Do keep in mind, we don’t know if any other sitters reported this HO to membership services. @Lokstar may have been the only one.
1 Like
@Maggie8K
I’ll share what I’ll pay attention to from now on, and what will make me turn away from a sit.
- owners won’t be there when you arrive, just leave instructions instead
- owners change dates more than once
- businesslike behaviour, messages that read like corporate communications
- telling me I can’t use the heating, or placing great emphasis on what you can’t eat or drink in the apartment (I wouldn’t eat or drink anything anyway unless I was invited to)
- they don’t give you any emergency numbers (please always insist that they do!)
- they don’t respond to application for a long time, decline you without a word, then suddenly write back and invite you, or repeatedly miss planned video calls,
- they only talk about what they want and need and show no interest in sitter’s comfort
Most pet/home owners here are lovely but from my experience these are things to watch out for!
12 Likes
Curious - what do you find wrong with businesslike communication? I actually prefer a homeowner who is organized and clear.
1 Like
I mean using corporate speak. Business lingo.
Being organised and clear is great, absolutely.
I meant the tone.
This is obviously personal to me and others might be totally comfortable with it.
4 Likes
Oh man, that’s a drag! Well done YOU for persevering! 
3 Likes
Thank you!
2 Likes
@Silversitters I agree bad hosts should be flagged & removed. But just to reiterate what I said- I didn’t say other sitters flagged this sit- I said I have no way of knowing if any of other sitters involved THS at any point so THS may well consider it a one off situation. I’m also just making an assumption that other sitters had a difficult time too ( I can’t prove that) But the fact there were no reviews/feedback after us, and some review gaps or signals from previous sitters does rather indicate that’s the case. These kind of situations are very tricky!
5 Likes
@KenandMary1998 I agree- there are no guarantees a different system would work better. However a blind system like airbnb might give people a chance to express themselves more honestly rather than as a direct retaliation to a review or feedback they don’t like or think is fair. And there is still the opportunity to respond like on THS.
3 Likes
@Maggie8K
Important things to watch for when considering a sit.
- Have there been previous sitters?
If yes we carefully analyse the sitter feedback and also click on the sitter to see how the host reviewed them. If there are missing stars or missing feedback/reviews either way we take note- the more gaps etc the bigger the red flag. The gaps only show on the App not the desktop so be sure to check both! - reading between the lines of feedback
In our case (above) most of the other sitters wrote only about the animals (all gorgeous) and the area, most said little about the hosts and no one wrote about the house at all! Several gave only 4👍as sitters cannot rate in categories so that is a subtle hint something was not right.
It would be great if sitters could contact each other directly to discuss sits when there are questions about a potential sit.
@andrealovesanimals has made some valid points too.
I too dislke a business like tone. We are not staff. If the listing is too abrubt or businesslike I don’t even apply.
If communication is good & friendly I have no problem to arrive at a sit without meeting a host. Sometimes due to travel scedules we do not meet. Usually everything goes very well.
Always ask for bedroom pics if none are shown. And other internal pics. Sometimes only a sofabed is offered - a no go for us. Especially if other beds are available and/or the sit is longer- it could indicate sitter comfort is not a priority. Etc etc …
Some things you just cannot know till you start the sit. You become more intuitive and discerning with experience!
10 Likes
@Lokstar and @andrealovesanimals , I agree with you re. businesslike communications. I took a sit for someone like this, disliked every minute of it, except for being with the wonderful dog, and counted the minutes until it ended. I was constantly afraid of doing something wrong and was so glad when it was time to drive away. Never again.
4 Likes
I agree and what you have written will be a very useful guideline for others. What puts me off is when I’m invited to an ‘interview’ with a HO. I’m definitely all in favour of having a discussion prior to a sit for both parties to decide if it’s a good fit.
However, straight away that simple word ‘interview’ this tells me that they view sitters as their staff in some way and themselves with the upper hand. Others may be totally ok with this and that’s fine but for me, this is a clear red flag that I really pay attention to.
2 Likes
@Chatsetchiens
Yes, I agree.
The word “interview” is a good example for the type of corporate language I dislike. It’s not a job and the home owners are not my bosses.
I want to see it as helping each other, mutual kindness between animal lovers.
4 Likes
Hi Petlover,
Yes I had this problem on one sit a while back now. I was informed beforehand that the dog, due to age sometimes suffered the odd little accident. This was rather an understatement and they were I discovered more deliberates than accidents. Should have suspected as on arrival a mop and bucket full of disinfectant was left. Was told to keep confined to the kitchen but could have with me on a towel on sofa in lounge. First evening I allowed into lounge and beckoned for her to jump up beside me. Promptly walked straight past and immediately did a wee (before I had any chance to stop) in front of patio doors. Felt I had to spend every evening in the kitcxhen with her after that, First morning ran down at 6.30 am and opened kitchen door wide open and walked outside leaving her there. Went back upstairs to get dressed etc. Came back down less than half hour later and there on the kitchen floor directly in front of the open door was a poo and a wee. Same thing happened second morning. Third morning I pushed out and shut the door. But then had all the barking and whining etc. She also without fail always did a wee on kitchen floor after I arrived back from anywhere. IT did not matter if an hour or four. Kitchen always completely dry and no wee’s anywhere. One day arrived back after four hours and thought great no wee’s etc. Opened door and let out. Went upstairs and down two mins later. Opened door from hallway to kitchen and put my foot straight in a huge puddle. It seemed to be that she had this mindset of oh goody she is back now to do the mopping up, so I can do a wee. She really did treat the kitchen as her toilet area but also any other area, if managing to get into hallway for example. And it could frequently be poos also. Never any wees outside, unless I was out there for a long length of time keeping door closed.
2 Likes
@mars sounds awful. Did the person sound businesslike or abrupt from the start?
I had this once too (constantly afraid of doing something wrong) and after the sit I did get lots of angry messages about everything they thought I had done wrong. Nightmare. I needed a while to recover from that sit.
5 Likes
Yes, the owner was like that from the beginning. The Welcome Guide was so extensive and detailed, that, alone, was intimidating. This was a lesson learned.
Post sit communications were fine and they were minimal. Too bad you encountered issues there!
1 Like
@Visit that sounds absolutely horrible…kind of like a naughty child… (I don’t have children, so this is what I imagine naughty children to be 
)
So sorry you had a sit like this too, Sounds very familiar. The problem dog I described did pee and poop outside too, but even with taking her out 5-6 times a day, she went inside the house also multiple times per day. Disgusting and should have been described in the sit listing. Was never mentioned in our discussion prior to accepting the sit either.
2 Likes
Thank you!
For your review, I would write on anything positive you can find, house was very clean, great kitchen, loved the area, etc. . Then in last paragraph, say "to improve the sit in the future the HO should consider consulting an expert on the house training issues with the pet to make it a positive experience for future sitters’. Then give a 3 or 4 star rating. I’m about to give my first 4 star rating and will use a similar tactic.
6 Likes
Excellent advice, Peg! Thank you.
3 Likes