How to get better reviews

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Hi, okay so my friend and i do the duo sit we are in our early 20’s and both sits over done have been horrible trouble during both from one dog had fleas on getting there and the other the pets had behaviors and the golf cart broke down from maintenance not being up to date.

We did all we could on both the one was wanting updated every hour almost and we couldn’t go even into town for groceries for more than 2 hours or she got uspet. The pet had fleas on arrival as well as they set up cameras without telling us till getting there. The second we were asked to help train her rescue in 2 weeks, we tried our best but no technique helped at all and poor baby kept running from us no matter what, she began to pee everywhere in stress so we cleaned and deep cleaned.her golf cart then broke down while there so we fixed it but was told it wasn’t our fault by mechanic and we asked her to rembuse us.

All in all both sits were trouble and we did our best and documented everything but they still left 1 stars. Any advice or what to do? Im worried no one will let us sit anymore due to this. They are our only two sits we have.

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@Kk234, welcome to THS Forum. Suggest use Search function to find similar questions.
General advice on bad reviews is to smother them with great reviews.
Consider finding easy, short, local housesits and completing housesit to best ability.

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3

In addition to GotYourBack’s suggestion, consider your screening process when selecting sits. Look closely at the photos, read the listing and reviews thoroughly; if the expectations or accommodations sound unreasonable to you, move on. It’s also helpful to read the reviews the HO left for previous sitters to see if the tone was nitpicky or appreciative. You can also address the one-star review honestly and with humility in your application, explaining your goal of finding a better match for both yourselves and the HO until you have a couple of 5* reviews.

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4

reads like a reddit ragebait post

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5

Thank you, they both were first time users of THS so ill look at more seasoned ones i think now

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That’s not at all what i thought it read like im sorry ill word things better next time

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  1. Do your due diligence choosing sits 2. Do what you agreed to do like a mature adult. 3. Be flexible, resourceful and use common sense.
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8

Just wondering what a golf cart is used for other than carrying golf clubs….

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Many communities don’t allow cars, only golf carts, bikes, scooters, and feet! So just replace the word “golf cart” for “car”

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In the U.S., there are communities where golf carts are routinely used for transportation even when no golfing is involved. That can include buying groceries and dining out if a community is big enough.

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11

Definitely do all of that. We did everything agreed to as well. But thank you for the advice.

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Personally, I would join again with your friends’ name to wipe the slate clean, then learn by any mistakes you might have made on these two sits.

Two one-star reviews, with no good reviews to negate them, will definitely make it difficult getting more sits in the future.

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13

Updating owners - For being in your early 20’s you actually sound very mature, so lead with that, take control of how often you update them, we usually say something like "most ask for updates every 2-3 days (because they do), but how often would you prefer? That way, they are more likely to say 2-3 days over anything else, but with you being in your earlier 20’s they’ll naturally want updates more often as they’ll want added assurance, so in your position I’d say “Would you like daily updates, or every 2-3 days bla bla bla”, mention both and in the hope they’ll opt for 2-3 days, but make it you that takes control of the conversation, so that several times a day doesn’t even enter an pet owners mind.

Then once you build up some 5* reviews (say 7+), lead with 2-3 days instead.

We’ve never ever been asked for anything more than once per day, but more often than not for us, it’s 2-3 days.

To get some good reviews, avoid any pets or profiles where you feel there is any possibility of something going wrong. For example, don’t sit a puppy because it’s more likely to pick up a bad habit within days, and don’t sit very old pets, because there’s a higher chance of health issues suddenly appearing, etc.

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14

Welcome to the forum @Kk234

My suggestion is to be very selective and carefully “screen” the sits that you apply for .

For example read ALL the previous reviews from sitters . Take careful note of what they say ( or do not say ) about cleanliness , pet behaviours, host’s communication and the responsibilities .

Take note of the responsibility section of the listing if it seems like too much and you won’t have any free time DO NOT apply .

Sometimes ( not always ) there is a good reason why the sit shows as LOW Applications - because experienced sitters have seen something that’s a Red Flag :triangular_flag: and are not going to apply to such a sit .

ALWAYS have a video call with the host BEFORE accepting a sit .

Discuss all the responsibilities with the host - ask is there any thing else that isn’t in the listing . Ask to see the Welcome Guide .

Ask how long they usually leave the pet alone for ?

Ask how often they would like updates ? -

Ask if the pets are registered with a vet, do they have any medical conditions and if their flea preventative treatment is up to date ?You can ask this in a conversational way - “we had a sit where the dog had fleas so now we always check before accepting a sit “

Most importantly before even looking at listings is to Set your own boundaries . What is a mutual exchange for you ? How much time in the day are you prepared to spend on caring for the pets v how much “free time “ do you expect to visit the area ? What responsibilities are you happy to do / what are you not prepared to do ?

We all have our own boundaries and that is what a mutual exchange is about . You can’t change the host and their expectations. You can respect your own boundaries by declining any sit that has deal breakers for you .

For example these are some of my dealbreakers- I would not take a sit that asked me to train their pet , or where the pets are expected to sleep in/on the bed with me . I won’t do gardening or mow the lawn but I am happy to water plants . I’ll willing send a daily update ( if that’s what the host requests ) but I wouldn’t accept a sit where the host requires updates more than once a day . I won’t accept a sit where a pet can’t be left alone .

By carefully screening the sits that we have applied for and accepted, we have had over 40 very positive sits with lovely pets, comfortable homes and hospitable, appreciative hosts . We have received great reviews .

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I appreciate your response and definitely will be doing these things during my time going forward!

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Thank you!

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17

If i had the money to pay for my membership again i would honestly