Wahoo, we got the review!
Thanks for the replies. We are pretty similar to most, out of all the sits we’ve done just one we never chased for a review & that was simply the home owners circumstance at the time, we thought they had too much on their plate. We also had an early review that came a number of months after the sit.
It’s more a worry for me if we don’t get one. Think we all like piece of mind that we leave a happy pet & a happy home owner.
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This question is on this same topic. Amparo replied to my comment that it’s important to obtain reviews for each sit regardless of it being a repeat sit for a homeowner but the repeat sits we’ve done are for some homeowners who no longer belong to THS. One couple we sat for five years ago and we were their first sitters on the site and they decided they didn’t want anyone else so didn’t renew their membership and now personally invite us to sit and don’t travel unless we’re available. Are there other sitters out there who sit for homeowners who no longer belong to THS? If the homeowners no longer belong to THS, are they still able to do a review?
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Hi @Globetrotter. It’s great that pet owners want you to return, as it reflects well in your profile. However, if they are no longer members, your option is to ask them to do a reference instead. You can request the reference, and I always ask them to start it by showing the location (city/country) and the date range. In a THS review this automatically displays, but when it’s a reference it does not. You may also want to ask them to mention that this is the ‘second time’ etc - whatever is relevant.
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Hi Annette. You have a valid question and yes I would be one of those. I have been sitting with THS since 2018. I started with a different platform. In total I have about 70-80 sits now, I honestly have lost track of the numbers.
I do many repeats with folks who are no longer on any platform just like you describe. They are just friends now who message me and ask if I’m available.
I have not been too concerned with getting reviews and references since I am booked most of the time and have lots of fabulous reviews.
That being said, I now feel that I am selling myself short and I’m going to start asking for references as @Snowbird suggests.
Number one reason being I love this and Well Why not get the recognition deserved?
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Thanks Snowbird for your input - appreciate it!
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Thanks Amparo for your reply - appreciate your feedback!
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Hi @Globetrotter I, too, think you’re selling yourself too short and should be recognised for your repeat sits for those no longer members. You can get them to do a House and Pet Reference but they can only do it once (unless they have a couple of different email addresses). You also need to remember that should there be any kind of issue or emergency you and the owners have no support from an organisation like THS. I’d be really encouraging those owners to re-join.
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Thanks for your feedback but we only sit for one couple now that don’t belong to THS and have had a great friendship with them for five years now. Don’t want to get into details here but we’re definitely not selling ourselves short!
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Hi Gina,
I just sent a Whatsapp reminder to owners I house-sat for a week ago.
First of all it took me a while to figure out that I leave feedback on THS but then have to request a review from them. Talk about semantics.
I just read in the thread that owners don’t get a reminder and this really should be changed. It doesn’t feel comfortable chasing up a review. The sit went really well and we had a lovely evening with the owners on arrival and departure. They have two small children which demand a lot of their time that’s why I feel like I’m nagging them to get on with it. I would really appreciate it if the site did this automatically. I have invested so much time already in comms this feels unfair.
We already have positive reviews but even so I am always suspicious if sitters or owners don’t review someone or an experience after a house-sit.
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Hi Tuppence,
Its funny our last sit this year we didnt get a review for & I 90% didnt expect to, mainly due to the person we sat for possibly not using the internet much. We know she got someone to set the account up for her & advertise the sit.
Once we accepted all our correspondance was via whatsapp.
The sit went fine & we corresponded afterwards.
We felt, so long as all was well; her pets looked after & we had a nice week away that if an occasional review is missed then so be it.
However, for a newer sitter this would be more of an issue.
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Hi Gina,
The Whatsapp yesterday was enough of a prompt. We’ve got our review! But it can be an issue and often I have felt like a real pest chasing people up. Also, we’ve done repeat sits for people who are no longer on the site or friends of friends who’ve never advertised and then of course one knows in advance that the whole review thing won’t arise.
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@Tuppence. Yes i totally agree, you feel a pain chasing up, yet we shouldn’t really.
Glad the whatsapp worked.
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I have had two experiences of homeowners sending me a very appreciative personal message after they returned home, but never giving me a review on my page. In each case I requested a review several days after posting my review of the sit. Also in each case, the homeowner invited me to sit again. I won’t repeat a sit in which the homeowner doesn’t have the courtesy to post a review yet wants you to sit for them again. The personal note is appreciated but it is the posted review from the homeowner that is so much more useful of course.
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I have several excellent reviews with descriptions of how lovingly I cared for each pet and how respectful I was of the home. But I only sit 3 or 4 times a year so having current reviews is important to me. I usually post a review of a sit within 2 or 3 days after completing it. I will request a review if the homeowner has not in turn posted one of me within a week or so of my review of the sit.
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Hi, that must be frustrating. It’s hard to believe that people don’t understand the importance of reviews on a platform like this one. And if they were very busy why not just cut and past the appreciative message? Perhaps next time you house-sit it’s worth mentioning in person how important reviews are to you. Good luck!
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I am wondering the same thing. Since this is an exchange service, reviews I think are part of the arrangement. I have had a wonderful year of pet-sitting with about a dozen positive reviews but is that enough ? House/pet sitting helps me pay for my travel. Appreciate thoughts from others.
Hi @evag008 …Reviews are more than words they are testament to a job well done and demonstrate appreciation from one member of our community to another for having taken care of their precious possessions just as they would have done … iI’s a well deserved thank you and I make certain it flows both ways by thanking the pet family for placing their trust in me … I don’t believe we can ever have enough positive reviews, each one is of equal importance, after all you can never have too much of a good thing 
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Good question and one I’ve been pondering myself recently too. At the moment, I have 19 5 star reviews that I’ve collected over the last 3.5 years. Of the last 4 sits I’ve done, the owners have each time messaged me after completion of the sit to express their appreciation and thank me for taking such good care of their pets and home. Yet, only one out of those 4 eagerly wrote me a review without any prompting. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just not perhaps seen as a necessary part of the house sitting process now. I have a few other theories but that’s certainly one of them.
I’ve also encountered this situation quite a few times. And yes I agree, whilst it’s nice to have the personal message of appreciation, it’s far better for this to be written in a review. I had a situation this year where I was invited to a sit at the other end of the country at 48 hours notice because the owner had been let down by a sitter at the last minute. I agreed to do it but a few days into the sit, I was then asked to leave the property earlier than the specified dates as they wanted to get back to their home earlier than they initially thought so I then had to incur additional accommodation expenses as a result of their decision. The owner did thank me after the sit via text for taking good care of their animals and home but didn’t write a review. Never again that’s for sure.
Doggedly. I usually mention the review’s importance during the handover also. Come on, it’s the least we can do — and that works in both directions.
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