An example of bad HO

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

The clock is ticking. This has been a challenging sit anyway.

I was gone all day. Returned to shower, do some dishes and get on with the evening.

No water to the unit anywhere. I did laundry this morning and there was water.

30 mins ago I texted HO - no response. I have mostly not received response from the HO maybe a thumbs up on a photo.

I called THS emergency line immediately to get this ball rolling because they notoriously lack urgency.

She repeated herself 4-5x. Seemed very flustered to have received an emergency call that was actually an emergency. Said she would email HO and place a call. Then email me.

I’ve not heard back from anyone. 5pm PT. HO is in CT.

Stay tuned.
5:06pm
Just called THS Emergency line back. There is no one available please leave a message. Are you kidding me???
515pm called host no answer or VM
Sent an email to THS CEO and packing up.
6pm finally reached THS Emergency support. None of us can reach HO. LM for vet for emergency boarding tomorrow morning. All Documented on text, email and THS chat. HO is not responding to any outreach. And THS said there busy so 90 mins for support is what it is. Whether Insurance will cover my move to a hotel tomorrow - no gtd because host has to cancel not sitter. But no water is not acceptable. So get a hotel and hope they reimburse me in Las Vegas during New Years.

Once again THS lets a sitter down.

730pmPT No communication from host. Water magically appeared. She paid the water bill. Leaned all our chats on the THS platform are seen or monitored by THS. I have left her the same message I text phone email and the chat that you didn’t appreciate the stress this caused and if it weren’t for the dog I would have left. The water on top of many other issues makes this the worst sit I’ve ever had.
No happy holidays or new year to be treated like this.

I have asked THS now that they are aware to remove her from the platform.

2 Likes
2

CALL don’t text the hosts. They probably didn’t see their text. I can’t imagine a host ignoring a text that the water is off in their home. If it’s an apartment, please check the guide to see if there is someone you can contact. I don’t think THS is going to get the water back on or cancel your sit for you. I assume there are pets so you can’t leave them. Might I suggest in case this is going to be a situation, you go out while you are waiting for a call back from the hosts and buy some water? The owners can venmo you or pay you back later. In your shoes I would also reach out to a neighbor as it could be a neighborhood issue.

5 Likes
3

Thanks for your suggestions. No emergency info in welcome guide. No neighbors she indicated are friends I asked. People around have water I can hear it thru the walls. No response from THS NOT answering phone. There is bottled water for dog. I’d like to take a shower after the gym.

I called no answer no voice mail.

4

Host is not responding to any communication

5

Well this is bad. So it is an apartment building? That’s weird that you can hear the neighbors have water, but you don’t. There must be a manager or someone you can contact. There is no maintenance?? No emergency number in the guide? Sorry you are going through this. I hope the hosts get back to you soon.

1 Like
6

She paid the water bill. Water magically appeared 3 hours later. No phone text email response to me or THS. They are well aware. I’ve asked she be removed from the platform.

Also learned all our chats w hosts are their documentation beside screen shots of texts or emails that prove our attempt to communicate.

I have sent host the same message on text email THs chat. She caused added stress not only around the water issue, but smoke alarm going off. Garage access and comfort of sitter. She has no care not that she getting free care for her dog.

2 Likes
7

Yikes! They actually turned off the water! Well if anyone comes to repossess the furniture, you should let them right in!

4 Likes
8

As a FYI to all. I usually move to texting w a host once I’m at the sit. I’m not a fan of the chat feature of THS. You don’t know about timing etc. Moving forward if I decide to sit again. will use it exclusively as a CYA of communication w hosts. And THS then has a record of the communication. Good bad and ugly. Otherwise you are left sending them screen shots of everything. It’s a record they have access to.

9

Ha you funny!!! Thanks for that.

10

5 hours later knowing she heard from THS this is the message she texts me which I copied and pasted into THS chat so they can see it. You can imagine my response as I am “free to leave” and have asked her to find a friend to feed the dog at 5pm before she returns at 7 or feed her when she returns. She demanded I arrive at 8am day of her departure tho I had offered to come over anytime before for a walk thru and she had not walked the dog expecting me to that before she left) but let me know the dog needs to be walked st 7am everyday. there were enough blank reviews from sitters I should have known better so I’ll own that. I am over her and this sit. I missed an event his evening and been a crappy holiday dealing literally w her crap.

