I had a member dispute and the sitter was allowed to give me a review. Under the Member Dispute Process, it says “as long as reviews remain respectful and the house sit has not breached our terms of service, a member has the right to leave their opinions and comments”.
Our house sitter breached the terms of service and was asked to leave 5 days early. She gave me an emotional, retaliatory review that didn’t mention leaving early or the big issue of having a full time guest.
Here is the term of service that was breached:
5.3.10. not allow any other person(s) to participate in the sit unless they have been approved in writing by the Pet Parent.
I have texts and video from our disclosed exterior home security camera that prove it.
I am frustrated. I am following the rules but feel like no one else in this situation is.
Go back again to THS MS support and ask to speak to a manager and show them the proof. If that is their own wording then the review should be removed. If you want someone quickly use the chatbot and ask to speak to a human. #feelyourpain
Trusted Housesitters said they have made a note about the House Sitter “internally”. I take it to mean that if she gets another complaint they will take action. When I asked about the breach of the terms of service and the fact that the Housesitter left 5 days early because she would not stop her guest from coming over, they said she still has a right to leave a review for the 2 of the 5 days that she sat for us. Her review was personal and emotional and makes no mention of why we ended things early. Now I have a big fat 1 star review on my profile. Even if you read her word salad and see all the 5 stars she gave me anyway, the first thing you see is overall she gave me 1 star and it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Trusted Housesitter suggested replying to her review. It is putting the responsibility on me to deal with her, again, which is bringing me back to 2 of the most stressful days I have had in years. This woman and her boyfriend were in my house and they didn’t want to leave when I asked them to. I knew asking them to leave was a risk, but I believed allowing them to stay was riskier. After all she lied about the boyfriend, what else was she lying about? When I said they must, they became hostile. I felt so vulnerable, and worried for our cat. Her unauthorized boyfriend was seen on our exterior camera, moving things out of our house when she wasn’t there. The worst feeling. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I have another sitter coming this weekend (whom I booked months ago) and I have PTSD. I am so worried that I don’t think it’s worth it to be on this platform anymore.
Sorry to dump this on you. Perhaps I should start a new post. I already have 3 on this subject. What is one more?
Sorry to hear this . This was a serious breach and I am surprised and disappointed that THS haven’t taken more action against this .
When you raised the member dispute , did you provide the video and text to THS as evidence of the boyfriend staying in your home without your permission ?
Am really sorry to hear all this. Very disappointing and stressful no question. If it’s useful please feel free to DM me the review and would be happy to help you write a response to them. Also interested to know if you had a video to show THS? #staystrong
I’ve followed you posts and I know how distressing all of this has been for you. I do think you should make a very brief and factual response to her one star review pointing out why the situation was cut short.
If you really feel that you do not want to do that then one thing that I would say is that anyone with any discernment and critical thinking ability will often disregard a one-star review. When I see one star reviews on anything, whether it be holiday accommodation, a restaurant, or a review on THS I assume it is a gross over reaction on the part of the person writing the review. I pay much more attention to three and four star reviews. I think it is a shame that a five-star culture predominates so strongly on THS because this in itself often results in unrealistic reviews.
If I am looking at a listing I read the reviews of the sitters but I also read the reviews that the home owners have left for the sitters, especially if someone has left a low star and often I realized that it is a reactive and defensive review. If long-term experienced sitters read the reviews she has left for you I am sure they can read between the lines and figure it out for themselves. Please do not be overly worried about repercussions.
Thank you Cathy. I am thinking about what to say in response to her review of me. I wonder if it’s better to wait until she responds (if she responds? ) to my review of her since she hasn’t been fair thus far. My review of her was very thorough and factual, and I hope home owners will read it. All of her other reviews are great. I think she has been getting away with this for a long time. In a lot of ways it would have been easier for me to not say anything, but I couldn’t.
It may be best to wait a little while and see if she does respond. I’m not sure how long you have to respond, I think I saw somewhere that it is open ended.