Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/22/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Doody Master advertises a Winter Policy which states "If it has snowed a small amount we still walk your yard. If it snows a lot, we will still come and follow the dog tracks to find what doody we can." I have noted that when it snows Doody Master does not come to my house and still charges me for service. I complained to the owner and asked her to honor her Winter Policy. Doody Master also advertises a Satisfaction Guarantee. Instead of honoring its Winter Policy, the owner emailed me and said that no service is provided when it snows overnight. I also asked for a credit for one week of service since the company did not service my home last week. There was no snow on the ground when service was to be provided. In retaliation for me making these requests, Doody Master terminated my service. If Doody Master does not intend to honor its Winter Policy and its Satisfaction Guarantee, then it should not be allowed to advertise this policies.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/09/2023

  Here is my response to *** ******: *** ****** was a customer of Doody Master, Inc. since 2014. The reason that we did not service his home was not due to the snow, but due to a late payment. Invoicing goes out the 10th of the month and is due by the 25th for the next month. We didn't receive payment until the 19th of the following month. This payment was 25 days past due. We had sent 4 past due notices. Our policy states that if payment is not received by the beginning of the next month, service is automatically canceled. When clients have issues making payments, we are more than willing to work out a solution. We did not receive any notification or response, so we discontinued service after two weeks into the next month. We are a month-to-month service and we don't require any contracts.  As far as the Winter Policy goes, we do service homes when there is snow on the ground, but we may cancel if it snows a decent amount overnight. When snow covers a yard and we can't even see footprints, there is no way that we are able to locate any doody. If it snows on a Monday and we come on a Wednesday, we are able to clean the doody on top of the snow, but we are not able to see what is underneath it. Once the snow completely melts we are then able to thoroughly clean the yard. It takes us much longer to clean a yard once the snow melts. We email this Winter Policy every Fall as a reminder to clients. This policy has been in place since 2005. Clients may cancel service at any time, which means if they prefer to cancel prior to winter, they may do so. *** ****** had our service since 2014 and never contacted us regarding this policy. If he had, I would have suggested that he simply cancel the service and then begin in the spring.  After realizing that *** wanted us to locate all of the doody in the snow, I realized this was not physically possible. It is unfortunate that we are not able to provide the service that *** requires, so I decided to refund him the total amount that he paid including the past due amount. We serviced his home free of charge for two weeks. We take pride in our service and our quality. I wish *** the best. I appreciated his business over the years. Thanks again.  ----------------------------- Thank You, Michele B******** Doody Master, Inc. ************ ******************* 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/09/2023

  Better Business Bureau:   I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. In response to my complaint, Doody Master has revised and re-written its winter policy so that it no longer misrepresents its Winter Policy services.  This revision is appreciated but not entirely satisfactory.  Doody Master now states that it reserves the right to cancel service if it believes it will be unable to locate dog feces in the snow.  This is a fine and clarifying revision.  What is not acceptable is Doody Masters' continued billing for weeks that it decides to not show up to provide service.  If Doody Master decides that it cannot or will not provide service, then it should not charge for a service call for the week it does not provide service.  Doody Master also takes holidays off from providing service that includes Thanksgiving and the period between Christmas and New Years Day.  Taking time off for the holidays is fine.  Charging customers for those holidays when Doody Master provides no service is not acceptable.  My service day was Thursday.  For the eight years I was a customer of Doody Master, I was charged for cleaning service for the week of Thanksgiving, but no actual service was provided that week.  I am due a pro rata refund for those eight Thursdays I received no service.  Similarly, I was charged for service for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.  I received no service during that week either.  I am owed a pro rata refund for the 8 weeks from 2014 through 2022 that no service was provided for Christmas week but that I paid for.  Even more important to me than receiving a refund for what amounts to 16 service calls that were paid for by me for no service provided by the company is a change in Doody Masters' billing policies.  Doody Master needs to stop billing its customers for holidays and days it fails to provide service.  Doody Master is collecting thousands of dollars in fees for providing no service.  This is not a fair business practice and Doody Master should revise its billing policies.  Regards,  *** ******