Because there are people like you, I suppose in the future my first question will be, “Are you a glass half empty person or a glass half full?”
Or something along those lines. If you read between the lines of both negative reviews, and you are an analytical person, it would become obvious the HO in both cases were less than honest.
I can’t say what happened on one of them because my hands have been tied. Let’s just say I am 500 years removed from who they expected me to be.
The second instance was someone who is in that time of their life when memory is escaping them. We’re the same age, however…
They kept changing their minds about what was expected of me–daily. And they could not remember what they expected of me the previous day.
All human nature. My previous clients have said don’t worry those reviews will get buried. The first one did indeed. Hers was a tale of whoa we’ve been seeing quite a bit of in the world.
The last one may not be as simple. The HO made up things that never happened. Or she used hyperbole with issues which did occur. All I could do was refute it.
I am not going to dwell on it. I feel fortunate actually to be declined by people who live with the glass half full, and those who have a preconceived notion about people, based on certain factors beyond our control, even though dozens of people have attested otherwise. Nothing I can do about that. I’m rather proud of how I was made…
I always feel sorry for the pet, home gardens…when I’m not chosen. Ha! I honestly do.
when we first started applying and accepting sits, I assumed pet parents would either send the welcome guide or give me a pdf which most did. Then I had a sit where the pet parent gave me almost a blank sheet upon arrival. I then had to ask a lot of questions. From then on, I state during the application process that I will need a Welcome Guide given to me ahead of the sit so that I have time to review it and ask questions before the sit starts. Since then, I’ve had no problems with getting the guide ahead of time. A bad experience is a bad experience. Just listen to Taylor Swift and “Shake it off” There’s so many more great sits waiting for you. In addition, I now look for sits with experienced pet parents who have sitter reviews. There were many sits we completed where the pet parents were new to THS. Luckily, they have been great sits with great people but any of them could have been wild cards.
I did push the homeowner on the guide. The sit was planned 4 months in advance. She had plenty of time. She kept saying don’t push her. That was the red flag. I should have heated that empirical warning. I did not.
I was under the impression maybe she didn’t know how to fill it out. So I edited out names of some good guides and sent them to her. I had bad feelings all along. The dog was perfect. The cottage behind the home was perfect. The town was perfect. Because primarily those are the things we’re looking for, a homeowner who’s losing her memory is not something we consider. Well maybe you all do. I did not.
My mom used to say she was “ordinary.” Her cakes were the best I’d ever tasted. Turns out a famous restaurant owner agreed with me regarding those cakes. She was my mom’s best friend. She asked my mom how much she would charge her for her recipes. My mom said she wouldn’t charge her anything because they were friends. That friend made hundreds of thousands of dollars on those cakes and cobblers.
My mom wouldn’t accept a dime. That woman threw her the most magnificent birthday party ever. Turns out my mom was exceptional. No one had previously bothered to tell her except for a 10 year old little girl who loved eating cake.
Even the two ladies who gave me bad reviews had something redeeming about them. Something I admired. My friends often say I find good and the worst of things and people. I do. The last bad review has taught me to be more discerning.
You and Taylor Swift are both correct. I gave the homeowner optimal and extensive time to get that done. I should have backed out. I had time. I ended up having to find accommodations for 2 weeks. Popular culture uses the term “taking an L.” That L stands for loss. The L I received from this sit stands for lesson. Thank you for your response.
I have one not so good review buried under lots of 5 star ones. If a home owner really scrolls down all the great reviews and rejects me because of one sit that didn’t go well - I will thank them, because I don’t want to do any pet sits for people who act that way. It looks like they look for a reason NOT to trust me. But if you don’t want to trust me, I don’t trust you either, and we are better off not connecting.
I don’t try to understand why a host can’t get a welcome guide done in a timely way. The reason is irrelevant to me. All that matters for me to sit is whether they have their act together in ways that reflect that they’ve considered the sitter, how to set them up to succeed and whether they’re realistic that things can go wrong.
