Having had 5 sitters so far, I’m a fairly new HO - I would like to ask you how you deal with damages to your stuff.
I have a fairly new Dyson, not even a year old, and a few days after returning home after a sit I found that the cat sitter had tried to rip out the dust container from the cyclone filter to empty it (instead of simply pulling up the lever, which opens the dutst container). It was clear that something must have gone badly wrong and she must have been quite forceful - but she didn’t mention anything to me. I found a Dyson I couldn’t empty anymore with a lever that wouldn’t move a millimeter and a dust container hanging off the cyclone filter.
The cat sitter is a lovely girl and everything else went well, but it ticked me off that she hadn’t mentioned it to me. I sent her a message, and she apologised but didn’t offer any solution. Speaking to THS, they sent me insurance details, but I found out that I couldn’t raise a claim because cover starts at damages over 1000EUR.
After 2h in a chat with Dyson, it was confirmed that the vacuum cleaner was indeed broken, and, because it’s still under warranty, they will repair it for free.
PHEW.
Admittedly, all of this annoys me - the hassle, not having a vacuum cleaner for at least 3 weeks (2 cats with lots of hair and adorable paws + cat litter… sigh), the fact that she didn’t take ownership/responsibility. But I don’t want to become a suspicious, uptight HO. I want sitters to be open and upfront, and if something breaks, then the world won’t stop turning and we’ll sort it out.
Question:
Would it be acceptable to agree with sitters to repair/replace items that they break? Would it be reasonable/acceptable to ask whether they have personal liability insurance?
One question I will definitely include in my next interview is whether anything had broken during a sit before, and how they handled it.
I am a sitter and HO here. I would be very annoyed that a sitter broke an expensive item and didn’t tell you. Mistakes happen, but not telling you about the damage is not a mistake.
As to your questons - I think the first 2 would deter sitters. If a HO asked me that, I would wonder if they were going to get uptight about a broken glass or plate (I have broken a glass on a sit, and told the HOs immediately). Even the third question would give me pause, unless it was phrased differently. Right now, it is more like a job interview question. Maybe you could ask “Have you ever discovered that an appliance stopped working during your sit?”
For future sitters, I would explain how some devices work if they are different to most. I have a Dyson, so I know that it is different to traditional vacuum cleaners, for example. You can also make clear that you are happy to answer any questions from sitters if they have questions about your appliances/devices during the sit.
I would also say that if something stops working, to please let you know because it could be an easy fix. I know this wasn’t the case with your Dyson, but it might be the case next time. I recently had a sitter who paid for a garage repair person to come check a garage door that wasn’t working. I didn’t know this until a week after the sit ended. While I appreciate her trying to help, I could have told her how to fix the problem in a few minutes if she had notified me.
The sitter should have let you know this happened, apologized, and offered to pay for repairs if it wasn’t under warranty. You could deduct a star for communication, although frankly, if it was me and everything else was fine, including the pets, I’d mention it privately and move on. It probably happened last day, she was in a panic and might not have realized it was really broken.
The vacuum was under warranty so you aren’t out any money. It’s not great being without a vacuum for the time it will take to fix, so that isn’t so great, but you’re lucky.
This could have happened with a cleaner or a rover sitter, or even a guest trying to be helpful. It’s one of those things that as a homeowner, I’d say we just have to accept. (Accidents happen).
If I were applying for a sit, and someone asked me during the chat how I would handle a situation like yours, I’d tell them: “I would let the homeowner know and ask how they want me to handle it.” But if a homeowner wanted to know about my personal liability insurance, I’d just withdraw my application – as I believe most sitters would. I wouldn’t even begin to get into a discussion about potentially repairing and replacing items. Expensive coffee maker? Just tell me not to use it! Dishwasher, washing machine? Nope, nope, nope.
Updating to add: Because vacuums all seem to work differently, I have asked for vacuum demos on video or in person. You might consider doing something like that for next time.
