The review system is fake. THS is invested in maintaining a system whereby neither pet owners nor sitters can safely leave honest reviews, because they could be retaliated against. It’s part of THS branding to boast that all members are five-star quality.
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This review gig is like my new bone. Again…it was a barrier to us joining initially. But here’s the deal…we joined anyway in the end. And sitters stay in the network even when they encounter a “bad” sit b/c the previous reviews were not truthful. And same with HO’s. So THS has no incentive to change the process cuz sitters still sit and HO’ still list.
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It is possible to be kind and honest to. Speak the truth in love!
I once had a good sit - except - it was so cold inside I truly could not bear it. I shared all the great things in the review - the cat was sooooo adorable. The owner knew it was that cold of course but I wanted other potential sitters to know in advance, so I shared it in a kind way.
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Some people are more articulate than others though. It can be difficult to be honest in a kind way….
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@Smiley, that’s true. But I think we also get better with experience and effort. It’s too bad we don’t have a safe space to have drafts that can get constructive criticism. I suppose there must be some other online space for that. Or just ask a real person nearby, Lol.
I like your approach, @Cat_Aficionado!
@HelloOutThere: You mentioned a couple things. First, being a squeaky wheel I can identify with. =) But I’ve heard that these forums are supposed to be like we’re in a nice restaurant, so we can disagree but we should always be civil. Hmm … what would be a good analogy … instead of a squeaky wheel, what about the Lumière, the candelabrum in Beauty and the Beast? =)
But I agree that TH doesn’t really have an incentive to change the review system. “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.” Right? If a PP or sitter is satisfied enough to maintain their membership, that’s good enough. As a sitter, that might be just one or two sits a year.
Also, I’d like to note the other side of double-blind systems like Airbnb: It might be better than TH’s, but it’s not perfect. There’s still a tension as an Airbnb guest to give a 5-star review. Because if you have a history of giving low-star reviews, future hosts will be wary.
I hope to see TH have blind reviews sooner than later. But I know it won’t solve everything.
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Hi there,
This is my first time on the forum but I have been a TH member for many years. The whole area of honesty and truth between owners and sitters needs to be more open. We have been very lucky with the majority of our house sits, some better than others, obviously. Some cleaner than others, etc etc. however recently we did a sit and we were genuinely shocked that owners could represent their home in a positive way, with photos, that were not like the home we found. We have had long discussions with TH staff and they have helped somewhat, but I do feel that as TH success is based on honesty that when one party reports with photo proof more action should be taken. Who are the sitters who give 5* to the homes in poor condition. I always look carefully into my sits but this time was completely fooled, as all previous sitters had given 5*. We ALL, that is owners, need to be honest and show photos that reflect the property and bedrooms, and if people are not honest what is being done about it? I am going to insist on more photos in future. I really feel that if people where honest and truthful things would work better. Why give five* top reviews to either sitter or owner if they don’t rate it. Please think about the sitters following you who believe your review, and as a pet owners you need to think of other people’s pets that might be traumatised by the sitter you found poor but did not review honestly. Let’s all be honest and tell the truth and please. Do contact TH if you have issues, they do need to know in order to change some procedures. Linda
Admin Notice: Post edited to adhere to posting guidelines.
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As always @geoff.hom good points. If a member of EITHER gave constant low stars…welp…reg flag on that person’s feedback.
Couple loose points:
I like it better on cooking shows when the judges have to taste blind…they don’t know who cooked what.
I’ve also noticed on some cooking shows now that they use a point system and not just conferring to pick a winner. I think points are more “objective.”
Now that I’m investing time energy and money into THS. ** I want THS to be the best it can be.**I
I want it to be the standard. I want THS to be what every other platform tries to emulate.
I wanted THS to balance revenue generating with member satisfaction. It can be done.
Because in the end we’re all here for the pets.
We’re all here for home care.
And we’re all here for each other.
Perhaps to varying degrees but we are all agreeing to take care of each other’s homes, pets and each other. And that requires integrity and accountability.
In our previous business, if you will indulge me, our motto was “everything we do has a patient on the end of it.” So let’s always try to do our best. And I’ll say we did pretty d*** good.
Patient referrals was our number one referral source.
I would be interested to see stats on the referral source for THS.
Friend recommendation
Friend recommendation with a *
(mine would be with a * … if there was such a choice)
Anyway my Kitty is getting laptime this morning that’s why I have so much time to be typing. Some kitties like cuddle and some kitties like to swaddle.
Always appreciate people’s comments and time in reading posts🙂
.
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Also I meant to add instead of a squeaky wheel maybe I could be the wobbly table😄
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Thanks for sharing.
