After the sit began without a welcome guide, I had to ask many questions. The WiFi showed several WiFi connections which I believe are cameras due to homeowners commenting on things they wouldn’t know otherwise.
They also have a dog that they said is old and incontinent but would use puppy pads place everywhere! She seems to find wherever there is not one. Also trouble feeding since she is deaf and blind I believe.
They had a neighbor come in and feed her one day that I had fed her (obviously out of camera view). My dog and all my stuff was there as I was at work. I found out afterwards. I felt this was intrusive.
The other young dog was awesome. He and my dog had loads of fun, a fenced yard to play in and a doggy door to come and go as they pleased.
I had to ask about trash and recycling, WiFi password, where the bags for recycling were kept, etc. Most of the rest was seek and find. They advertise a TV but there is only one really small one in the master bedroom where I was not. I was given a room in the basement down steep stairs with the large central heat blower adjacent. It was too loud to sleep. Also the bed was too tall for me to get into. I ended up sleeping on the couch which I’m sure they knew due to the cameras.
The home had not been cleaned and I cleaned tubs and toilets prior to using. I also found dirty dishes in the dishwasher, dirty socks lying around and Kleenex someone did not make the trash can with. The sink was dirty. All their dirty towels were hanging in the bathrooms.
I was their first sitter on THS. They were very kind but I would never sit here again. What should I do with the review?
Be honest and kind. You don’t have to list out every minute detail but you can give a couple of examples of what you mean to illustrate your point. And above all, say the positive feedback first.
If I were in your place, I’d write something like:
I would not recommend this sit, for these reasons: (Then write a bulleted list of the facts.)
I might mention nice stuff, too, but not let the msg get lost that I wouldn’t have done the sit, had I known. That’s the best service you can do for other sitters.
I would avoid fuzzing things up. Imagine what would’ve helped you make an informed decision, if you had it to do over before accepting.
About one third of what you wrote here, maybe. That will be enough, they won’t find a new sitter on THS.
Leave an honest and factual review. Honesty helps the home owner prepare for future sitters. It alerts sitters to potential problems.
If there are cameras and if they allowed a 3rd party to enter without your permission they have broken rules. They should be reported to THS to ensure they do not do this again.
In my review I would say the positive followed by, “I really wish I had a house manual and that internal cameras were disabled per THS rules. The dog’s incontinency was a bit harder to manage than I was given to believe. It also seemed that the home was not cleaned before my arrival, but there were cleaning supplies for me to handle this.”
I think this is the kind of sit that needs to be reported and action needs to be taken on the part of THS! it is not fair to the sitter nor the animals.