Five Star Service Four Star Review

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Hello!

Hope all is well with everyone wherever you are.

Wrapping up six month in the UK with some amazing sits and amazing people. THS is a game changer and my retirement plan.

My last sit in Princess Risborogh just posted their review. Given 4 Stars for Organization.

Text read. “Some of the communication could have been a bit better when some small issues popped up”

Mind you, no mention of the “small issue” What happened Stacey??

What were your “small issues”?

Why didn’t you address the “small issue” at the time so I could correct your “small issue” and I still don’t know what the “small issue” is

I love when I see these comment on reviews because it clearly show the HO DIDNT communicate Did you ask the sitter in a timely manner to meet your need?

I was in communication EVERYDAY of a 30 day sit with exception to April 25, I found out my mother had died and May 01, was handling issues with my mothers passing.

I sent photos and videos everyday with exception to the two dates mentioned.

I have 364 photos/videos on my phone related to care of the 9 animals! How’s that for organized?!?!

Regarding organization, I own a travel agency and move groups of 10 people around the world with butlers, bodyguards and police escorts staying at five star luxury hotels. I HAVE TO BE ORGANIZED!

*****All that said, what is the policy of THS to ask about the reasoning for the four star in the review. And asking why didn’t you address the issue during the sit?
( passive aggressive )

WHILE I’M ON A ROLL…

I gave them an excellent review despite some hiccups in communication on their part, accuracy of listing, pet behavior, WiFi not working, circuit tripping while cooking twice.

They forgot to confirm the booking until I reminded them twice AND there date of return was off by a day. Return May 10 NOT May 09 as agreed upon and posted on THS.

AGAIN, I had to confirm their return time about a week before May 09 to book my train. Andrew admitted his mistake and asked if I could stay.

I said no, I have plans in Cambridge

Accuracy of listing: The photos they use are from MANY years ago when the home was the developer home. So the exterior photos show lush manicured landscaping and potted plants with horses in the field behind the house. Not exactly accurate considering I removed all the dandelions in the yard as a kind gesture so as not to arrive home to a yard that had not been maintained for a month!!

Oh, and the maid didn’t come on Thursday as stated in the Welcome Guide.

There’s more, but it’s late now and I am “organizing” a group of 14 guests traveling to Miami for 35 nights, NYC for 8 nights and Atlanta for 10 hours and 36 minutes…flying in from NYC to ATL for the game and flying out to Miami.

Now that’s Four Star organization!!

IMG_2172
IMG_21721284×2778 833 KB

IMG_2157
IMG_21571284×319 69.4 KB

2

Why did you rate them 5 stars when that wasn’t accurate?

3

Definitely annoying that they did not specify what the “small issues” were nor give you the opportunity to address them while they occurred.

You can certainly feel free to message them and ask them in a really nice way So you have a better chance at getting a reply.

For your future sits, mentioning the hiccups that you experienced on the part of the homeowner would be helpful for future Sitters and proactively offset any related thing the owner may write towards you on those items. I’ve seen plenty of 5 :star: reviews with a few Tactfully written shortcomings included.

Have you already made your reply to their review of you? There’s not a time limit on when you do it, just be strategic. Your reply, if done right, could offset concern for future homeowners Of the one docked :star: .

I would be heading to AI on making something well written for a little guidance as needed for the reply.

4

This is what stops me in your narrative.

While I can’t comment on their review, yours was not accurate or honest either. That certainly does NOT justify theirs , if indeed your descriptions are accurate.

My point is that far too many people, both sitters and HO’s, either write self-serving reviews or do not leave honest or accurate ones…and your experience, sadly, perpetuates the foundation of so many problems with this process.

5

I get the frustration. I was rated 5 stars on every category, except 4 of cleanliness, and then 4 stars overall!?

The sitter said there there was dog hair on the sofa. WTH. I have a golden retriever, they shed. I didn’t cancel the sit even though our vacation plans radically changed when my Dad became gravely ill (we drove and took the shedding dog in question with us, wanted to cancel the one week sit, but kept it as the sitter whined). Then this sitter (who we left 2 bottles of red wine after asking her her wine preferences before we left) had the nerve to text me while dealing with my Dad’s last days because she changed her mind and wanted a white - could she pull one from our collection? Like I cared at that point, LOL. We also gifted her a card to a coffee shop and approved an overnight guest and she left that bizarre review. Weirdo haha.

