Octabiz Research · Full report
How cleaning and antiques businesses can win more good reviews
What 3,099 Google reviews show about why customers of cleaning and antiques businesses leave a bad review, and how to earn more good ones.
Key findings
What the data shows
Ratings start from a high base. Cleaning and restoration covers 138 businesses and 2,995 reviews with a 4.9 average and 97% positive reviews. Antiques and consignment covers 4 businesses and 104 reviews with a 4.6 average, 86% positive, 7% mixed and 7% negative, so its figures are early indicators.
In cleaning and restoration, slow replies to messages are the top complaint at 7% of negative and mixed reviews, up 6 points. Booking and scheduling problems follow at 5%, up 4 points. Both point to communication and scheduling, not the quality of the cleaning.
The cleaning negative share held at 2% in 2025-Q4, 2026-Q1 and 2026-Q2, then rose to 3% in 2026-Q3. The level is low, but it is the highest point in the series and it matches the growth in reply and booking complaints.
Price clarity is improving. It accounts for 4% of cleaning complaints and is down 8 points, which suggests written quotes and clear price lists are already working for many firms.
In antiques and consignment, the single tracked complaint is a clerk who refused to contact the vendor, at 14% of negative and mixed reviews with no change. The negative share rose from 7% to 14% in 2026-Q2 before easing to 9% in 2026-Q3, so instant staff to vendor messaging is the first fix in the 90-day plan.
Exhibit 1
Businesses studied, by industry
Number of businesses with Google reviews analyzed
Source: Octabiz analysis of public Google reviews, Oct 2024 to Sep 2026
One of the exhibits in the full report.
Inside the report
6 chapters, each with its own exhibit, across 10 pages.
Chapter 1
Who we studied: a large cleaning sample and a small antiques sample
Chapter 2
Cleaning & restoration: the job is rarely the problem, the silence after it is
Chapter 3
Antiques & consignment: when the clerk will not contact the vendor
Chapter 4
Are things getting worse? Slightly, and the cause is service, not the work
Chapter 5
The shared problem is a broken line of communication
Chapter 6
What owners should do in the next 90 days
Get the full report
Every chapter and exhibit, with the methodology, as a letter-size PDF. Fill in the form and the download starts right here.
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How this research was done
Public Google reviews published Oct 2024 to Sep 2026 for 142 businesses found on Google Maps in Kentucky, California, New York, in 2 industries (cleaning & restoration, antiques & consignment). Reviews were sorted by AI into sentiment and problem categories. Shares are of negative and mixed reviews. Chains and duplicates were removed when the businesses were found. Quotes are from public Google reviews.