If not — even if they have a perfectly legit reason that they can’t prep in time — then I’d cancel, if needed. That’s because I sign up for sits where both parties partner in good faith. If they can’t, then they can find someone else or another form of pet care, or they can cancel or postpone their travel (that’s their business and I won’t want to be involved).
There’s zero reason to me that I should care about a sit more than any host. It’s their pet and home. If something happened to either, they should want the sitter to be prepared, as with emergency contacts, vet info, gas and water turnoffs, etc.
Each sitter decides for themselves whether to heed red flags. Personally, I pay close attention to those. I’d rather eat travel costs, switch to my Plan B, stay home instead, etc., than sit despite red flags. That’s because for me sitting is supposed to be enjoyable, not to take on other people’s thoughtlessness, lack of prep, etc.
With sitting homes and pets, there are already enough risks even when both parties prepare. There’s no reason to unnecessarily compound risks, from my POV.
Exactly. Not very critical in their thinking skills if they don’t. Plus both of the reviews were refuted by the HO own acknowledgement. I’m giving it a rest. It just made it more difficult for the next HO. I’m not leaving one stone unturned!
Just got declined again! This time the New HO says she’s not comfortable “communicating outside of THS.”
I specifically said, “You may call me, text me, or video chat at this number…”
I wonder what’s happening to the platform. The last 3 1/2 years have not been remotely so odd.
Here again, I applied for a sit with a new HO. No MORE new HO sits for me!!! But then again, my upcoming sits for two months each were both New HO! We’re like family now; as the majority of my previous sits have been. Yikes! Ha!
We can end this discourse. It’s really no way to tell. Period
You’re absolutely right about everything you said. I even said as much as most of everything you’re saying. It just took me five or six posts to say it and you probably didn’t read all of what I said. Going forward… Thank you for your kindly response. I wanted to hear from all of you, and all of you have helped me in your own ways.
Having lived all over the world, I’m pretty good when it comes to people. Some people are so deceptive. I’ll leave that at that.
Hey there everyone. I already thanked you for your responses. I wanted to add that I am far from perfect and it has taken almost a lifetime to understand being as gifted as I am. That is not bragging by any stretch of the imagination. I actually determined for years I have been cursed. Doing house sitting with so many different demographics, and pets, and geographics was the one way I could finally accept All of Me.
I also wanted to personally thank you for echoing all the things I did, and all the things I didn’t do in those two instances. All of which had gone through my mind and needed some reaffirming. Especially the one about the little nugget, AKA letting them know I won’t do the without a decent guide. I did that. I worded it somewhat differently. I have actually copied and pasted the exact way you worded it. I preferred better. I really do appreciate your advices. Thank you all again
I would actually side with the HO on this one. There’s no reason to disclose personal information like a phone number as part of the application process. What happens if they choose someone else? Then all of a sudden some random person they never met has their phone number. Even when we communicate via THS and the HO gives permission to call or text, I stick to this platform. It’s worked fine up to now!
It’s easy enough to block someone who has your number if you don’t want further communication with them but the THS message system is frequently delayed 20 hours so not fit for purpose beyond the initial application process.
@pietkuip & @BonnyinBrighton Thank you for sharing issues with the message system, this sounded a little concerning so I checked with the tech team and messages should be sent straight away in the inbox as long as there is a connection. Feel free to DM me if it happens to you again so I can get someone to look into it for you
I don’t think I ever had a real problem myself with THS messages. And if there was a delay, it would have likely been due to my own internet connection.
But I do recommend to have an alternative channel of communication. A phone number works also when data roaming is off. And there may be urgent reasons for making a voice call.
Also: THS messages become unavailable when membership expires or is suspended.
@pietkuip Thank you for the update. Agree that having alternative communication is a great idea. We love WhatsApp Now back on track of ‘homeowners pay more attention to bad sits than good ones’. Thank you!
Now back on track of ‘homeowners pay more attention to bad sits than good ones’. Thank you!