Too little "two" late

Was very surprised this evening to get an email through Yelp. I had rated one of the local cleaners as being 4 stars because it took them 3-4 days to return clothes (they use an environmentally friendly process that evidently involves people standing around and using paper fans to dry them), and they were the second most expensive option in town. So that was one half star off for each.

In any case, I posted that review in 2009. So imagine my surprise getting an email from one of their corporate types apologizing for not addressing my concerns earlier, and promising a response in 3-5 business days. Then going to the review to see what I had posted, and that the same person had rated their business 5 stars while making the same offer.

HELLO... I took one star off in part because you are slow to deliver and you're telling me that your customer service is at least that slow? Not to mention responding TWO YEARS after I made my original posting? Tempted as I was to take another star off for "clueless" behavior, I decided to just let it go. But it seems like if they were serious about making it up to me, they might try doing something that convinces me that something has actually changed. In fact, they would probably have been better off not saying anything if the best they could do was this side of mediocre. Heck, I had forgotten all about the place and now I'm getting all flustered about it all over again.

Which I post on here as a lesson for those of you who also provide a service. It's good to apologize if you make a mistake. But be timely about it, and make sure your apology includes what you are going to do differently the next time. "I'm sorry, and you can expect me to apologize each time we're late, and given our setup that will be every time you come here" just seems like a bad idea :-)