The wastage is one thing, but my main issue is excessive cleaning products, burning candles in jars (decorative gifts not for use), and emptying a full aerosol air freshener is dangerous for dogs health. She had been burning one candle where the dogs sleep! This could have made them really ill. I have reported to THS. Somebody else’s dogs may not be so lucky.
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Please REVIEW as well. Reporting to THS might not result in much action. Sitters don’t “work” for THS Reviewing is really the only way that other homeowners can be warned.
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@EmmaNew23 LEAVE A FACTUAL REVIEW, for heavens sake.
If their response to your review sounds anything like their writings (which you’ve cited in this thread), trust us, everyone will see that they are the ones with issues, not you.
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They can respond to my review though
Just to clarily:
- Each party has up to 14 days after a sit to write a review.
- If you don’t write a review within that window, you can’t leave a review.
- You can’t see the other person’s review or know the number of stars unless you write your own OR wait till after the fourteen days when it will be public regardless of whether your wrote the review.
- Either party can write a RESPONSE one time to the review. The response appears on the same page as the review. So their response to your review will appear on THEIR page. Not yours.
- If you don’t leave them any review, then other homeowners will not even be able to see that the sit happened. There is no negative consequence to them.
- If they don’t leave you a review, other sitters will be able to see that they didn’t leave you a review.
You can look at their reviews to see what other homeowners had to say about them. You can also go from those reviews to see what they said about the homeowners. It is entirely possibe they are planning to leave you a bad review in any case because they are afraid you will leave them a negative review so they are retailiating in advance. It is entirely possible they won’t leave you any review figuring you won’t leave a review either and therefore it won’t affect them. If they do leave you a bad review which appears on your page, then you can leave a fact based response on your page.
As others have pointed out, if your review is factual and their response is not, this will be obvious to people seeing the review. But just to be clear – their RESPONSE is on their page, not yours and the only people seeing it will be people looking at their page, not yours.
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Which appears on their profile page. If it is unhinged, they damage their own chances.
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Get the impression that you are reluctant to leave a review.
I would say one have everything to lose and nothing to gain not leaving a review. I would say the chances of them giving you a good review or no review are slim, considering their answer to you. It is probable they would leave a not so good review, or at least rising issues with the sit.
A host leaving no review is a red flag for me. Because I want to have a review if I sit. Emotional unhinged reviews - a flag-parade. Won’t sit for unhinged people whatsoever.
Only win is a factual and balanced review, honest, but not petty, a nice tone explaining what was missing. I could sit for a host with such a review left.
That is my opinion and how I assess reviews.
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I agree. It happens.
Even if you don’t write a review, it doesn’t mean they won’t write one on you. If you don’t write a factual review, you’re doing everyone on this platform a disservice, especially future pet parents.
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Yes, I rely on honest and factual reviews and wouldn’t want these sitters in my home.
As you said, their behaviour was bizarre and completely unreliable. There’s no way they used that amount of cleaning product in 4 days. The fact they used so many treats is suspect too but if they did feed them to your pets then that is worrying in itself as it could have made them ill.
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Please just leave a calm, factual but honest review (I would even include their extremely excessive and bizarre use of your cleaning products as it is most strange) so future owners can make an honest assessment if they reply to future sits.
If they rant and rave, they’ll just come off as a bit bonkers tbh.
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If that should happen, it will say more about them than it does about you. Keep your review - and your response to their review - factual, fair and unemotional. Sitters are pretty astute when it comes to reading reviews so don’t worry, especially if you already have a number of glowing ones.
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That’s a very big claim, @Huronbase! On what do you base it?
Did you verbally advise - or state in your Welcome Guide - that candles were for decoration only, and should not be lit?
No, but it’s common courtesy not to start burning brand new unopened candles that are sat on a shelf. As in my post, I stated, it’s not the usage, it’s the fact these are poisonous to use around pets. How far do I go in the Welcome Guide? “Please don’t eat my plants, they are just for decoration and you may become seriously unwell”!
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No, it’s not necessary to use sarcasm with sitters - or indeed, with anyone - but since you did not specify in your post that the candles were brand new, boxed and unopened, but simply stated that your ‘main issue’ was with sitters ‘burning candles in jars’, then the way to avoid any misundrstandings is to mention in your welcome guide, or specify that they are for decorative purposes only and not for use.
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On what people write. I did not screen shot every response but there are many who write that they do not have to be walked as much as the owner says. My point, if you do not want to do the schedule the owners ask, why are you applying? Sit cats.
I think that is a bit of a stretch. I would never think to burn a new candle in someone’s home. I also wouldn’t take a new jar of something out of the pantry and open it. I usually don’t take anything out of the fridge, except maybe mustard. I bring my own. But I think that is why there are so many different fits out there. And it is up to the HO to find the right fit. They need to figure out the type of person they want sitting in their home.
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Although I agree that a dog shouldn’t be left longer than advised by host, the posts I’ve seen about dogs not needing what has been described has usually been about the dog being tired long before time described for walk, indicating that the dog isn’t used to it. Because if the dog had been used to it, it wouldn’t worn the dog out. I can well see why some would indicate walks on basis of what they would like for the dog rather than what they actually do. It is probably better for the dog (and host) to keep the actual routines of the pet.
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I have never heard about poisonous candles. A fire risk, that is a plausible reason not to leave pets alone around burning candles.