On my 13th sit and by far the worse sit I have EVER completed.
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Neighbour complained about a bouncy dog on my second day BUT HO has never met the woman, they moved here in March. Weather has been amazing and I find this hard to believe.
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Fox entered the garden and dug UNDER the hens’ coop. Dogs (with owner’s permission) have been sleeping in the room with me.
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Dogs are very challenging on a lead, unpredictable off a lead and at risk of running away.
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They never barked on Sunday evening when the fox appeared but have done so over the last couple, I am exhausted.
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The images uploaded are not a true reflection of the cottage now.
I feel this is a sit for 2 people and the dogs need harnesses and a long training lead for future sits. How do I address this in a review?
I would hate for anyone to go through a bad time like me or shall I ignore the review completely?
2 Likes
Maybe have discussion with the HO about what’s needed? Like 2 people, leash training, etc? And then leave no review?
If I don’t see a review, I take it as a warning, although I’m not sure of the problems. However, I’m new to this so …….. maybe others have better advice.
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If you do you are doing a disservice to future sitters.
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Please leave a review stating all you have put here. Maybe not about the fox, hardly the HO fault. But Its not fair on future sitters if you’re not honest about the sit.
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Yes, I am leaving in the morning after walking the dogs together.
I will get back to work on Monday and will speak to HO about this next weekend. Thank you.
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Would you have wanted to know what you know now prior to the sit? I am assuming you would. So leave a review.
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Of course but I don’t think everyone always writes the truth in their reviews. I am the HO’s first THS sitter.
I am concerned about the safety of these two dogs in the wrong hands. Not everyone is going to have my patience with these dogs and heard some horror stories.
The coop is too small to accommodate 5 hens and is not fox proof.
3 Likes
I understand your distress, and no one can force you to write a review, but given that this is a sit in what might be an interesting location for some sitters, you could write a short review of the bad and good that warns sitters of some conditions. The chicken incident which you wrote about previously sounds awful and doesn’t need to be the focus but I would want to know the following;
- I don’t understand what you mean by “bouncy dog” or any of this, but if the weather was great, you could lead with or mention it.
- You could tell the unfortunate story and mention something like this: If the homeowners get new hens I hope they figure out a better system to protect them becase the dogs didn’t help keep the foxes away.
- Could you explain a little more about how the dogs are challenging? Are they pulling a lot. A practical solution like: This sit might work best for two people as walking both dogs at the same time is really tough.
- The dogs sometimes get barky. (Was this at night?) I couldn’t figure out a way to quiet them. It was exhausting.
- PLEASE be specific about the actual conditions. Your comments here are mystery. Were they photos of a different place? Was it cluttered? Could you describe the conditions?
Your conclusion that you feel it’s a sit for 2 and about the harnesses is perfect. This would be really helpful information for a sitter. It wouldn’t necessarily keep people from taking the sit but it might encourage the homeowners to make some changes and sitters would know what they were getting intol
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While I disagree with this, how does not writing a review help anyone?
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Write your factual/honest review & sometimes bullet points help- which won’t be seen until the HO writes their review- after all it’s BLIND. Personally I’d not communicate with the HO outside of your review. I’m assuming a few typos…. as I’m confused by your ‘bouncy’ comment.
This sit was very challenging for me as a solo sitter but might be more manageable for a couple experienced with behavioural issues…. I’ll list the more difficult aspects which left me exhausted.
- Point one
- Point two
- Point three
5 Likes
I had a terrible experience about a couple. The house was filthy, so dirty, they asked me to sleep on the sofa. They made me waiting a hour in the station to pick up me. They did not left food for the cat. When they came home they said : the house is clean!
They let their dog make poo and diarrhoea in the living room where I slept. I couldn’t sleep for the smell.
Horrible people .
But I did not write any review hoping the the next sitter could understand the message. No review no good place to sit
This telepathic methodology for reviews is no longer acceptable since blind reviews started. Actually, I never found it acceptable.
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Some sitters will not put two and two together. I know it’s difficult to write bad reviews, but honest reviews are necessary if this system is going to work
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I don’t see how anyone can infer that the house is so filthy from a missing review. Like @MaggieUU, I am not competent at telepathic skills.
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You should have written a review to warn other sitters, that’s the whole point of the review system.
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Some members do not even know how to search for missing reviews.
A fair and honest review is the best way forward.
I assume you would have appreciated a heads up before walking into that situation.
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@Cristy9 I read a review recently where the sitter gave 5* overall and 5* in every category then starts by writing 'This was most definitely NOT a 5* sit experience! She goes on to explain everything that she had not liked. Her comments were logical and believable but somehow she did not feel able to drop any stars! This was rather strange but it made me think that the written comments are anyway often more useful and insightful than the star rating, especially if no explanations are given for dropped stars. Its tricky finding the balance of what to say and what not to say and how to rate it on stars. Noone wants to lose stars!
However a contradictory review- as above- is better than no review at all. At least you learn something about the sit experience. So I think you did your fellow sitters a disservice by not writing a review of your horrible experience. In the old days, pre blind reviews, I sometimes did not leave a review - for fear of retaliation. And I too left it to sitters to read between the lines, as I myself do when no review is left. But now with blind reviews you have the freedom to write an honest review without the fear of retaliation. This is a big difference. I always write reviews now as there is nothing to lose. The host, or sitter, may ofcourse reply on the review given, if they don’t like whats said, but that does not have the same impact as the original, inbiased, review first given.
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The next sitter is not going to "understand " the message unless there is a pattern of non-reviews and unless they are using the app and not the website and searching for missing reviews.
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There is no obligation to write a review. Sometimes it can be better to walk away and recover in peace.
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