Yet another incident that probably occurred during final cleaning. HOs can avoid those risks by telling a sitter not to worry about for example emptying dust containers of vacuum cleaners.
Or if they really want the sitter to handle such equipment, by supplying links to instruction videos on Youtube.
I would treat it as I would with any other friend or guest, found it really annoying but got myself a new vacuum. I don’t understand why one would go three weeks without a vacuum if one would like a vacuum cleaner, but maybe I missed something (possible). I have two different vacuums, so that is some of a luxury.
Would one also ask a friend or a guest whether they have a liability assurance? Maybe it is a cultural thing (US?) for me it is strange to think in that direction in a case like this. I wouldn’t bill a friend that broke something trying to clean my home - or a sitter. An observation is that on forum it is quite quickly an assumption that sitters should pay a host for this and that, so I admit I am somewhat prejudiced.
Things like this - trying to hide obvious damage - really tick me off. It is eventually found by the HO and speaks to immaturity, arrogance and/or poor integrity (not to mention stupidity - refer back to HO will always find it). It does not strike me as unfair or unrealistic to ask the sitter to cover damage. Whether they will actually do so is an entirely different conversation. And, as ever, you can ask potential sitters anything you want (within an appropriate ethical range , of course).
I’ve never broken anything on a sit but I have broken others’ property in other situations. The best approach is to always let the owner, etc. know immediately. Apologise WITHOUT excuses. And, offer to pay.
She should have mentioned it, but please don’t question potential future sitters about liability insurance. We have THS’s sitters insurance to cover ourselves… but you would like additional liability insurance above that even though HO’s have their own insurance to cover their contents etc… It would put us totally off, we wouldn’t apply.
If an owner made us feel like they wanted us to be responsible for all of their possessions at the application stage when we have no idea of how old or rickety anything is, we wouldn’t be interested, I think most sitters would be the same, because we wouldn’t be able to relax and have a coffee on the sofa with pets around, we’d be treading on eggshells no matter what we did.
It’s sort of like a sitter asking an owner if they will refund them if their dogs takes a liking to their shoes, or if their cat kneads their favourite jumper in a lovingly (but costly) way. Because cat’s kneading our clothes has happened on every cat sit we have done so far. But it’s just one of those things we all need to accept as part and parcel of THS.
Don’t get be wrong, we have owned up straight away to anything and offered to pay because of the good connection we’ve had with the owners we’ve sat for… but every sitter is different.
Big plus one to providing links to manuals for speciality items.
We noticed some guests used out washing machine incorrectly. We have now updated our guide with explicit instructions on how to use it and just say if you are confused about something, ask or just don’t use it.
I agree with others that asking how they typically handle situations when something breaks is a reasonable question or have they been in a situation where something broke/they broke something on a sit and how did that go.
I also think it’s helpful to provide context for why you’re asking so they know it’s being asked because of previous experiences so you just want to make sure you do your due diligence.
I also agree with others that asking about their insurance is invasive.
Lastly, for items that aren’t standard, and every vacuum is different, provide a manual or instructions or take the time to show sitters how things work before you leave out or just tell them not to use it.
It’s under warranty so no real problem. Stuff breaks. I’m with the above, that she probably didn’t realize it was broken. If you have complicated machinery, explain it or put it away.
I’m a HO.
Did you leave directions for the vacuum or give a run-through? If not, you’re also at fault.
Should’ve told you the vacuum was broken upfront. If it were me, I would’ve offered to at least share costs for a repair, because of mis-use.
As a sitter, if I’m asked to pay for breakages, I’ll skip the sit. That’s because how do I know what shape your stuff is in or whether you’ve got it all strewn about inconveniently? Plenty of hosts have stuff that’s old and stuff just breaks down sometimes, even new things. Happens in every home.
If you want someone insured, hire someone professional. Most THS sitters probably will skip your sit.
I can see where you’re coming from, but as a sitter I wouldn’t feel great setting off on this sort of footing at the beginning of a sit - to the point where I would probably just avoid the sit. Your sitter didn’t handle the situation well by not owning up to what had happened, and if I were a home owner, that lack of transparency would trouble me more than the actual damage done.