Being a new member, I have immersed myself in the forum, so I can learn and understand how to be a responsible homeowner and sitter. And I do feel like blind reviews would add much integrity and correct behaviors from HO & Sitters. And probably improve the network through the “addition through subtraction concept.”
I do believe that the majority of sits and stays are wonderful. But that’s not really where the work would need to be done is it.
Businesses show their true colors not when everything goes smooth and easy but when a customer has a problem or an issue. …
How those problems and issues are handled really speaks to a company’s integrity and purpose.
There are some companies that I am loyal to because spending my money at certain stores gives me a satisfying shopping experience and that is something I appreciate and want to support… Though I have a couple of things I could point to finger at as well. But overall it’s a good experience.
Keep posting because it helps all of us.
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Yes yes yes! Blind reviews and feedbacks are essential for honesty. I think that is the only way this community will be very successful as we are growing so big now!
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It would actually be quite cool if we could give X stars out of 5 in various categories, and then THS calculate the final score automatically. Then we won’t feel the pressure to rate 5 stars.
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Hello out there,
Yes you really do see a company’s commitment to its users when there are issues that need sorting. It seems to me as a new forum user that TH really need to support their users with issues and concerns.
Thank you
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This sounds like the perfect system. I can’t imagine why this is so hard to implement!
I’m only 3 sits in, and I can see the glaring issues with the review system.
I admit, I left a glowing review for a recent sit that I have been quite unhappy with (more so after I returned home and discovered so many issues that weren’t apparent immediately) mainly because I was scared that they would retaliate. This is unfair to future house owners that these sitters apply for.
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Reddit has a THS sub, that could be a place for draft reviews…
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Yes on the blind reviews - as I and many have mentioned before.
I also feel that we should be able to “opt in” to be contacted by other members for private conversations. For example on Trip Advisor, instead of a public conversation on the forum I can PM a member and ask for personal experience. As a sitter, I would be willing to be contacted by a potential future sitter for a place I have sat. There is SO much that is subjective and how things are worded on a public forum (especially without the blind review system) is tricky.
Everyone’s definition of “neat and clean” can be very different, among other things.
I don’t know why we cannot be in direct contact with other members.
Like others, I have so skeptical about all the “best dog/cat sit ever” boasts. I tend to leave out anything negative by saying nothing. If the house wasn’t clean I just don’t mention the house, I mention only the pets and what went well. I had a sit where the guest room and bathroom were neat and clean but the rest of the house was not - the kitchen was especially not clean. So I just mentioned what was clean, not what wasn’t. I wouldn’t return to that house if offered. But would I say that publicly? Not likely.
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So I’m curious, Maggie, what kind of review you left for that sit? I know this is off topic but there is a whole thread on sitters not being totally honest in their reviews. Did you describe the constant clean up in your review? I’m wondering bc I know how hard it is to say these things in our reviews.
Hi Carpediem16,
Well i gave quite a truthful review on this sit and ended with the recommendation that this sit would only really be suitable for sitters willing to go the extra mile for the animal & conditions. Unfortunately I felt quite bad doing this as I knew it would probably affect her chances of finding a sitter in the future. But I didn’t want people to go into it other than with eyes wide open. As i said also in the review if you could work out certainly things for yourself you can stay on top of it. It’s not nice all the time and the cat can’t do anything other than do what he does. But you could influence some of the level of mess by making a few small tweaks like to his food otherwise he actually had constant diarrhea which was not good as he was then also covered in pooh and i can tell you did not like being cleaned.
So my review was pretty honest as to the problems.
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and yes Carpediem16 I think I’ve also added a few comments on the not giving honest reviews page. I’ve had a couple of sits where in hindsight I’d have loved to have contacted the previous sitter and actually asked was it really as you said because I had something completely different. But I’ve sort of looked after a number of older cats and they do have their problems and quirks. But age says nothing as I had a sit as Covid was easing down and the cat was definitely not happy with a stranger in-the house after two years. But no other reviews mentioned anything out of the ordinary so I left a very non-committal review. To the point - I was here and that was it virtually.
@Maggie This sounds like an awful experience, sorry you had this happen. I think that if your pet was afraid, you should definitely give an honest review. I can’t believe any responsible pet sitter would say otherwise. As long as you stick to the facts and are clear with what you are unhappy about then that would not put off future sitters. I think sitters are in a more vulnerable position giving honest reviews due to the system being based on a star system.
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I’ve noticed quite a lot of sitters don’t leave a review at all, which I always read as a bad sign re the sit but in actuality I think it’s probably because you don’t get a reminder to ask you to leave a review. Don’t know.