So I was confirmed for over a month for a sit in Port Dover, ON. The owner, at one time asked if she extended, could I stay, I said yes, but then she couldn’t change her flights. Now she said she was cancelling the trip. But relisted after she unconfirmed me. I asked her why, but she wouldn’t answer. Has anyone had that experience? Seriously, I had confirmed over a month ago. Not the biggest deal in that for the time and place, I can fill in the space, but this was an area I hadn’t been and was looking forward to the sit. Just totally annoying. I see people posting their sitters cancel. But I haven’t heard of HO cancelling after a long period of a confirmed sitter and then relisting. I cannot figure out what happened? Maybe my last review that said I couldn’t handle complexity.
I am so sorry that happened to you. That is so wrong! I really hope she has a hard time finding someone if anyone at all. Karma.
Did you explain cancellations are only for extraordinary reasons @Huronbase? You would be able to report her I’m thinking for canceling without a valid reason, especially where she hasn’t answered your question.
This has just happened to me too. I was totally blindsided. The sit was cancelled the day before I was due to travel. I got a phone call which was a nicer way to do it I think. She said she had had a very bad reaction to something and was feeling so ill she had cancelled her trip and was staying home. She didn’t actually apologise at that stage. I asked if she needed help with the dog because I have a Campervan and could have travelled and walked the dog for her. She has local friends who will step in.
I sent her a written message to follow up and confirm the situation., asking her, when she felt well enough , to cancel the sit formally.
She said on her next message how sorry she was for the situation and that she was sure I and her dog would have had a wonderful time together. She then went on to offer other date in June for a housesit. I explained I would be in UK then on another housesit!
It all feels genuine and I don’t expect to see her readvertise at such short notice. It sounds truly genuine.
I returned home after enjoying a lovely week without responsibilities at a Home Owner’s place where I had done 3 weeks caring for their dog. Such a lovely gesture! It’s what makes this exchange so very special for me. The Home Owners and I got on really well. We plan to stay in touch.
The experience of readvertising is shocking and must have hit you hard.. maybe the Home Owner didn’t read the reviews till late on, but that’s still very tough. Other threads mention that one struggle in a review isn’t ultimately damaging as long as it’s handled carefully and any reply from you is measured and fair.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s something that anyone could find themselves facing at one time or another. Having a plan B or enough warning to fill the gap is very helpful of course.
Best wishes as you grow in experience and expertise.
As she hasn’t answered, we can only guess but it she were concerned about this, the way to go is contact you and talk about the situation. I agree with @temba that you can report her.
Hi, I’m sorry to hear this happened to you. My experience is that both parties must agree to the cancellation through THs, so this HO doesn’t sound like she is following the rules. If this is the case, THs should really investigate this incident, so that it doesn’t happen again. If members don’t abide by the rules, I personally feel their membership should be revoked. We all rely on the terms of membership to ensure both HOs and sitters get the best and fairest treatment. I’m glad you were able to fill the gap, but many people may not have been able to if they were travelling from abroad. Best wishes
It must be very frustrating when a confirmed sit is cancelled and you have my sympathy. You wonder whether a negative review may be the cause but I’m afraid to say that your response to that review might have been more likely to go against you.
A reminder that how we respond to a negative review can tell future pet parents more than the review itself.
I don’t know what the response was, so I can’t comment on this particular case. Generally speaking, that is my experience. I skip more listings because of HOs reviews or reactions to their reviews than the reviews they get.
IMHO, the point here is not having the sit cancelled. @Huronbase says it’s no big deal. The problem is the HO has given a false explanation and then ignored her message. If it had been me, I would not have minded so much for myself (because I don’t want to sit for people who are not comfortable inviting me)as for the impact it may have on other sitters in the future. If the HO is concerned, she should have talked to the sitter and go through THS.
This is not really a requirement for HOs. They can cancel the sit directly but they still need to have a valid reason , which doesn’t seem to be the case here.
I strongly believe that all cancellations should go through THS and neither HOs or sitters should be allowed to cancel and relist or take another sit for the same dates unless very exceptional circumstances justified this.
Well, I wrote support. Maybe she really does have stuff going on and doesn’t know how to remove the listing. But it made me think that I should go on a little adventure. I started looking at the Hamptons, but all my friends have sold their homes there. Maybe Montreal. Maybe something interesting will pop up.
Yes this happened to me when I was newer to THS. I woke up to a cancellation and a message about how she broke her hip and then saw the listing under my saved searches. It was in the middle of several back to back sits so it was ANNOYING. I was eventually able to replace it but honestly, I’m not interested in sitting for anyone who has any doubts about our family.
Yes, you cannot go back after they cancel you.
So now you are saying you talked to TH and she didn’t re-list but just didn’t take down the listing before she notified you. So your bad review had nothing to do with it. I think this community needs to stop worrying about one bad review or criticism in a sea of good comments and reviews. It doesn’t define anyone it is just that person’s opinion.
If she cancelled for family reasons (as per your words on another thread), she likely wouldn’t be looking at the site and isn’t aware it is still showing.
I contacted support, probably won’t hear from them because it is easter. I was assuming, maybe she just didn’t take down the listing. I have no idea at this point until support contacts her and finds out. Probably will take another 48 hours.
I don’t think it’s possible for a listing to come live back without the owner reposting it after a sit has been confirmed. At least it shouldn’t be. It doesn’t make sense to me.
I will let everyone know when I hear from support.
“Both parties must agree to the cancellation “
How does that work? Surely if one party wants to cancel there’s nothing the other can do, agree or disagree.
I have been cancelled on a few times, some with plausible reasons, one just clicked the button, no explanation. What can a sitter do, accept and move on?
I have cancelled a sit. I gave them 7 months notice and explained fully why - medical reason. The worst was I had to leave a sit after a week. We had a death in the family and I needed to get back to the UK rapid. Our host was so understanding and supportive.
Listing a sit after cancelling sounds a bit iffy. No explanation?
It is not about just canceling. The listing is still up with the same dates. So the question is, did she just cancel me, but still have the listing, or she doesn’t know how to drop the listing and the cancel was real.
Update. Just checked the listing is gone. So maybe she just didn’t know how to delete it.
Hello Heuronbase, I wanted to share that I was also canceled once for a confirmed sit in Avalon! The lady was very nice and said her plans had changed, but I know it was a reaction to a bad report by the one disastrous sit I had where the prior sitter was friend with both the HOs! So it’s just what it is, figure it is par for the course. I can’t take it personally cuz why would I? It’s all reactions we can’t control, no reflection on us. Dodged the bullet, I’d say. Keep positive and it’s all good!