Hi @Crookie I believe that Therese has been in communication with you and is looking into why you and some others haven’t received emails of which the newsletter is one, and will be getting back to you and those on this thread who’ve reported a similar issue. That seems like the first issue we need to resolve for you so that you do receive the communications planned which will be going out by email and on other communication channels as mentioned.
If anything changes significantly we will let you know in the forum.
But as I say receiving the emails seems to be the first priority in your case and that is being handled by direct messages from the team so as not to take this topic off track.
Ben, your definition of success appears to be completely based on stats. Homeowners are having to compromise instead of choosing the right sitter. I was approached by a friend yesterday who was nervously thinking of joining THS to find a sitter for her precious cats and I had to explain that she would now have a very limited selection of sitters to choose from and that I could no longer recommend it. I do not think you have a very happy community at the moment!
Hi @Jilly the way I do this at the moment just generally when I’m replying to owner messages is to open another tab on the website browser. I open the listing in one tab, and deal with the messaging/application in another. I can then switch between the two to make sure I don’t miss important details about the listing that I might want to mention.
In this new scenario, you could use one tab to apply, and as long as you don’t close that tab it remains active, and you can open others to do your research. Hope that helps, but if you need more detail on this, just DM me.
I used to get one occasionally….I can’t even remember the last time I saw one. Why can’t it be posted so we can use it for further reference if for some reason we don’t see it in our emails.
I rarely post on this forum and I’ve been occasionally dipping into this thread. The more I’ve seen, the more disappointed I become in the bull-headedness of THS actions and responses. In three long sessions, over two days, I’ve just finished reading all 940 posts.
It is abundantly clear to me that this ludicrous “5 app pause” system is of no benefit to any homeowners or sitters; yet another example of change for change sake, because the technology exists.
This latest implementation of a change that members do not want has been steam-rollered through, regardless of the clear desire for 99% of those contributing on this forum. The farrago of responses to members from THS staff regarding the many concerns shows total lack of empathy with members - some responses obviously crafted in corporate gobbledyspeak.
It seems that the house/pet-sitting “family-feel” of the old THS has now been lost forever… Oh, for the old days of Andy Peck and Rachel. (For those wondering who Andy and Rachel are - they started THS 12 years ago)
Very sad to see it now in this downward spiral.
Ben, first Thanks for seeking to improve THS. I think everyone wants and appreciates that. There are many things that can and need to be improved – such as seeing picture captions on BOTH the phone app and the website.
Unfortunately, the 5 app pause is not an improvement. To understand how confusing it is, please see my previous post comparing it to a Monty Python skit.
While you may be getting more sits booked faster, you have essentially taken a high-quality restaurant where you take your time looking over a menu and then ordering a fine meal into an early McDonald’s where they got burgers out in 30 seconds but you got it their way, not yours. If you want to be an early McDonald’s, that’s fine but that’s not what members signed up for. Even McDonald’s expanded their options over time.
A logic chain only needs one bad link to invalidate it. In a previous post you talked about owners getting over 100 applications. Apparently that was several years ago before owners could choose to stop receiving applications so that is not valid. Since that improvement was done, owners could choose how many applications to keep receiving so that logic chain link does not apply and should not be a consideration in making changes like the 5 application pause. THS could even automatically send an email at various points like 20, 30, 40, etc. applications reminding owners they can stop receiving applications.
I may have a way to make everyone happy and keep things simple, as follows:
After 10 applications the listing is paused
The owner gets an email from THS asking if they want to continue receiving applications and must reply “yes” to do so
That allows the owner to receive up to 10 more
Then it repeats
A maximum of 50 applications per listing
That’s my idea. Simple, easy to understand and implement and allows members time to review listings before applying and owners won’t be playing weird games of declining-but-not-really-declining applications to get one more application at a time.
Please, please, please stop the 5 application pause insanity.
