I know the Forum is blowing up right now wrt the booking fee additions & TOS changes in general, as well as the technical issue with being unable to read the new TOS to accept them. I get that you’re playing whack-a-mole, & that it seems easier to keep things in one place.
That said, I’d like to gently suggest that you’re being a might too aggressive with merging/locking/deleting threads. I’ve seen at least 2-3 threads that were on specific sub-topics that deserved discussion or attention, but they were almost immediately locked, merged with the booking fees thread, and/or tagged for deletion…even though the questions weren’t about booking fees.
It may all seem like one big topic to THS, but there are actually multiple separate questions/issues related to the TOS changes that are worthwhile discussions for the community, or need comment or clarification. I’ve mentioned this in the past, but is impossible to follow or communicate effectively in a 600-post mega-thread involving multiple topics.
Thanks for listening. A lot of changes today and people have questions & thoughts, which I think is what this community is for.
Merging all questions into a single thread is a slick bureaucratic method of making all comments pointless. THS knew that the news would not be well received and simply decided community concerns are irrelevant.
I agree with @MerryPuppins . In addition, I would think it could be very valuable insights for THS (which we really should charge for . In other parts of life we are paid to take part in such Focus groups), and so more valuable if the topics are more refined and not in a mega-thread.
Given the lack of responsiveness of THS to address most if not literally all of the complaints, concerns, bug reports or feature requests to date, the way THS feels about its paying customers is old news.
Yes I saw someone opening a new topic about platform alternatives in order to move away from TH. TH right away merged this topic with the general huge 400 replies topic about the new fee. Alternative platforms and new fee regulations have nothing to do with each other directly.
There is currently a new thread on that topic, posted with approval from one of the mods. The primary restriction is just to not post hyperlinks to competitors — but discussion of same is permitted per the community guidelines.
I appreciate that it’s being left open to discussion.
i didnt expect them to rise the fee per sit. so i dont care what they excpect and by the way i have mentioned that they have merged the topic and not deleted it. check my text
Yes, it appears they’re sort of burying the topic of alternate pet sitting sites in the much larger rapidly growing thread about the booking fees rather than outright deleting it.
I hear you - as always, the forum team are collating your feedback and sharing it with colleagues at THS.
During this initial period, the best way to stay on top of all the discussions and address key themes - see this post - effectively is to keep the discussion is a single thread (for now).
We do appreciate all of the feedback in the forum and will share as much support as we can.
@Jenny having read all the posts I notice that
There are several key themes and concerns that forum members are discussing as a result of yesterdays changes
The booking fee
The way that members were forced to click accept to the new T&Cs without being able to read them first which is illegal
The other new terms in the new T&Cs ( not the booking fee )
Points two and three are not about the booking fees. These are separate issues that require separate threads if they are to be discussed meaningfully .
I’ve made sure there’s a conversation where points 2 and 3 can. be discussed here - and I also want to confirm I’ve passed your feedback (and others) about the T&C over to the team.
Agreed. The dismissive, condescending tone is really obnoxious. I’m sure they’re just trying to limit their exposure by keeping everything in one thread, hoping that if people feel ignored, they’ll eventually stop posting.
Eventually people will be done with letting off steam, and they’ll either accept the changes and attend to more pressing things in their lives or they’ll move on.
Either way, the newest topics of discussion will run their course and things will quiet down in that regard, whether it’s a few days or a few weeks, it’s going to happen.
@jenny you say “initial period” as though you expect things to settle down as they have with previous unpopular changes. I think this time it will be different and introducing booking fees, especially such hefty ones, is a big error on the part of THS. It is classic Enshittification which has had devestating results on social media.
Yes the volume of grievances will die down. The negative taste will remain. Businesses are built and sustained on reputation and the value of the service they offer.
I was upset when THS enforced intrusive background checks on US based sitters only. Insulting!
I was livid when they created the 5 application limit and overnight about 90% of sits in popular locations were not available to me.
I was disappointed when I couldnt find a way to make notifications work on my phone.
I was irritated when THS switched around the order of my profile without telling us. I spent a few hours figuring it out and rewriting pieces in case they appeared first for a reader.
I was miffed when they outlawed overlapping sit dates.
I was sympathetic when they started charging couples more to be able to split up and cover overlapping dates.
I was insulted when they implemented the fee to book. I have yet to read the new TOS that I agreed to. I can only take so much aggravation at one time.
Will I continue to use THS? For now, yes. My membership renews in Jan, and I have a sit booked in March. So I have no time to assess and pivot.
Am I a disgruntled customer who remembers every time this company devalued and insulted me? Every time the platform and app fell short? Every time Frankie the dumb bot stood in my way of getting help? Every time a posted sit was clearly outside the rules and nothing was done? Every time member feedback was ignored, including a report button for inappropriate sits?
We’ve been HomeOwner and now sitters. For HomeOwner, good sitters are a gift. For HomeOwner it’s a win-win situation. As volunteering sitters we are insulted. Charge the HomeOwner not the volunteers.
I imagine, THS might be in financial circumstances. That’s what this action says to me.
. In other parts of life we are paid to take part in such Focus groups), and so more valuable if the topics are more refined and not in a mega-thread.