How do you think I should word my request for updates to get the updates I’d like to get from a sitter?
I would hope to receive updates about if the dog is eating and drinking normally, how are the walks, has the dog enjoyed her treat box etc. Not everything everyday, just couple of sentences like “Vilma has enjoyed keeping us company in the house most of the afternoon today, as the weather has been very hot.”
We discuss about updates during the video call, and we have the following written right at the beginning of the WG:
The problem is, this doesn’t seem to be working. I haven’t had the updates I’d like to have. We’ve had two set of sitters so far. First set of sitters sent us pictures as asked, but no text at all unless I asked for it The second set of sitters sent pictures for the first 3 days with one line text “Greetings from Vilma”. Next update was on day 5 and then on day 6, when I asked for it (8 day sit).
It’s not a big thing, but I do find it annoying, and I don’t know, how I should communicate to get the updates I hope to get. Should I give examples? That seems a bit silly, as we’re all grown ups.
Both the first one and this couple did well with Vilma, the house was left more or less clean, and our dog was comfortable with them right from the beginning.
How about going for a three pronged approach. Put it in the listing, put it in the WG in bold and ping them on the first day of the sit and say something like “looking forward to our daily updates, enjoy your sit with V”. We’d be fine with that and you’re then super clear
I think it’s less about your request than it is about whether the sitters regularly practice good communications, so I’d pay attention to what reviews say about that. Like I routinely send robust updates even though most of my hosts don’t specify. To me, it’s not even necessary. And their reviews usually mention my comms, like in my latest one: “You could tell from her fun pictures and communications that she got to know and love the cats along with their routines.”
As @Cuttlefish said, reinforce it thrice, but maybe you should highlight it with the words: We absolutely love - and expect - daily updates on Vilma’s life. Don’t apply if you’re not willing to send a few sentences and photos once a day". I would also drop the word ‘short’ update - they might think a photo on its own is a ‘short’ update. This is just my opinion and may sound too harsh - but if that’s important to you, you need to highlight it.
@CatsAndDog there is nothing to be assumed about the level of communication you would like to receive. We have had every variety of requirements from videos everyday to an entire month of ‘please don’t contact us at all unless it is an emergency’
During the phone call phase just specifically state your requirements like you have done in your post here about the type of updates you would require with example.
How much they are eating and drinking and if they are enjoying their treat box is a bit beyond what we would say was an average update someone would request - mostly people just want a picture and a sentence. You would have to say a bit more specifically what you are requiring as the part in your WG doesn’t cover it enough.
It can be a very difficult balance to strike as a sitter regarding how much info you would like and the frequency of this info to leaving you alone to enjoy your holiday because everything is fine and going smoothly. Some people have been annoyed in the past if updates we have were too detailed or too often and from your post that goes the other way too - not detailed or frequent enough
@CatsAndDog We are sitters and we always provide daily updates with a photo and a short comment - unless the owner has indicated to us that daily updates are too frequent .
We wouldn’t usually comment on pets that are eating and drinking normally - but we would be happy to provide daily updates on this if an owner specified it . We would always alert the owner immediately to any unusual behaviour- dog didn’t eat their food / didn’t want to go for a walk .
Even if it’s in the listing , we might have applied months ago and done a number of sits between applying and doing your sit, so we appreciate it when owners remind us at handover of what is a priority for them .
We do comment on the walks we’ve done and send photos .
However not every day is a new exciting walk - many days are the same familiar local walk . So you might also want to add that even though your dog will be taken on the same walk every day, you would still like a photo …and two or sentences on what the dog has done everyday.
Some hosts would like more updates, but are afraid to ask. As a sitter, I find it easy to gauge — you can see how frequently and with how much enthusiasm they respond to updates and adjust accordingly, even if it’s something hosts haven’t specified.
And in reverse, if you don’t see in reviews that a sitter is strong at comms, then you’re more likely to have to push uphill or not get what you want. As a host or sitter, you can always raise the question of updates, but as OP has indicated, the problem isn’t actually a lack of specifics — it’s because their sitters aren’t naturally good at comms.
