I am very new to THS as a HO not a sitter. Only had 2 sitters so far, both last year. Each of them had a couple of positive reviews and as I learned were quite new to THS. That being said, IMO a HO should provide a review without being asked. But my question is should a HO give a 3 star or less review (knowing it probably will be harmful to the sitter) or no review at all?
Of the 2 sitters, one was wonderful and the other was mediocre at best. So I gave the wonderful sitter a 5 star review and the mediocre sitter no review at all. (I spoke with the mediocre sitter after the sit and gave what I hope was constructive feedback). I am still in touch with the other sitter.
The reason I chose not to provide a review to the mediocre sitter was because it would have been 3 stars. So rather than that I took a ādo no harm approachā.
@JCG2
I think you did the right and kind thing. Now of course it depends on what exactly they didnāt do well, and how they responded to your constructive feedback. If they were unkind to your animals or did anything seriously harmful, it might be good to warn others.
If they are new and still learning and seem to be taking onboard what you said, I think it is better not to leave a review and allow them to learn from their experience.
Re topic:
I was recently on a repeat sit and the owner didnāt leave a review, because she responded to my feedback instead. This home owner is a friend now and I see no need to bug her about another review. Iāll be going there again in July!
When reviews are missing, itās always good to look through older reviews and see if this might have been a repeat sit.
As a homeowner, I agree with warning future HOs if the sitter did something negative that might be repeated.
I tend to give sitters leeway for some mistakes, especially if I might make them myself. One sitter left the front door closed but unlocked at the end of the sit. I arrived home a few hours later. I didnāt mention it in the review because it was an honest mistake and will probably never happen to her again. However, if a sitter mistreated the animals, left a dirty house, had unapproved visitors, etc, I would definitely mention it in the review. yes, it would affect their future chances of getting a sit, but their chances SHOULD be lower with that behavior.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I appreciate your insights. As I said to @colin there was no harm to my pets and I did think the sitter was deserving of another chance. That is probably a lot to do with the āMomā side of me - several adult children, all of whom are older than the sitter I did not review.
several adult children, all of whom are older than the sitter I did not review.