Who would you have been more mad at: the HO or the sitter before me?
For my first sit, I watched a precious dog in a nice house, but all was not ideal. There was a TH sitter there before me - she was to leave a couple hours before my arrival. I arrived to a house with dishes strewn about and bedding unwashed. This was the doing of the sitter, who claimed that she had to respond to a work issue early that morning. She was originally supposed to be out by 7:30am–I’m not sure why a person wouldn’t have at least done some dishes the night before to get a jump on it, but okay, whatever. She also left her trash, hair, and period blood in the bathroom–cute.
Then there was the house–it was covered in dog hair. Like, weeks worth, so I don’t blame the sitter for that. The owner came off as quite scatterbrained in our video call and correspondence, so the messy house was not surprising. But it was so nasty that I spent my first morning cleaning that place. I cursed the sitter and HO as I cleaned, deciding I wouldn’t clean before I left…
But of course it was my first sit, so I wanted to get a good review for the damn good job I did. The last day came and what did I do? I cleaned the whole place again. Aside from being disrespected by the HO and sitter, I had a great time with the dog and in the area. I didn’t feel like I could comment on the state of the house to the sitter or the HO, as I didn’t technically know who caused the mess. I felt annoyed and helpless.
I’m starting to get disillusioned with this site, as I’ve also just had a truly bizarre sitter experience.
People just really are nasty and strange. You know?
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Maybe be more selective when screening. And avoid sits where you follow another sitter. You don’t get to screen them, so you get potluck.
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You have experienced why we sitters don’t recommend sharing a sit. That is very unusual and I find it strange that you should have chosen to do so on your very first sit.
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@Cronmoax I’m sorry you had that experience, especially for a first sit. Unfortunately many of us have been there…
You did exactly as we’d have done- said nothing at the time, cleaned the house and hope for the 5* review! In the old days we may well have just not written a review (fear of retaliation) but now we would be more honest, knock a few stars off and say something in the review.
What was the review outcome for you?
Also we’ve done ‘split’ sits 3 times. The first two went great but the 3rd was very disappointing. The sitter we took over from did not clean anything for us after being there 2 weeks, not even the toilet (yuck!) We had a personal handover with him and showed our displeasure but he did not apologise or excuse himself in any way. We reported to the HO about the handover and they apologised on his behalf.
But the outcome was strange- the first sitter got a glowing review the very next day (while we were on our part of the sit) while we had to wait 2 weeks after the sit finished for ours -after sending multiple reminders. And despite leaving the house pristine & having good contact throughout, our review was very mediocre compared to the first sitter! Very unfair. The HOs turned out to be very fake.
Lesson learned- don’t do split sits- too risky.
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@Cronmoax - it’s not all bad and you have been very unfortunate with your first sitting experience. Don’t give up as there are some great sits out there and you sound like a very caring person.
You can learn a lot from experienced sitters on the forum. Use the spyglass at the top of the screen and search for ‘red flags’.
Many of us wouldn’t take on a split sit or confirm a sit without sufficient photos of the areas we will be using, a video chat etc.
Even then we can sometimes get in wrong.
Onwards and upwards and you will be better prepared for your next sit.
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Hi @Cronmoax
This sounds horrible and you will now know never to do a split sitting again.
I am wondering though whether this is recent and you are considering how to review. Are you asking for advice on how to write your review or was it over 2 weeks ago so the window has closed?
Def lesson learned and the term “split sit” is enlightening haha
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It was a couple months ago. I gave a nice review and got one in return, but the owner didn’t mention a word about my cleanliness. I was furious lol.
Yeah… that’s where that whole trust thing gets murky. I wanted to be open minded…“maybe she’s just quirky!” Haha.
So sorry to hear what you went through. 
But this is one of the key reasons many of us sitters will not do split sits.
I’m sorry you found it strange I would make a mistake on my first sit.
Your choice, of course. With sitting, the more risks you take, the greater the odds of a sit gone wrong.
You can’t help the behaviour of a sitter on a split sit, what you can do going forward is being more discerning before confirming a sit. If you notice that the HO is scatter-brained, or you feel off while corresponding with them at the initial stages, follow your instinct and say no.
I remember the “up” of feeling eager to get my first sit and exhilarated that someone offered me a sit, but at times the “down” is the fact that you are not a good match for each other.
There will always be other chances, better to wait than not being happy about the experience.