It’s frustrating but move on. If you are a sitter or HO who does the right thing then the one off review gets buried in more 5 star reviews. So, it becomes inconsequential.

I understand the annoyance but let it go. 4 stars won’t hurt you at all :slight_smile:

6

See, I don’t think it’s not accurate or honest. Some people tolerate minor issues with grace. Others nitpick every minor thing. It’s a different mindset sometimes.

I know some HO are upset with sitters and outright fib their reviews, which is not good. But one party being more relaxed then the other…it happens. I don’t point out every tiny thing sitters do, as long as my home is clean and my pets happy and we’ll cared for. I don’t care if they forgot to empty trash, or left hair bands in the bathroom, or forgot to strip the sheets. Sometimes you let the small stuff go and focus big picture, while others look at the small stuff and call it out in a review - which is annoying to those of us that are more easygoing.

7

As a homeowner who carefully reads all the reviews written about sitters, all the reviews sitters write, and all the responses:

  • If this was a single dinged star in a category and not an overall 4 based on that single ding, and there were no other reviews mentioning any issues in this category, it would make not make me any less likely to choose the sitter.
  • If this was a four overall but based on the single category and with the message that they’d host the sitter again, and there were no other 4 star reviews or anything questionionable it might merrit a "What happened? question on a chat because I’d be curious, but problably wouldn’t impact whether or not I’d choose that sitter.
  • If the sitter wrote a response that sounded angry about the review or implied that the homeowner was leaving out some critical information, or being unfair, etc – especially if said information wasn’t in their review – I would probably avoid that sitter because I’d be concerned that if I did have a legit concern, I might get a reaction from the sitter and drama.

I think sitter reviews are a serious business because a bad review really can impact future sits. This won’t. A review can feel bad because many of us are perfectionists who strive to do everything well, and it feels “personal” but it’s really just someone else’s opinion. Sometimes you need to accept that and move on.

8

I get it–it’s frustrating when you’ve put so much energy, care, and effort into a sit. It really sounds like it was overall an excellent review, and I doubt it will impact your ability to get future sits (especially as it’s vague).

After some rest and a bit of distance/time, you could reach out to HO to find out what the story is. I wouldn’t respond to the review, personally. FWIW, I got 4 stars in a category once and the HO later reached out to invite me back. I immediately thought of that “ding” and guess what? Didn’t bend over backward to sit for them again.

9

I’m very sorry about the loss of your mother. That must have added a lot of stress in the middle of a 30 day sit. It’s disappointing that the host didn’t cut you some slack under such circumstances.

To answer your question, THS policy is that reviews once posted cannot be changed by host or sitter. THS can make changes but that’s rare and only under extenuating circumstances. 4 vs 5 stars is not extenuating.

It sounds like the review was 5 stars for all except the 4 stars for organization. If that’s correct, you are very worked up over a very minor thing. Future hosts will skip right over that 4 stars as irrelevant if the bigger, overall picture is positive across multiple sits.

If I were you, I’d ask the host why they dinged you on organization. With the review already posted, there’s no harm in asking and you may get a response you find useful. Either you agree with the host after clarification or you dispute their perspective If the latter, you have 1 chance to post a response to the review they gave you. There is no time-limit on submitting that response so I’d strongly recommend letting the dust settle before penning a response.

10

When sitters or hosts rate the other party as 5 stars when there are problems with the sit it’s unfair to everyone who deals with that member going forward AND it makes it worse for the person who leaves 5 stars yet gets something less in return because they look like they’re the one at fault.

11

AGREED! 100%

I think many of us fall into the trap of

“I want to be nice” No more Mr Nice Guy The issues weren’t “deal breakers”

House photos probably over 10 years old Real Estate listing photos posted not actual No lawn care for 30 days while I was there And probably 30 days before my arrival

WIFI spotty

Dogs food aggressive and dog aggressive ( I handle large breeds so this is nonissue for me but for someone else’s may be an issue )

Maid didn’t come as promised

Another issue…annoying but not a deal breaker Chickens would not go back into the coop at 6:00 pm ( must be inside because of foxes )

They refused and I mentioned it to HO the first time, second and third time. They just kept saying “Shake the bird seed, they always come” Ah, no they don’t That’s why I’m asking you
FINALLY, after 10 days of the chickens and me dealing with chasing them into the coop, HO says “try shaved carrots, that always works”

WHERE WAS THAT ADVICE 10 days ago???

