I recently completed my very first house sit using this site. I would give the overall experience a 7/10 but in the interest of being gracious to my host and starting out on the right foot, I left a positive review. The review that I received from the host was odd. It was a five star review, however in her paragraphs describing the experience, she described five serious offenses, that she brushed off as “nothing major”. Now, one of those things I will take accountability for and it was minor. Everything else was a shock to hear and frankly untrue. I replied as graciously as I could and tried to leave it alone. However, I’ve since applied for two other sits and not even had a chance to have a video call before I was turned down and I can’t help but wonder if the recent review has something to do with it. Any advice from how to move forward? It’s truly weighing on me. It’s especially hurtful because I spent hours cleaning the entire apartment in hopes of gaining a good review. I suffered nights without air-conditioning because she asked that I not use it. I went two weeks without a decent night of sleep all to try to earn a good review and now I’m just dumbfounded and disappointed. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
No doubt the review the host left you has affected your ability to get new sits despite you getting 5 stars the text is viewed with high importance as experienced members know how to read between the lines and understand that people are reluctant to dock stars.
Had you been more honest in your review of the host and given the review they deserved, the reviews would be more evenly balanced and you would like not be having the failures you are currently experiencing.
It would help if you told us the allegations. She listed more than one which is concerning. If you list them and stated how you replied we can help you better.
That’s why we need to leave honest reviews, you wouldn’t feel as bad as how you feel now if you did. It also gives future hosts more details about what happened on the sit, which would help them judge the review you received. Now that you have stated in your review to the host that you were happy with everything, which makes it look like the problems are on your side, and if you bring up the problems now in your reply, it will look like you’re taking revenge on the host.
Ok, are they serious offenses, nothing major, or minor (only one I guess)?
As an HO, it’s hard to tell how I would evaluate an application with a solo review like this without more detail - 5 star and the HO saying it was “nothing major” would not be a huge issue, but listing them out says otherwise. And the response to criticism would probably weigh more for me than the review itself.
I know it’s harder for new sitters to get sits, particularly in competitive areas, and this probably does make things more challenging. My best advice would be to address it head on in applications, in a very non-defensive way, emphasizing anything you’ve learned from it (which does not mean accepting lies as truth, but you can emphasize knowing better how to evaluate sits that are better suited for you).
Best of luck!
This was helpful, thank you. The issue is that she mentioned some damage to her apartment which I don’t think was caused by me. For example she says there’s a dent in the shower tray which I did not use because it was full of her items so I put my things on the floor of the shower and they stayed there. She mentioned a heat mark and a spot on the floor. I spent hours cleaning and never noticed these things. Besides, her floor is unfinished making it difficult to clean as it’s untreated raw wood but I did my best. So even if I address this in future applications, I can’t very well say that I’ve learned to better choose my house sits and have that be relevant. (Though I do think I should’ve seen red flags in how she critiqued other sitters cleaning too - which is why I made so much effort to clean and another reason this situation is extraordinarily frustrating) Additionally she mentioned a trash mix up which I admit to because in Italy they have 5 bins with different requirements so it was inevitable that some small items would be mixed. Lastly she said I didn’t send enough photos of her cat, which she never once asked me for. Every time the host would message me about a package or anything else I would send a photo which was about every other day. I responded by first thanking her, addressing a few of her concerns and explaining I did the best I could with the cleaning, clarified about the shower tray and garbage, and thanking her again.
the average sitter gets rejected 80% of the time (if the HO gets 5 applicants). The rejections may or may not have anything to do with the review.
You could also get some more reccomendations from friends and family who you’ve sat for to dilute this review.
That’s a good idea that I hadn’t thought of, I will reach out to others for more references. Thank you!!
On arrival I film the home as ‘evidence’ I also film before I leave. About 5 mins worth each time. After the Reviews are in I delete these films and any photos I’ve taken. It’s exactly like dealing with Hire Car firms- protect yourself.
If I notice any major home defects I take a photo asap again as evidence in the 1st few hours after arrival.
I send a daily pet photo at the same time each day, captioned.
Never put objects in a shower tray- it’s a piece of weak plastic.
Take charge as a sitter and create confidence in your Hosts.
This is good advice, but even if I had taken a video, I probably never would’ve thought to include the shower tray. It’s just the most bizarre thing ever. Anyway, thank you.
As well as the other advice that’s been given I would add 2 things: don’t be too despondent and apply for lots of sits including last minute ones, less popular ones and local ones where owners will have the chance to meet you in person and you them as opposed to a video chat. You can often get a much better feel for each other that way and discussion can be more relaxed. Good luck, I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Once you’ve got even just a couple more reviews under your belt, as long as they’re good then they should outweigh this first one.
OK, most reasonable HOs will look at how that HO rates sitters and hopefully will see that this is a “her” thing. Keep applying!
Sounds like a hard-won lesson that you could share here: Unwritten rules of house and pet sitting - what did you learn the hard way?
Thank you, everyone. The OP feels the issue has been resolved so at their request, we’ll close this topic.