were. I would delete this part:

We discounted his service on both occasions, fired the first employee and sanctioned the second.

I would also delete your last sentence. That is going down a road that has no upside to it.

In this case, I could not give into his demand. It would not have been fair to blame the walker for doing right.

I'm not sure I follow how giving a fee walk is blaming the walker?

Can you say something like "There were two issues previously which were resolved to the customer's stated satisfaction. The third issue involved circumstances beyond our control which we resolved using the dog's safety as the priority but which the customer did not agree with. We did not believe that free service was the correct response."

This, but I would explain the third issue more fully, which I still don't understand. Was a different lease used than the customer wanted?

Bonny,

This Q may not be helpful, but I am trying to be. Can you just give the customer $20 and ask that the customer not come back? More of your time and attention is being spent than $20 at the point and you seem not to want this person as a long-time customer. Refund and never book that person again.

you can not please all of the people all of the time, much as we try.

some folks are just jerks, and nothing you can do will change that.

can you write a rebuttal to a complaint on Angie's List?

can you refund the $20, and say to the customer, "I'm sorry it has come to this. Please accept this with our apology. We do not wish to serve you anymore". It could be the best $20 ever spent. Think of how much more headaches he will cause, and how much that hassle is worth to *not* have.

What omnis said. I am a small biz owner and each time my gut tells me that a customer should be 'fired' because they are crazy/unreasonable/evil it has always been the best plan to say goodbye as quickly as possible. $20 or $200 or $2000 is not worth dealing with people that cannot be pleased. After the first couple of issues it was not going to be likely that he could be pleased anyway.

I think Connie's rewording is nigh perfect, as are omnis's and LeN's "Here's your $20, now please never come back."

Thanks so much, everyone. I really appreciate your suggestions.

I explained the third incident more fully and used Connie's language. (thanks!)

We did not refund the $20, and went ahead with including his threat in the reply because, basically, he was blackmailing us.

By the time he posted his remarks, it was too late for any additional negotiation.

In the overall scheme of things, I allowed myself to get way too upset about this because, on balance, our 'scorecard is running at 98% positive in a business that is highly emotional.

I figure we're doing okay.

I was just floored by this guy's gall.

Gotta run to a super scary doc appt.

I really should have gone into advertising, I'm good at written BS.