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I would never take on a split dates sit, taking over from someone else unless its an emergency situation is never going to be easy. I also take photos when I arrive and leave in case there is any dispute about the cleaning and also so I can put things back in the same place. I think it must be more difficult for reviews now because the owner hasn’t seen the home and pets after one sitter left and before the next one arrives and will therefore probably not meet the time limit of 14 days
Just finished a double ended split sit with a brand new sitter as our “sandwich filling.” Awaiting the second review with anticipation. We shall see……fingers crossed (toes too) @lokstar et Al or will be seriously grumpy & you will hear about it #hopingforunburntfingers 
#willreportback
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So sorry your hard labor didn’t get acknowledged! I appreciate you sharing your story as it’s given me a couple points of reflection that I hope might help you or another sitter here in the future…
#1 Given the “split sit” - Upon arrival, I would apply a transparent/honest update about the state of the house with the HO, giving “grace and courtesy” wherever possible. (I realize this can be difficult when you are just “landing” and also dealing with a bit of the unexpected, including an unmet agreement by the previous sitter. It sounds like you were both kind and gracious given the circumstance, so hats off to you!)
Example of arrival communication with HO: “The prior sitter reported a work issue affected her ability to clean/depart on time. I am doing my best to catch up on cleaning and, without knowing the prior status of the house, will do my best to match or exceed your household’s standard. This additional labor was unexpected, but your pet is making for great company and offering me moral support in the process!”
#2 That said, when I clean a home, I do my best to consider it a “gift without expectation” which makes it easier to not take on ill feelings if I don’t get optimal acknowledgement. (I realize this can be a challenge when the cleaning is part of your comfort in the space.)
So, in sum, transparent communication (graciously applying “lessons learned”) and attempting to draw a line when you feel resentment creeping in, or reaching out to the homeowner to revisit that transparent communication.
Best of luck in creating more optimal future experiences!
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If you arrived to a mess, you should have taken photos to let the HO know what it was like when you got there. At that point, you could have asked if she uses a cleaner or could get one in. As described this sounds like a situation where the sitter left unexpectedly, and the homeowner was forced to bring someone else in. That doesn’t make the homeowner “scatterbrained.” It might make the homeowner upset as this sounds like a situation that was not anticipated. I’d be upset if I was away and a sitter suddenly announced a departure.
Putting yourself in a position, where you are doing stuff you don’t want to do – cleaning up other’s messes – is not great for anyone.
I have no idea if the guide describes the dog’s shedding issues and what the sitter needs to do – daily vacuuming, brushing, etc. It is very possible the previous sitter didn’t do any of that. It’s also possible it wasn’t in the guide. So that’s something you have to figure out: Is there guidance in the guide that would indicate the hair is the fault of the previous sitter who never vacuumed, or is there evidence – previous reviews of a clean house, explicit instructions for dealing with shedding, etc.
Again, all you can is documented the situation as you arrived and make the homeowner aware. If there weren’t sufficient instructions for dealing with the shedding moving forward, you could ask for some instructions.
Communication is a two-way street. This isn’t an employer who sent you in and you’re afraid you’ll get fired if you ask about something. It’s an accomodation that needs to work for both parties. I don’t know what your interactions with the homeowner were, but calling them “scatterbrained” sounds strong and not helpful. This is not your bosss. This is your equal. You both need to communicate and not make assumptions.
Did you let the homeowner know what the conditions were? If you didn’t do that, then I don’t see how you can blame the homeowner for what you arrived to and resent her for what you needed to do to fix the situation. If you actually discussed it and the homeowner said, “Not my problem, you clean it!” I could see being angry.
If both you and the homeowner are new to the site, there are probably things you each could have handled better.
@Cronmoax, ultimately, if you decide to continue with THS — whether as a sitter or host — it seems like you’ll want to tighten up on screening and give less benefit of doubt.
I don’t know whether you had to deal with roommates in college or beyond, but many folks have stories of disgusting and/or oddball roommates and such. To me, there’s no reason to believe that THS members don’t include such people — anyone who can pay the membership fee (and in the case of U.S. sitters pass a background check) can join. And some people are simply selfish, inconsiderate and such.
About split sits: I did one early on and got off relatively easy. I’d been offered an unsolicited six-week sit and my host agreed to let me bookend another sitter instead, so I could go home for a spell. As it turned out, the other sitter cut corners with pet care, which I discovered on returning for my second sit.
Cleaning wasn’t a problem, since there was a weekly housecleaner and multiple guest rooms.
In retrospect, though, I wouldn’t want pets to be neglected or hurt, or anything in the house to be stolen or damaged by another sitter and to get caught up in such.
And the hosts had offered use of a car as well, so what if that had been damaged and there was fuzziness about who was responsible.
Personally, I won’t do a split sit again, nor would I recommend doing one. But you’re not alone in having made that mistake, and you can learn from that and move on if you want to.
I would have taken photos of most of what you described and sent to the owner so they were aware and could rate the previous sitter appropriately, however, I think I might would have contacted THS with this issue as well.
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Almost all of our sits have been wonderful with nice pet parents and clean homes. You can increase your chance of having a positive experience by reading reviews from other sitters. Look for comments like “nice hosts, clean home” also split sits just adds one more variable that may not be great