We have a sit posted well in advance for a summer sit. We have an applicant that in general has great reviews - many repeat clients. She does however have one concerning review. She had her family (daughter and 2 grandchildren) come stay overnight at a sit without permission or previously requesting the owner to do so. The owner claims she had listed - no overnight guests or children. Seems like very bad judgement at the least. We would not appreciate this happening.
We don’t see a rebuttal to the review. Perhaps this isn’t visible in reviews?
The sitter looks like a good fit in many ways. Our question is do we directly bring this incident to her in any potential discussion? Or, just make it clear we ask for no guests without a previous discussion. We make that clear in our listing. We are not confrontational individuals and don’t want to come off as negative. But, that review is concerning - even if not repeated in later reviews. TIA for any opinions.
@Savuti94 if it were me I’d bring it up preferably in a video call chat so you can see & read the body language - could be that there was a misunderstanding of the HOs wishes or that they have learned their lesson and won’t do it again .
It will play on your mind if you don’t ask …
Yes you should raise it, I did a sit after the previous sitter had stayed, asked to bring grandchildren and the homeowner had said no but she brought them to stay anyway. It wasn’t a house suitable for children, lots of antiques and collectibles and very steep stairs. The homeowner was very annoyed naturally.
I would just be clear about your expectations well in advance of the sit. As a sitter with several good reviews under my belt, I have to admit that it’s only since reading comments on the forum that I even realised that it was against the THS Ts&Cs to bring someone else along on a sit (not that I have ever done so). In retrospect, this is naive on my part, but also because I know that I would only ever bring along someone who I really trusted and knew wasn’t going to let me down in any way. I’ve also been actively encouraged on non-THS sits to bring along a friend/partner/family member for company, so I guess I kind of assumed that THS sits would be the same. We all make mistakes, and the review that you describe may well be the result of just that - an error of judgement on the part of the sitter. If you have the discussion and define your boundaries at this stage, everyone will know where they stand. As is often the case, good communication wins the day!
@Becca I wonder if by ‘non THS’ sits you mean that you did sits for friends or family in which case then I could understand being encouraged to bring a friend as you’re very much a ‘known quantity’. I find it very puzzling that anyone would be confused about the difference in sitting a complete stranger’s house/pets which is entirely based on trust the T&Cs and ID verification based personal liability based upon it.
I had a cleaner for years and I suddenly discovered that my neighbour (who she also cleaned for) used to visit my house to have tea and a chat with my cleaner whilst she did my ironing…. it was bizarre that she felt she had the right to do this when I wasn’t at home and she was uninvited by me! I banned her and she replied it was up to my cleaner if she wanted her there or not. I gave them both an ultimatum stop it or the cleaner would be sacked. She stopped it. It was the entitlement that shocked me.
@Savuti94 When discussing the sit with the applicant, you can approach the topic delicately by emphasizing the importance of respecting the guidelines outlined in your listing. Maybe kindly mention the incident without accusing or being confrontational, say that you value open communication and adherence to the agreed-upon terms. This allows you to address the issue while also giving the applicant an opportunity to explain or assure you that it won’t happen again.
ETA : You still have a lot of time to find another sitter if you’re unhappy with their response too of course.
Hello
First, responses to reviews are visible on profiles, so if there wasn’t one there, she didn’t offer one. If you see previous feedback about a sitter doing something that it is important they not do when in your home, you would probably feel better by broaching the subject directly rather than reiterating the ‘no guests’ policy hoping she gets the ‘hint’ that this ‘reiteration’ is a direct response to the review where she seems to have went against the HO’s wishes.
How she responds will probably be a big help in deciding whether you feel comfortable with her or not.
Hi @Savuti94. Was this review the latest or some time ago, meaning she may well have learned from her mistake? She also may expect you to raise it with her so do that. Remember there are two sides to a story.
Definitely 2 sides to every story. The negative review was a while back. Great reviews since then with many positives that are things that are important to us as well. I think we need to figure out how to ask about it. Maybe start out saying we were drawn to the positives in her reviews. Then just be honest and say it makes us uncomfortable to ask…but a past review states you had guests including children when it wasn’t cleared with the owner?
We aren’t ani-children. Just too much added liability having children around our pool and our pets that aren’t used to kids around.
Hi @Savuti94 I know people are different, etc but if you are thinking about this or any thsitter, you must find the comfort or do it anyway to talk candidly with sitters before, during and after an exchange.
Hi @Savuti94 let us know how it goes. It could have been an unforeseen/unexpected/emergency situation too, you never know. Yes, no third parties, but if my child/grandchildren are in unexpected trouble, then I will either have them stay over, or I might have to call on ‘your’ plan B as I might have to leave your housesit to support my children.
How I found out was my son aged 13 asked me to stop the neighbour sending him to his bedroom to do his homework when he got home from school! On other days he’d make himself a sandwich and have a drink… but ‘they’ were in the kitchen and the neighbour didn’t want to be disturbed gossiping with my cleaner. The audacity! The problem with an unknown visitor is you don’t know how they’ll behave and you have no leverage in writing them a review or getting THS involved who don’t even have their details.
