My
company was attacked from out of nowhere. Suddenly, BAM! there it was- a shot
from behind. Not only was it an attack on my company, but it was a personal
attack towards me as well. I was taken aback; I didn’t quite know what to do. A
few months prior to this we had a client get upset about the sitter we had
assigned to her cat. She was upset that the sitter apparently threw away a plastic
spoon and an avocado peeling in her trash. (Yes, that was her complaint.) She
questioned whether her cat had been played with at all during the 9 days she
was away, because she thought he was there eating his lunch- based off what she
found in her trash. Mind you, there were other things that she found to
complain about after this, but this was her main issue at first. As a company
that is built on integrity and the Word of God, we took responsibility for the sitter’s
oversight and this client was well compensated for her concerns. We thought
that we had done what was right and that was the end of it.
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| Pic I took during my hike at Eno River State Park |
Three
months later she slams me and my company on Google. It could not have come at a
worst time either. I was already down, struggling through some doubts,
decisions and confusion within the business. Just that morning I had packed up
and went hiking to clear my head, find my focus and pray for God’s wisdom and
grace. That very morning, I had sat by the banks of the Eno River and asked God
what was I doing wrong?
Summertime
is a very busy time of year for us. In 2016, we almost tripled our client base because
of it. My sitters were overbooked and by the time September rolled around, we
were all exhausted! I was hoping and praying that would be the case again this
year. But it hasn’t been anything like that! In fact, it has been a slow crawl.
We are still growing and getting new clients each week, but compared to last
year, the numbers are way down. This weighed heavy on me so I went to the place
where I focus best and I spent the day hiking, praying and resting in His Word.
As soon as I got back to reality, this attack hit. I got the call from my
daughter (who is my Client Relations Manager and handles all our reviews) and
she read to me the horrible review. This was the very last thing my company
needed!
“But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not fear, for am I in the place of
God? As for you, you meant evil against
me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be
kept alive, as they are today.’” Genesis 50:19-20 ESV
This
is not the first time someone has come against me personally, and it is not the
first for my company either. I have walked this road before. I’m sure we have
all experienced this sort of attack before, and it won’t be the last either.
The first thing I did as soon as I learned of the review was pray. Prayer is
our greatest weapon, yet it is the one we rarely choose. But, since I have been
in battle before, I knew prayer was what I needed. I prayed for God to give me
wisdom on how to handle this situation and I prayed for Him to protect the
company from the repercussions of it. Even though this horrible review was the
only review we had on Google, I prayed for the Lord to not let it affect the
company.
After
praying about it, my daughter and I started to reach out to our longstanding
clients and asked them to post a review. We told them what had happened and
they were happy to help. The good reviews started to trickle in and the bad
review started to lose its power. I appealed to the clients I am friends with
on Facebook, and many of them also started to post their reviews. Soon we went
from one really bad review to many good reviews. The evil that was meant to
harm us, was beginning to turn to our good. In a matter of hours, the Lord God
used that attack and turned it into something good.
A
business is only as good as its reviews. In a world of social media, Google and
mobile friendly everything, how you look on these sites determines how
successful you are. Social media and Google are either your friends, or they
are your foes. When people search for pet care, we want them to choose us. When
you search Google for a new place to eat, if they have terrible reviews, you
are not going to eat there. Most likely, you are going to search for one that
has great reviews and go there instead. Any business in today’s world is as
good as it’s reviews.
For
my company, however, getting Google reviews was proving to be difficult. We
have 5 star reviews on Facebook, Yelp and many other social media sites, but for
some reason, no one ever thought to review us on Google. In today’s world, if
you want growth, Google is the place to be. Unfortunately, that bad review was
the very first one!
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I was
overwhelmed by the Lord’s answer to my prayer. It was not how I had expected
Him to answer it, but He did. He answered my plea for His help, and as I
trusted Him and put my focus on Him, He began to orchestrate a way for us to
grow. In one moment, my heart went from fearful to joyful! He turned my sorrow
into laughter, and my mourning into dancing! In one moment, He reminded me of
His eternal, unending, unfathomable mercy over my life.
“this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge
of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Acts 2:23
Scripture
teaches us that God our Father has a plan, a plan that was set into motion the
moment He spoke light into existence. From that moment to the one you are
experiencing now, God has a plan. We can only see the finite. We can only see
what is temporal, what is right before us and right in front of us. But God, in
His wisdom and foreknowledge is working out a greater plan of glory for you
than you could ever imagine. We endure the attacks, we cry out to Him in
prayer, and the Lord God answers to us and says, “Do not fear, what man has intended as evil, I the Lord, have meant it
for good.” We can take comfort and find hope in all that comes against us
because we have a God with a plan!
“And we know that for those who love God all things work
together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans
8:28
Amen!
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