I haven’t ever broken anything on a sit, but did manage to get a sliding stable door jammed well and truly shut. Luckily neither myself nor the horse were in the stable at the time, and the owners gave it a really good shove when they returned home, which did the trick. Sometimes stuff just goes wrong, and it’s inevitably more likely to happen when someone’s not in their own environment, and using things that they’re not familiar with.
Would adding accidental damage cover to your home insurance be a solution, (and making sure that the excess is significantly lower than THS’s €1000, which seems high)? It might offer peace of mind for future sits, and would allow you to deal with situations if and when they arose, rather than anticipating problems. You’d know that you’d got the insurance as back up if you didn’t manage to come to an agreement with a sitter about any breakages.
I am annoyed for you. As a sitter, these things happen. I think it is necessary to be upfront about them so a solution can be arrived at together, rather than waiting until the HO comes home to discover the very obvious breakage!
I can recall two things that have happened on my house sits, both of which I was upfront with the home owner about, which is the only way in my opinion. The most recent was my last sit, during which I ironed the bed linen (following seeing a post about the home owner complaining about unironed bed linen!) and it left an iron mark. I was kicking myself as this was the last day and could have been easily avoided. When the HOs arrived home, I told them my mistake and they were very kind about it, saying they’ve now got an excuse to get rid of that old duvet cover. I offered to give them money towards a new one, which they declined. I completely appreciate your niggles and do not in any way think you are being unreasonable. This is TRUSTED house sitters, and the basic tenant of trust is open and honest communication.
The reason for not buying a new vacuum cleaner straight away is that I’m a single-income household, renting in one of the most expensive cities in Europe. I simply can’t afford buying a new Dyson just like that. The cost of living crisis is real.
I wouldn’t have to bill my friends. They would have taken responsibility and said: Don’t worry, we’ll fix it.
As other said before, if there is something in the household that must be used because it ensures the habitable condition of the house (hoover etc) and serves the personal comfort of the sitter, in the sense that it meets the usual standards (such as a washing machine), then the HO is responsible for ensuring that the sitter knows how to operate it. If people have to guess, that’s a problem.
Yes, the sitter should have said something.
If you ask these intended questions when talking to potential sitters, I’d feel like I’m at a job interview. If I would be really a person who break things and not say so, I would of course also lie in an interview like that. After all, nobody will say: ‘Yes, that’s right, I broke some technical equipment, went home and pretended it wasn’t me.’ (Would be funny though)
These questions are absurd and I would say they don’t help, but rather scare away good sitters, because it also shows suspicion. I would rather mention this story in passing in a neutral way (important!) and then say that if anything is unclear or breaks, it’s not the end of the world, but you would like to know or if there are any questions, you can be contacted.
I am a sitter and not covered on my basic level of membership.
I understand the THS plan (not insurance) covers some very limited claims and there is a hefty excess.
I’m confused. So, what insurance did you already speak to THS about?
Didn’t you previously say you’d solved this issue via the warranty provision?
For info, we’ve found on some sits that pet parents have compiled a folder which includes handbooks for all their appliances. The folder usually also includes leaflets about local places of interest, walks, takeaway menus etc. To be honest, we usually google info on any appliance where it isn’t immediately obvious how to operate, but this might be a future option for you to ensure sitters have all the info they need?
@Dogmanstar
Here is a link to the terms of the insurance
Points to note ( which THS already told you )
Mediation - Pet Parents and Sitter(s) should resolve any Sitter damage under $1,000 between themselves.
If there was a charge for the repair, you could send the sitter a copy of the invoice and ask them to contribute to the repair . However you have already stated that you are covered by the Dyson warranty and you are not having to pay for the repair so in this case the sitter doesn’t owe you any money.
I understand your frustration and agree that the sitter should have mentioned it to you if they realised that they had broken it - we would have done .