Edited to remove text of personal correspondence as per the Community Rules

11

@WheresBabZ
Glad to know that the water issue has been resolved in three hours .

We are happy with only a brief WG , succinct hand written notes on a piece of paper , has been sufficient for a smooth sit . However , we do insist on an emergency contact number and the vet’s information. We ask for this as soon as the sit is confirmed and won’t proceed with the sit without it . It’s non negotiable for us .

We also discuss arrival & departure times before committing to a sit as this could be a deal breaker for either party .

I do paid drop in visits (on another site ) and for these visits also insist on an emergency contact number ( and I am not staying in the home ) but being able to contact someone if there was an emergency is good planning .

1 Like
12

You clearly were very concerned about there being no water, @WheresBabZ. Your timeline suggests you messaged the HO at around 4:30pm and the water came back on again at around 7:30pm? So, it was off for around 3 hours?

You imply the lack of water was due to the bill not being paid, but how can you possibly know this?

Did you actually ring the HO at any time between 4:30 - 7:30pm? Are they in another time zone? It might be that they genuinely didn’t see your messages.

You say you had no emergency contact, was it omitted from the Welcome Guide or did you not have one? It’s always important to have an emergency contact, but even if there had been one, they might not have been aware of which water company the HOs are with (it’s probably not something which immediately comes to mind, when compiling WG or agreeing responsibility with a contact).

Sorry, but I do think your response here has been a bit knee-jerk, rather than considered, and especially when this was a situation which the HOs were unaware of, and most likely out of their control. it doesn’t sound like something which may result in THS removing these HOs from the platform, as per your request.

In your shoes, we’d have first checked the stop-tap and opened all the taps in the house, to ascertain if it was a plumbing issue in the property. Next, we’d check with neighbours to ascertain if there was a supply problem. We’d have bought some bottled water after an hour or two, so that we and the pets could keep hydrated. Had the situation continued until the following day, or at least for a considerably greater period than just 3 hours, then we’d consider next steps.

We once lived in a village where water or electricity outages weren’t uncommon and were usually the result of a burst pipe somewhere or when someone had gone through a cable with a digger. It was an inconvenience, but not personal to us and no big deal really. Maybe that makes us less likely to panic if and when something like this happens.

7 Likes
13

I’m going to reply because clearly you didn’t read the string. So appreciate your supportive response.

Unrelated image removed

14

Lesson learned for sure. And she insists she left emergency contact info but she did not and THS flagged this as well.

Unrelated image removed

15

I was thinking as well - might be an issue in the entire building. Nothing the HO can do much about while they’re away. And def not something THS can do much about.

Let’s check with neighbours or the building manager. Let’s see if there’s other channels that allow me find out what’s going on.

I’ve been to enough places where electricity or water outages appear. Not something an HO can solve from far away; likely not even when they’re home. Just …sit it out basically. Buy some water as emergency etc

3 Likes
16

Totally agree.

17

I have posted. The other units have water you can hear it in the walls! Flushing toilets dishwasher taking showers. This was the only one without water! Repeating myself.

18

When the water stopped running at a recent sit, I texted neighbors to see whether they had the same issue. While waiting for a reply, I also contacted the hosts, because they might’ve received messages from the water utility, but they were traveling in another time zone abroad. And I searched online and found the water company website, on which there was a page that addressed mass stoppages. That’s how I learned that someone had crashed into the water main for the neighborhood and utility workers were repairing things.

I didn’t panic or guess, because troubleshooting is part of sitting. It took several hours for the water to resume.

At the same sit, the power had also gone out and tripped a bunch of breakers and cut the internet, because of a storm days earlier. Once that happened, I troubleshooted as needed as well.

On my current sit, I know where emergency water is at the home as well, so the pets and I would be OK temporarily, before I’d buy more emergency water if needed, say if there were an earthquake. And when we did our handoff, I asked the hosts to show me where the emergency shutoff was for gas and they showed me where the fuse boxes were.

To me, being prepared is part of any good sit, and that includes nudging ahead of time if needed, because it’s supposed to be a friendly, communicative partnership.

5 Likes
19

I have posted. The other units have water you can hear it in the walls! Flushing toilets dishwasher taking showers. This was the only one without water! Repeating myself.

20

Entirely, this!

2 Likes