The reason that was an issue was because I would have to try to get two chickens in the coop at 6:00/6:30/7:00/7:30/8:00 before sunset

( apparently they had 6 chickens but foxes got to four and one current is missing a wing because of foxes )

My current sit asked their last sitter to leave the second day!!! And didn’t wrote a review.
That sitter had all 5 Star reviews previously. so seems odd

12

Yes

5 Star total review

4 Star organization with NO context

“We’d welcome him back at anytime”

HARD PASS

13

@BigDog it might be a US thing but do you always call the housekeeper the maid?? Just curious, it’s so old school and slightly class distinction sounding. Again, just curious, no other intent.

14

@BigDog We too have had the odd Star dinged with no explanation and it is very annoying and unfair after making so much effort. One host marked us down on Organised (with no explanation in the review.) This was after arriving to a blind handover and finding the promised, detailed, printed WG was actually just one piece of paper with a few inadequate notes! So much important info was missing that we had to make immediate contact with the HO (who was already in Vietnam) to find out basics e g where is the dog food?, where is the fuse Board? (Both were in illogical places) where do the dogs sleep? Notes said in the garden shed but there was no key! (oh, they sleep inside the house as its winter..) how to close and lock the terrace door that was standing open on arrival? (oh, the lock is broken I forgot to mention it!), which bedroom should we sleep in?? 5 bedrooms all with made up beds but not necessarily clean sheets. etc etc it was long ago and I forgot all details. Because there were so many important questions she ended up responding to our message by calling us back from Vietnam to run through the details properly. This was probably what triggered the 4 stars- we disturbed her holiday!! But that was entirely her fault for failing to prepare us adequately!! These days I insist on the WG well in advance. This host also left my husband entirely out of the review, and wrote it only for me!, even though we sit as a married couple and he was clearly there with me as he was in lots of the sit pictures!! As if I, alone, could manage two huge St Bernards!! We were pretty annoyed about both these things!

However, like you, we made the mistake of being too generous in our review of the sit- we should definitely have dropped a star or two on Communication, and also hospitality. But as she’d seemed nice, and we’d managed to deal with the issues, we did not mention any of the annoyances. In retrospect our being generous and overlooking things, and her doing the opposite and being petty, added to our annoyance! I suspect you might feel the same!

At least now reviews are blind it feels ‘safer’ to be more honest in reviews without fear of triggering a revenge review. This was always a fear before-for many- especially sitters. But being honest and factual does not have to be done in a mean way. Its possible to be respectful and truthful at the same time. At the end of the day we all want to know what we are walking into!

15

Whooooaaa! The (big) dog was aggressive and you thought that was trivial and not worth mentioning…?? And you still gave the HO 5 stars? Che??

16

I know that stars are considered by many to be the “currency” here but frankly I wish there were less focus on them.

Sure the star system offers a useful guideline (for both sitters and hosts) but it’s essentially flawed, in the results it gives and the way in which people use it.

The real “meat” of any review is surely not in the oversimplified star system but in the feedback left - by both sitter and host. That’s where I head first, after having received a message from a potential sitter.

17

Absolutely: That is how it should work. But we instinctively look for brevity, more and more so as our attention spans fall. Those little stars seem to provide such a handy summary; why plough through a “TLDR”?.. Additionally, what we believe (that the stars are an accurate reflection of a sit) isn’t the same as what we know (that they sometimes aren’t)… And we tend to go with what we believe.

I’m no neuroscientist, but there must be something about the shape of a star.. As evidenced in all sorts of areas, from primary schools to THS. I wonder if the extremely basic 1/5 marking system would carry such weight if they were just dots, or short lines, or even squares..

18

The combo of stars and writing works, from my POV. But there’s no failsafe when people are involved, because there will always be ones who look after only their own interests, are timid, are afraid to hurt hosts’ feelings even though it hurts other sitters, etc.

19

Well said!

Well written

Yes, very disappointing

HO replied to my Whatspp query

Can’t even look right now. Too much work to do so I can’t get flustered by excuses.

Thanks again!

Appreciate your very thorough reply

You sound like the Dream Sitter!

20

Even in this review, HO offered NO CONTEXT for the 4 Stars. Simply

“Some of the communication could have been a bit better when some small issues popped up”

WHAT SMALL ISSUES?

I texted 28 out of the 30 days Stacey!

How may days did you reach out?

Oh yes, the one day your medication delivery arrived and it had to be refrigerated

Lessons learned

Thanks all !