I went in to update my profile this morning and all that is showing is my âexperienceâ section. My âintroductionâ and âwhy I want to sitâ sections are completely missing. When I go into each section and hit âeditâ all of my documentation is there but itâs not showing on my profile.
I also just randomly looked at other sitter profiles and these sections seem to be missing from otherâs profiles as well.
Hello @Knowmad
We have recently rejigged the profile to show the My Experience section at the top of the profile âabove reviewsâ and then show the âaboutâ and âwhyâ I want to sit below.
This is a test we are running based on what information Owners look for in a Sitter profile. Hope this makes sense.
Please let us know if you have any issues editing or viewing this layout.
Many Thanks, Ben
This seems a bit of an odd idea. Most of us will have drafted our profiles under the previous layout, with the sections leading on from each other. Certainly, in my case, the âMy experienceâ section builds on what I have written in the âAboutâ section. I note that @Knowmad refers to the âAboutâ section as an introduction so I think is they way most sitters have written it. Rearranging the sections means they donât flow and in some cases may no longer make sense.
Now that I know about this and had a chance to review the new format, I actually quite like this.
Thatâs exactly what threw me off. I just went in and added an intro to my experience section and it makes sense now when someone opens my profile.
Oh, I didnât get the message about the change/test.
Our profile layout hasnât changed. It still starts with the âaboutâ section. This is on the app
The app hasnât changed. Itâs on the web version which is where I go to update my profile.
I completely agree @LauraT . The section that now appears at the top of my profile was previously near the bottom and does not work as an introduction, having never been intended as one. I will have to rewrite it for it to make sense and look professional. I have to go to work now though.
How long has this test been running? Would it not have been a good idea to inform sitters in advance do that they could review their changed profile? I think mine looks terrible and if I was actively seeking sits at this present time I would be very upset that my ability to âsellâ us as sitters had been interfered with.
We rarely get notified of these âtestsâ @Debbie as you know so thank goodness for the Forum!
@BunnyCat I agree that there really should have been prior communication about this change to give sitters the opportunity to adjust their profiles and to complete the new section.
The default for experience is 0 years if you havenât updated it. So currently there will be lots of sitters showing 0 years of experience and potentially with odd looking, disjointed profiles.
@temba, I am not in the least surprised at the lack of communication. I think we have come to expect it. Iâll keep pointing out the importance of good communication with members in the hope that one day someone will actually take it on board. Thank goodness for observant members like @Knowmad to let us Forum members know what is going on!
Hello Ben,
Can you please clarify if this applies only to the web version? If so, then if we sitters update the section to make sense on the web, it will then be disjointed on the app. What should we do?
Also, can you please share how long the test will last? I donât want to spend hours redoing my profile if you are going to switch back to the old way next week, but if itâs another âtestâ (like the 5 applicant) that you have already decided is going to remain, I definitely want to make the investment in a redo.
Finally, as a former product manager myself, I just have to state that I agree with the other comments - please let your users know about these things! It will make life so much easier for us and for you!
Thank you!
Please let us know how long this âtestâ will be. It is quite irresponsible to do this âtestâ without informing us first. Was there a leadership change right before the '5 app rule" ? I am very interested to know what is going on. I think it would be great to have a group of sitters be able to give feedback on new ideas before 'testing."
Hi All,
We have adjusted the layout based on Owner survey data that âExperienceâ is the top credential for picking a Sitter, we are looking at making profiles more âPet focussedâ
The test will be running for 3-4 weeks. We have not announced the test as this could undermine the behaviour of users in the test. Will announce on the forum if the test is successful and if we are keeping this change.
Thanks, Ben
@Debbie thanks for pointing out the years of experience section, I didnât know this existed. Is it a new feature too? I mostly use the app, very rarely the website, and this is not on the app. @Ben-ProductManager itâs very frustrating & disappointing to not be told about this.
Hi @Crookie
As mentioned above, this will be announced once we have a winner in A/B test. We will then announce across our communication and implement it across platforms (On the App as well)
Announcing it before defeats the whole purpose of testing as users become conscious of what we are testing and change behaviour. We will have results within a month. So will keep everyone posted then.
Thanks, Ben
But @Ben-ProductManager this doesnât appear to be just a little tweak to functionlity ?
A few questions
What is A?
What is B?
How will the âwinnerâ be determined?
This change means that sitters profiles - their way of marketing themselves - have been changed without them knowing. This could result in their profile coming across rather odd as the experience section was never designed to be an introduction.
Experienced homeowner members are going to wonder where the missing sections are - i.e. the bits that actually tell you who is sitting. Or even worse they may think the sitter has written a terrible profile, missing lots of information and immediately discount them. Likewise new homeowner members may think that the experience paragraph is all the text in the listing if they donât scroll down far enough past the reviews - and discount the sitter. I can imagine a lot of sitters getting rejected before homeowners realise something has changed and that is isnât just a case of them being unfortunate enough to get a succession of applications from folks with odd profiles.
As an experienced homeowner, if you opened a sitter profile, not knowing that there had been changes, and you saw text that said something along the lines of.
Weâve looked after my brotherâs German Shepherd. Weâve been members for x years and have looked after cats, rabbits and chickens. I had a poodle when I was growing up".
would you be impressed?
Or would you be thinking âWhat sort of introduction is that? You havenât told me who you are.â
Itâs a bit like changing the THS website so that the pricing information appears straight away at the very top. After all, isnât that what most people want to see? Then the explanation of how everything works could be much further down the site / page. How about it? You could run an A/B testâŚ
@Crookie I believe this is part of the new version of the profile âExperienceâ section. The default is 0 years and you can select a number up to 10+ years.
When I view my profile it appears directly to the right of the heading âOur Experienceâ.
Iâve been viewing a few random sitter profiles in my area but this does not appear on any Iâve looked at so far. Hopefully this means that it displays a blank space unless the sitter has updated it.
Announcing it before defeats the purpose of testing as users become conscious of what we are testing and change behaviour. We will have results within a month, at this point in time, I will go into detail and share the results.
Thanks, Ben
I have just checked how my listing appears to homeowners. The âExperienceâ section is now at the top and I had a problem even finding the other sections buried away at the bottom under the reviews. My listing just doesnât make sense any longer. Thanks for that!
The first section previously was the âAboutâ paragraph and at the very top of that in capital letters I explained our very limited availability so not to waste anyoneâs time. I find it impossible to keep the calendar up to date as I have other commitments outside THS.