Agree that the sitter should have acknowledged the message about the later departure time. But it would still be nice to have @apierlioni enlighten us
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Without even bothering to try to make a voice call.
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The timings/chain of events are a little confusing to read but sounds like some dubious comms on both side. IMO the greater error is with the HO. If by traditional text message, they cant be 100% sure its delivered so really should have called to make sure received and understood. Its too easy to rely on email/text and thats where communication can easily break down. When in doubt just pick up the phone.
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The whole chain of events is disheartening.
This really emphasizes the need for better communication when a Sit is confirmed, about the TIME that the Sitter needs to arrive. Why wait until just before the Sit?
Forcing the Owner to think through their day of departure can be helpful to the Sitter.
I also wholeheartedly agree that our entire society needs to learn when a voice call is completely appropriate and necessary. Texting and email work to a degree, but in situations like this, make a phone call!!!
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@pietkuip We have only the sitters version of events - which mention two text messages- we donât know if the HO also tried to reach the sitter via voice calls - which would have been a good idea.
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@apierlioni
The sit can be cancelled by the host in which case no reviews can be left - since the sit start date has gone past it would need to be cancelled by the host contacting THS.
I see from the link in your profile that you are a HO too . I am a sitter not an host but I always try to put myself in the hosts shoes . Try to see this from the HO point of view -
They sent you a message the day before about the arrival time and heard nothing back - they intended to leave at 1pm , but since they still had not heard from you and you didnât arrive at 1pm⌠they waited for you to arrive to be sure you would turn up . With no further comms from you - 5 hours after they had intended to depart, they eventually cancelled their planned trip . They were upset . You then arrived and expected them to apologise to you .
All of this could have been avoided by better comms -
A simple reply to the hosts message even if it was late in the day would have put their mind at rest - you knew that you were definitely going to turn up - they didnât.
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Yes, Maggie, you are correct. Her trip was cancelled for some reason other than fear of not have a sitter. And to clarify, she said anytime after 9:30 AM initially, then wanted to make it anytime after 1:00 PM. She meant to come no earlier than 9:30 AM initially, then no earlier than 1:00 PM. She was not expecting me to show up exactly at 9:30 AM b/c she mentioned she was feeding the cat in the morning. Either way 6:30 PM satisfied both requests. I was coming to feed her cat its dinner.
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Just to clarify it was anytime after 9:30 AM (she mentioned that she will take care of the cat in the AM) and then wanted to amend it to anytime after 1:00 PM. Never did I commit to being there exactly at 9"30 AM or 1:00 PM. I was planning on coming to begin with the evening feeding of her pet.
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What reason did she give ?
Well this has been a quite an illuminating experience. The HO had given me her cell# in previous communications. However, she did not have mine, nor did she ask for it thereby making voice calls impossible. From now on, once a sit is confirmed, I will make sure HO has my cell # and inform them exactly what time I expect to arrive. I thought 2 days before the sit was adequate to confirm the details, but it as a sitter it seems you have to be ready to respond to last minute changes in the plan.
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Given whatâs unfolded details wise, it sounds like both host and sitter were missing basic elements in potentially partnering for a successful sit.
Yes, everyone should have alternative contact info to reach each other. Thatâs not just for sitting, thatâs for any travel, because emergencies and other things can come up in life.
Itâs also important to have mutual consideration, which should prompt healthy communications. Like donât leave each other in limbo or with lapses in communications.
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Thank you for the extra information @apierlioni . So all the messages that you didnât see were on the THS inbox ? I think we all had wrongly assumed they were text messages as you had said not being able to read them because you didnât have your phone .
Was this going to be your first sit @apierlioni ? I can only see your homeowner profile .
As sitters we provide our mobile number on our application message and then have a WhatsApp video call before committing to a sit . This ensures that both parties have good channels of communication during the sit . We use it for the updates during the sit too . We donât rely just on the THS inbox (which often has time delay in the messages being received) . Having a good reliable channel for comms is important incase of an emergency arising during the sit - like if the cat became seriously unwell and needed to be taken to the vet - you would need a way to instantly contact the owner. Or if the owner was taken ill and needed to return home immediately they would need a quick way to inform you they were on their way home .
Hopefully the owner will cancel the sit with THS ( and then no reviews ) and you can both have a fresh start .
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That is asking for your number, isnât it?
When they do that, I usually respond by sending a message to that number, as a test, and so that both sides have the number in their phone.
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At the application stage, we always ascertain what time weâre required to arrive at, and leave, a sit. Itâs imperative when working out travel times etc.
@apierlioni, In this case, it sound as if you had agreed a blind handover, but arrival timings are still very important to ensure pets arenât left unattended for too long. You say you didnât see the PPâs messages, so presumably you were acting on her last advice: that she would leave at 9:30am. You arrived at 6:30pm, so nine hours after what you thought was her departure time. That in itself is questionable and not something weâd ever assume was okay (unless this was a no pets sit). Even then, it should have been discussed and agreed with the host, IMHO.
It sounds as if there were poor communications on both sides, here. Hopefully there have been lessons learned by both parties, and things will be better organised next time.
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I suspect youâve made a bit of an assumption there, @apierlioni , instead of actually confirming acceptable arrival time with the PP. My advice is to always confirm in writing, then there can be no misunderstandings.
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Iâve tapped out on this thread a while back.
I donât get how from the time you left work on day 2 until 6:18pm the next day, you did not have time to communicate/answer the text about arriving 1pm or thereafter.
And I donât get how if the home host said arrival anytime after 1:00pm, which means you could have shown up at 130pm, how there is a text at 6:18pm canceling the sit.
So, Iâm out.
Iâm not a good member to follow up withâŚbut you are in good hands with others on the thread.
Good luck going forward.
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Sounds like youâve noted the lessons for future, so i wonât labour that point.
But worth asking the HO to formally cancel the sit on the system if not done already. This will prevent the review requests which cant be completed fully at this point, and will avoid a situation where each of your profiles show a completed sit without review
Three sides to every storyâŚalways leave a review when the system allows and state the facts. Communication seems to be the main culprit this time, yet communication is one of the easiest skills to master. It helps when communication is TWO sided.
Thank you to the poster for posting your experience, lessons to be learned on both sides.
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I disagree. Sounds like there was plenty of communication leading up to that time. If I was the HO, I wouldnât cancel bc of a missed message at that point. Is make other arrangements.
First, always be exact with communications with HO. If they tell me that theyâll be leaving at 9:30AM I would then provide an exact time that Iâll be arriving, which should be within the time frame that the pet can be left alone. Arriving around 6:30PM, when the pets were left at 9:30AM seems very late to me.
Secondly, many HO will become uneasy when there is a lack of communication leading up to the start of the sit, which seems why the HO cancelled the sit.
If I had left my cell at home, I wouldâve logged into THS and messaged the host from my work computer.
If the host leaves a review that says you stopped communicating days before the trip, arrived several hours after the HOâs scheduled departure, didnât contact them all day until you arrived and they had to cancel their trip - you may encounter issues confirming future sits.
Wishing you the best of luck!
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