I have a couple of questions about the recent sit challenges.
I had a sit in central London this year. The HO asked me to travel close to her place to pass me keys a day before the sit so I asked her to take my bag to her place. We met at the tube station exit and I passed her my bag. Without waiting for my permission, the HO opened my bag to search through it. I was taken aback and thought of cancelling my sit. My first question is what you do in this type of situations and whether this is the valid reason to cancel a sit when the HO misbehaves.
Anyway, I thought that it would be hard for the HO to find a replacement at a such short notice and did not escalate. The sit went well, cats were cute, I kept to the HO updated few times a day. On return the HO sent a message to inform me that kitties were happy and the flat was clean. Then later she asked me what happened to the leg of the electric clothes dryer. I didn’t wash anything, didn’t dry anything and wasn’t even aware that this heater existed. So I informed the HO about it. Now the HO refuses to give me a review while stressing that she doesn’t blame me for the damage. What can I do in this situation? Is there anything I should have done differently? How do I protect myself from similar accusations going forward?
So in theory she’s not leaving you a review for something that she doesn’t even blame you for, after expressing that all was good upon her return? I would ask her again, explaining that reviews are very important in the house sitting world.
I don’t understand why they would open your bag…that would have made me so uncomfortable and I would have said something.
Agree with @pietkuip…You will still be able to write a review and I would write an honest one with highs and lows…just be prepared for the response back if they post a reply to you. If you have already recieved feedback you can call that out in your review and also call out that the HO explicitly communicated that they would not give you a review even though you did an admirable job…Either something has been missed and the HO didn’t communicate it, or you have a quirky HO experience…you can also call out the former part in your review to show you did what you could to make sure you got feedback for any potential learning moments, etc.
It sounds to me that this sit was a while ago? It may be too late to leave or receive a review.
This scenario of being blamed for damage will be extremely rare so don’t get too concerned about protecting yourself from similar accusations. It is unlikely to happen
There is no obligation for any of the parties to leave a review. It’s a personal choice, so, you cannot do anything about that. Do you want to review the pet parent or just walk away, shaking your head and putting it down to experience? That is also up to you.
As for opening your bag at the station! First of all I would have immediately said something to her as she was doing it. It’s a public place. You don’t want your personal belongings in view of everyone. What would have happened if you had packed something very em em “personal” on the top? She or anyone had no right to do this without your permission. Even customs ask before opening a bag. I understand she wanted to know what was being brought into her home but it’s down to that word again, trust.
Notch it up to experience and remember if an interchange makes you feel uncomfortable walk away. No matter how it leaves the other party. Good luck.
Tbh, @ElsieDownie brings ups good point. The fact that they searched your bag…I really hope you comment on that if you decide to write a review to warn others. That’s so messed up. I’m fuming a bit and it wasn’t even me . Total violation. And so bold to do it in front of you!?!? Would really make me wonder what they’d think was an ok or reasonable way to act with future sitters.
I would not push her to leave you the review. You told her the truth. You didn’t use the dryer and didn’t damage it. If she does leave you a review she’s signaled that she’s going to blame you. Not getting a review isn’t great. Getting a bad one, especially if you don’t have a track record of great ones, can impact your ability to get more sits.
I can understand wanting to write a review of the HO to warn other sitters, but personally I wouldn’t as she might be anticipating a bad one from you and write one to retaliate even though reviews are now “blind.”
The way to avoid similar accusatons would be to look for homeowners who don’t have a record of not leaving reviews, or leaving accusatory reviews. You can have video chats before accepting sits where you ask open ended questions to homeowners to get an idea if from their point of view a sit went wrong, and what happened.
You could still report the searching your purse thing to THS. I doubt they’d do anything, but you could talk to customer service about it.
@HelloOutThere It does not really undermine the double-blind systems. When the sitter did not get a review, that response by the HO would be difficult to find from the sitters profile. It would not hurt the sitter’s chances of getting applications accepted.
It is just that it may be good to try to anticipate what the response could be. This does not sound like an HO whose response would be restrained. It might be hurtful. But that would almost only be seen by sitters that were reading the HO profile.
@pietkuip just to clarify… if a THsitter or HO hesitates to leave an “honest” review because there can be a reply to the review sounds to me like…if one doesn’t want a retaliatory reply…becareful in your review, which seems to be a similar problem with the old review system.
You can leave her a review stating the sit went very well but the owner declined to leave you a review when you requested it. It’s up to you whether you want to state that you were very surprised when she opened your suitcase in public to check its contents. This will warn other sitters that the owner may not leave a review and that they may encounter unusual behavior from this owner. If she replies to your review it will appear only on her listing, not on your profile.
ooooh gosh @Olesya7239 - please do leave a review so future sitters can avoid. Don’t worry about not receiving a review, some HOs just don’t leave one.
So sorry this happened to you.
In the same situation I would have contacted THS member services and canceled the sit right away. This behaviour is a huge red flag.
I do appreciate that some people cannot afford to book a hotel last minute, but I use THS for a holiday and always have a Plan B accommodation if a sit were to go pear shaped.
You should not worry about their review. Write about what happened and be honest with the community.
People who do pull this stunts get away with it because everybody gives me them a pass, so they keep doing it…
. Total violation. And so bold to do it in front of you!?!? Would really make me wonder what they’d think was an ok or reasonable way to act with future sitters.