I have confirmed a sitter for my 3 week trip to Japan, starting in 3 weeks. Her reviews were good and she was responsive in the application phase. Since then the response have been lacking. Shared my mobile early on as i had done with all my past sitters, never got hers.
We were in contact 9 days ago, where she wanted to book flights,have messages her 3 times now but no response.
Consider cancelling the sit.Have given her an ultimatum to respond until tuesday telling her the current behaviour doesnât really display trust i need to let herbtake care of my furries.
I understand your concerns . There could be many valid reasons why she has not been in contact and you still have three weeks to go .
Have your messages to her been read ?
You can ask THS to contact her as they will have a contact number . Do this ASAP. Either via live chat ( ask to speak to a human ) or by e-mail Support@trustedhousesitters.com
Hopefully she does get back in touch . You can then insist that if the sit is to go ahead she must share her mobile with you so that you have a backup way to contact her and keep in touch during the sit.
Similar situations have been discussed on the forum with support from THS member services received and a positive outcome Sitter confirmed but unresponsive
Yes, it is not good to be totally dependent on the THS system and on access to internet. There can be many problems with that, especially when travelling.
As a sitter, I always want a phone number, and I make sure that that connection works, that both sides have the correct number in their phone.
Honestly, if it was me, if she doesnât reply by Tuesday I would cancel. Who needs these cat-and-mouse games? If I know we have upcoming sits, we make sure to be on the lookout for messages and respond quickly to reduce anxiety for both parties.
It sounds like she checked flight prices, found it too high and didnât want to book. And is chickening out but for some reason doesnât want to admit it.
Hey, thanks for the response.
MSG have not been read (9 days ago,3 days, 10h now) although i only see the status of the last one (but the one before hadnât been when i sent the msg with the ultimatum).
I have been using TH from 2017-19 (with my former GF) and now on my own account (same appartment) since 22 again and never had this with any of the sitters before.
The 3 weeks is relative much time, considering that people need to book flights and stuff.
Will try the help centre now, but that kindnof behaviour is really worryingâŚ
You say you were in contact when she was going to book flights.
Did she book the flights?
Is that what you have been trying to contact her about?
How have you been trying to contact her (THS messaging it WhatsApp or phone call)
Is she expecting that you would be contacting her a month out from the sit start date?
I, personally, would want confirmation of flights if someone were flying in. A month isnât that far out when a homeowner needs confirmation that the sitter has, in fact, booked and is definitely travelling. My sit is in May, on the other side of the world, but I have already sent through my flight ticket to the homeowners. This has given them reassurance and they donât need to worry about it going forward. Obviously things CAN happen in between but a flight confirmation is pretty reassuring. I donât think itâs unreasonable to expect this. Better to have confirmation now than a cancellation closer to I do believe.
@Rehspeck Cancel the sit, and re list. Too risky to continue any more dialogue with this sitter, you have already lost confidence.
Also, check the sitters reviews for any recent sits that occurred after you confirmed the sit. Had a similar situation with a confirmed sitter that wouldnât confirm their travel plans and arrival time 48 hrs before my sit started. I rechecked her reviews and saw a 1 star review from a HO who had found out that this sitter had double booked sits and had taken the dog over to the other home owners house for a number of days.
I spoke with membership services and cancelled the sit.
Very fortunate a previous sitter stepped in so we could keep our vacation.
Cancel the sit. There is no valid coherent reason for her not to reply, even if it is too say âstill sorting out the flights, bear with meâ unless she is still in two minds about coming, has changed her mind but canât be bothered telling you, or has been in an accidentâŚ
So donât even take a chance. I wouldnât want someone untrustworthy in my home looking after my dogs. Cancel, find someone else.
So this may be a reason why they have not responded. If they havenât read the message itâs difficult to respond.
You havenât said if these were through the THS messaging system. If so it is an awful system and should not be relied upon to ensure someone has received a message. I personally have several âunreadâ messages according to my THS Inbox. I have never been able to find them and with entries being added for every listing I apply to itâs clear I am never going to be able to.
Please make an actual telephone call to this person. If you did not get any contact details like their mobile number when you arranged the sit please contact THS member services and have them reach out by phone.
You canât think of one reason why someone may not reply to a message they may not be expecting through an app that is terrible at messaging? Not one? Is not having seen the message a reason?
If possible, try to call her before canceling.
On one occasion, I received a bunch of messages at the same time and somehow managed not to notice one.
Next time checking inbox I noticed a â1â next to it, so I knew I had one unread message. The problem was I couldnât find it. (It is not always easy to distinguish between read and unread messages). It went on for weeks until one day I had to ask the forum admin for help. She found it, marked it read, it, and let me know which message it was
Contacted help who contacted the sitter who hadnât received any of the messages by me sent through THS. We are now finally in touch on WA (she finally shared her number) and will have a call tonight to clarify things
Thank you for the update @Rehspeck glad that member services were able to contact your sitter for you .
Itâs not uncommon for members not to receive messages sent through the THS platform so itâs good that you have alternative way to communicate with each other now .
Glad it has worked out.
Youâre not the first person who has struggled to make contact before a sit. Some good ideas based on similar contact issues that have cropped up here before are:
Always have contact details outside of THS. Get this when the sit is agreed if you donât already have them.
Always try to make a phone call and not rely on messages even if as a last resort - messages get lost in the sheer volume and get blocked as well as spam.
If you are going to need contact between agreeing a sit and the actual sit (which is usually advisable) agree a schedule in advance like make your travel booking by x date and send details through, contact 4 weeks out then 1 week out, the day of travel, or whatever you both find reasonable so everyone knows itâs all still running smoothly.
Could have all been avoided if she had shared the number right away. Never had issues with past sitters on that before, we usually quickly switch to an alternativ msg tool. Iâm glad she is okay and that the 3 heads of the house will be cared forâŚ
