Home owner hasn't left a review

I am on my 28th pet sit and am booked until Nov. so I am not a newbie. The only review that took awhile was from someone who had family in the Ukraine when the war broke. My only ask of home owners is to leave a clean home and a review. As a homeowner, I make it a priority to write reviews within a couple of days of the pet sit. We all know how important reviews are in this process.

I normally wait for a review to give feedback but since I had to write a review for my pet sitter, I went ahead and did it within a couple of days of the sit ending. Despite a couple of big negatives to this pet sit, the owner was responsive, communicative, the house was clean and well organized and I I absolutely loved the animals and location. I stressed the positives and only mentioned to not take the dog anywhere he feels a need to be protective (he bit a server in a restaurant after they told me they take him everywhere). I was confident the other major issue would not happen with another pet sitter and they had other positive reviews so were not new to THS.

I had two 8 week old kittens and an anxious rescue dog which all required a lot of attention which I enjoyed giving. I also gave them a dog bed and travel water bottle since my dog had recently passed. The couple asked me to arrive after they left and wanted me to leave prior to their arrival home so we never met face to face. It felt odd since I was driving and flexible on timing but it was a very small home and they had two children. I applied for this pet sit primarily because of the breed of dog and the kittens. It is not someplace I would plan a vacation. The area was actually much nicer than I anticipated. In the end, I just wanted a review as a thank you for all the love and attention towards their pets and coming home to a clean home. Instead I am feeling a little used for free pet/house sitting.

I gave the nudge on the site and have asked twice via text message for a review. The first time I was told they have been really busy and my second request was ignored.

Do I just let it go or does anyone else have a suggestion as to how to politely make another request? Have others had this same issue? I did learn my lesson to not leave feedback until I have a review but I have a feeling this wouldnā€™t have made a difference.

I know how disappointing this must be but think youā€™ll just have to put it down to experience. Iā€™m on my 48th housesit currently and, although Iā€™ve had to remind some home owners to write a review, Iā€™ve been lucky to receive them allā€¦ā€¦eventually.
I think you may just have to put this down to experience as youā€™ve already asked twice. As you and I have learnt, wait for the ownersā€™ review before you send feedback.
THS is supposed to have been looking into the review process and making it more like the Airbnb one. Itā€™s taking them longer than they expected though so no idea when that will happen.
Youā€™ve no doubt got 27 excellent reviews so try not to dwell on this.

We are working with the public, mostly the public is polite, and occasionally they are not. House sitters leave reviews for the home hosts after a sit has ended because it is polite and the correct thing to do. Similar to saying thank you to someone for their assistance. If someone does not say thank you to you donā€™t let it allow your standards to drop by not saying thank you to others.

We should not be leaving reviews thinking that it is a tit-for-tat expectation with the sole purpose of us doing so as an exchange for them leaving a review for us.

There are numerous reasons that your home host may not have left you a review, they may have been busy/forgetful and intend to leave one eventually, they may not be so polite as you and donā€™t always leave one, and they may not have left you one because they are miffed that you added a small negative remark in yours to them.

Honestly, it does not matter - you have many great reviews- whether you get one from this home host will have no impact on you whatsoever. - Let it go. If you get one in return, great - If you donā€™t, donā€™t lose any sleep over it.

It is important that you now do not wish that you had not left them one, or think that in the future you will not leave one until the home hosts leave you one.

You did the right thing, they didnā€™t. You should continue to leave reviews every time because, as I said before, you are polite and know that it is the right thing to do.

Not leaving a review for whatever reason is always going to be the wrong thing to do and, as my mother always said - " Two wrongs will never make a right"

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Regarding ā€¦ as my mother always said - " Two wrongs will never make a right" ā€¦ my mom always added to that ā€œbut three lefts do!ā€ :slight_smile: Gotta love those Momā€™s!!!

I know the feeling, sounds similar to one of our recent sits. After a reminder (and of course a review to the HO) I decided to just leave it. I still get a bit upset when I think about it. The sit was 4 weeks long and it is a long time to look after someoneā€™s pets in a loving way, issues and all, and then not get a ā€˜thank youā€™ review. But hey. Move onto better things. Wish them well in your mind and move on. Maybe one day there will be a surprise review. I read someone else on here received a review after 4 months!

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I agree with @Smiley that itā€™s best to put it down to experience.

I had the same thing happen to me a while back for a three month sit that went mostly well. I locked myself out the house one night with the dog, and had to get the locks changed. I did so at my own expense and it was a bit of a nightmare at the time, but these things happen. Aside from that, things were mostly okay. I cleaned the house thoroughly and left the home owner a gift hamper and thank you card upon departure. However, I heard nothing. No acknowledgement of the gift, no ā€˜just got home!ā€™ Absolutely nothing.