Through the test, we were also monitoring the On-Sit experience and the quality of Sits and Sitters. We have a survey that goes out after a sit to Owner and Sitter members asking how the sit went (pet, communication, responsibility, cleanliness etc…). This is an anonymous survey to both the owner and sitter asking for feedback about their recent experience. The feedback has remained positive and consistent throughout the test period which tells us, beyond data, that we are continuing to provide good outcomes for our sitters and owners.
Oh, I forgot to add - I stopped recommending THS to friends and relatives over 2 years ago when it became clear that support from the company had ceased to exist. Has anyone phoned the “helpline” and spoken to a member of staff recently? No, didn’t think so. Anyone experienced “live chat” (not the bot which is utterly useless). No, they’re all hiding behind “because of covid” for the continued appalling customer service.
Shame on you THS!
I don’t know how you asked the questions in your survey but I know they can be skewed to get certain responses.
Here’s a couple of questions you might include in your survey to owners:
We are running a test to determine if 5 applications is plenty or if you would like to have more applications to consider. How many applications do you think you would like to receive to BEST consider applicants?
1 - 5
5 - 10
10 -20
Over 20
I would like to be able to consider as many applications as I desire
We are running a test to determine if 5 applications provides you with the BEST ability to choose the BEST sitter for you. We pause the applications at 5 and then you can decline one or more to receive new applications. Would you prefer:
Pause at 5 and release one at a time by declining
Pause at 5 and add 5 more
Pause at 10 and add 10 more
No automatic pausing - just let me receive applications until I decide I have enough
A question similar to the last one could be made for sitters. No question like either of these was in the most recent survey sent to us as members.
Thank you for the response, that will help a bit but it would make more sense for the Homeowners to choose whether they want to limit the number of applicants. From the comments that I’ve read in a variety of locations, the majority are negative in regards to this change.
On a separate note, we travel constantly but I’m only allowed to pick one location for my profile. The result is that homeowners from Minnesota reach out to us hoping we can do a sit for them but we’re never there! Solutions?
I cannot believe how you are collecting data to suit your requirements.
Throughout the test, I have carried out 3 sittings and have not received any survey asking how the sit went.
Even if you had done, all of these 3 sits were arranged BEFORE the test, I did not apply for them during the test so any response I would have given would have been irrelevant to the test.
We’ll now I understand why we got so few applicants for our post. None of which worked out. I ended up going to a different site, finding someone - who backed out at the last minute. We’re now paying someone locally to house/pet sit. Five applicants is not enough. Just as I’m positive sitters are on the lookout for opportunities that will be a good experience for them and fit their needs, as a homeowner we may not be able to post everything that we feel is relevant and important to us. But, WE also want the sitter to have a good experience and sometimes after reading their profile or speaking with them, what seemed originally to possibly be a good match may not be after all.
We would definitely like to decide when to pause applications. Or at least make the initial number before pausing at least 10.
Thanks for listening.
Julie
Why don’t we start a 9-week test allowing 24 hours before applications are paused ?
I think a lot of people would be in favor of that and you could then see and prove if it has
any negative effect.
Another option might be for homeowners to select pause and review at 5/10 applicants or allow 24 hours before pausing when they post their house sit.
@Expat6 No us neither for sits we completed in July / August - first I heard about any surveys was this week on this forum. So my queries are: Who was invited to do them? How many responded? What were the questions? What were the responses to those questions?
Indeed. I was part of the original “survey” a few months ago where they wanted the opinion of 5 sitters & owners about possible upcoming changes.
One of the possible changes was “pausing after 5 applications”.
I replied that pausing might be a good idea, but 5 is too little, 10 might be better.
Answer: “our research has shown that 5 is the ideal number.”
Out of curiosity, it would be interesting to know how many sits Ben and the other decision makers have done, or how many ads have they posted as a homeowner looking for a sitter? It’s easy to sit at a computer and make decisions for people but it’s another thing to be “on the ground” actually living it. The pain of this change is real but those behind the scenes making these life choices for others are just not feeling it! Anyway, my final input, auto renew is now cancelled. Good luck everyone