I remember nudging her for a review (it was on another site) but there was no response. Admittedly, it did make me wonder if Iā€™d done something wrong that she was unhappy with, but nothing was expressed to me. As @Colin mentioned, when dealing with people, most are kind and polite and the occasional bad experience will really sting. Try not to let this get you down. You are clearly a conscientious and experienced sitter and one personā€™s rudeness is no reflection on your abilities.

Wow! No thank you for the gift hamper!! I think that was an exceptionally generous gift from you. Personally the most Iā€™d leave would be flowers and make sure thereā€™s milk and bread plus whatever else I used would be replaced and, of course, a thorough clean. Iā€™ve started using Moonpig.com to make thank you cards made up of pics Iā€™ve taken of the animals. These have gone down very well

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@anon80172330 wow, unbelievable, but yes. We left a nice meal, but also no message to say home safely, no acknowledgement, absolutely no comms. It boggles the mind, honestly.

I totally understand this. It makes me question humanity, frankly! I think the best thing you can do is not take it personally. Easier said than done, but there are just people who are ungrateful and entitled. Iā€™ve experienced this several times through house sitting. I often wonder if paid house sitters are treated better, as I think putting a price on services sometimes adds value to them, but thatā€™s me trying to justify unreasonable behaviour!

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Cards with the animals is a lovely idea!

Yes, not receiving a thank you was a bit of a lesson for me not to be overly generous! Itā€™s not a holiday for sitters and there is often a lot of work involved so it hurts when it isnā€™t acknowledged, whether through a thank you or a kind review. Surely not too much to ask?!

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I sometimes make a meal too, depending on when the owners get back and how far theyā€™ve travelled.

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Thank you to everyoneā€™s comments. Since I always establish such a repertoire with the home owners, I am surprised but I do know they have a lot on their plate right now so I will let go of the perfect record. I have a perfectionism complex so my issue at the end of the day.

I love the card idea. I have been thinking I would create a holiday card with all the pets to send to people this year. I keep in touch with nearly every homeowner so most do feel like friends. I am just missing my first pet sitters and my first pet sit by a couple of days in Paris and London. I have found the people who are in the same stage of life as me and not busy with kids are who we have established ongoing relationships with. I normally feel very appreciated and fortunately I have enough reviews that it doesnā€™t really matter at the end of the day. I knew letting go is what I needed to do but I just needed others to tell me.

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Well done! Forward you goā€¦.:wink:

Iā€™m finding myself in the same boat: finished a sit a few weeks ago; after about a week-10 days I sent them a review request and a DM on THS as a friendly reminder, and a week later once again on WA.

All gone unread!
Honestly, I have a very strong feeling that they have blocked meā€¦

I cannot believe that HOā€™s that were pretty much glued to the phone and very responsive while they were gone wouldnā€™t have seen them, especially the WA message.
Feeling frustrated also because we went over and beyond keeping in touch with the nervous HOā€™s, had to clean up the mess of an under-the-weather pet a couple of times with the few cleaning supplies made available to us, while trying to reassure them that he was overall fine. :roll_eyes:
Also had to notify them that an important piece of equipment was malfunctioning, and turning it off as instructedā€”not an easy taskā€”probably saving them a bundle in potential repairs.

Ok, now Iā€™m done venting. :upside_down_face:

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Been there twice myself @Peonie19 - I find it unbelievable too. But then one day weeks later, the one review showed up.
The other never did and never will, Iā€™m pretty sure.

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We had this experience too. We met the (nervous first time) hosts for a personal handover, they were very responsive during the sit, thanked us over WA after the sit and then did not respond to our review request. We always send it the day after a sit ends followed next day by a WA to alert them to it (as back up!) She did not respond. A week or two later we sent another reminder and got a very curt response back that she was in hospital and in no position to write a review, to stop chasing her & that she would do it when she was out! :flushed: We replied apologising sheā€™d felt hassled, as we had not known she was unwell, & wishing her a speedy recovery. One month later we checked in again and she read it but never responded. They have since cancelled their membership. Donā€™t know what happened thereā€¦

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A review that requires so much effort to acquire is not worth it. We are not beggars! And I hate to made to feel like one after making great effort on the sit. Unfortunately this happens sometimes. People can be wierd!! We just have to move on.

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From Trusted Times Online Newsletter.
(Although I wish Owner and Sitter review pop ups went live at the same time)
I hope it will help.

'Now live: helpful reminders to leave feedback

Following suggestions from our lovely members, weā€™ve added helpful reminders to leave owners feedback following a house sit.

These will pop up once a member logs into their account on the website following a completed sit (with the app soon to follow). Weā€™re working on prompts for pet parents to leave you reviews too, and hope to have these live within the next few weeks!ā€™

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Whatā€™s an easy way to do this?

Hi Kate, Iā€™m not sure what you are referring toā€¦ Asking the HO to leave a review, perhaps?