Why I’ve had good results from the observations above, which I easily apply to sits: I do a lot of hiring professionally. I avoid people whom I will have to push uphill on key things I want. Like I don’t hire people who aren’t already good communicators — saves me unnecessary effort. Also, I know how to manage up even when my boss isn’t necessarily a strong communicator or manager — I can easily read them and their signals. I mention such, because sitting is actually pretty easy if we apply lots of good practices from work and such.
@Maggie8K totally disagree with you here - the sitters they chose were all experienced sitters and the sentence they put in their WG doesn’t really cover the level of information they are wanting.
As a teacher when a lesson doesn’t go to plan I don’t blame the students but I seek to analyse what it was about my own instructions that wasn’t adequate to get the results and outcomes I was hoping to see.
People and sitters are not mind readers. Easier to be specific and upfront about what your expectations are than to assume anything - especially within the petsitting community.
Also the reviews a HO leaves are not within the sitters control. To be honest most HOs leave very bland and basic reviews and don’t really stop to consider what specific things to include that would assist a sitter in securing future sits.
The difference is, you’re a teacher and teaching people who don’t already naturally know how to do X. Even teachers get better results when they get students who are naturally more gifted or attentive. And teachers don’t usually get to choose their students. Though private schools tend to get better results, because they often automatically screen out or bounce out bad students.
We send daily updates with pics and anecdotes as standard- unless requested otherwise. If its a longer sit we always ask & usually they request every 2/3 days. During the sit we guage the hosts responses as to whether we feel we should increase/decrease frequency or detail of updates. We’ve only ever had one or two hosts who checked in with us inbetween msgs & we immediately send extra reassuring updates. Both first timers.
If hosts responds enthusiastically to particular things we mention we are more likely to make an effort with details. If hosts just reply with an emoji acknowledgement or a one liner like ‘thanks for the update’ then we’re more likely to keep updates brief.
Its very individual so we always try to tune in and pitch our comms at the right level. So far this approach seems to have worked well!
We are all grown ups, but what you’re describing that you received matches mostly what you described in your WG, so examples could be helpful to get you what you want.
If all is going well (and it sounds like that was the case for these sits), sometimes it gets a bit repetitive to send messages to owners. I end up sending pics saying “snoozy morning here” or “soaking up the sun”, and practically the content of that is just as empty as “Hello from Vilma”; it just depends how people prefer to communicate (especially if English may be a second language).
Was communication at the end of the sit (where there might be practical things to relay) ok? If so, I would say the imagination to think up daily different ways to say “we’re all happy and healthy” is the shortcoming, not the communication itself.
Thank you for your replies, everyone! They are very useful.
I guess @Cuttlefish and @botvot are right about to the need reinforce my wish thrice (sounds a bit like a magic trick ). This is not the most important thing I’m looking from a sitter, so I do not want to over emphasize it.
@Lokstar@Silversitters and @Maggie8K What you described is pretty much what I would expect from the communication with a sitter. I guess this is also a personality issue, I myself tend to be on the over-communicating end of the line.
@Enjaybee Hello fellow teacher! As you noticed, communicating my expectations clearer is exactly what I’m trying to learn here. The sitters were not experienced (we were the second sit for both), so that might be a part of the issue, but they were all good sitters.
If you’re giving new(er) sitters a shot, you have less info to go on than with folks who’ve sat before and have reviews.
If so and you have priorities, I’d ask questions at the outset about how they’d handle those elements. Why ask, rather than specify at the outset: If you’re not on the same page, it helps you to make better informed decisions. Like if you ask about how they’d handle updates and they describe 2 or 3 times a week, you already know that they’re not strong at comms and/or tech. Like on a post here, some sitter refused to load WhatsApp and wanted to use email, which the host would have trouble with in say an emergency.
To me, your odds are always better when you get someone on your wavelength to start with. If just telling people what to do worked well, there are plenty of behaviors and sits gone wrong that wouldn’t have happened. We see examples every day in this forum, for instance.
Like I’m clean and neat naturally. Though I’ve never received THS’s sitter cleaning checklist, I get raves for cleaning after myself and my sit pets. No one has to tell me. Contrast that against people who get checklists, welcome guide specifics and still leave sit homes dirty. What more specifics could they be given?
@CatsAndDog it might be worth including in your listing a photo that you were sent by a sitter with a quote of their message you were happy with. Just to give an idea of what you like.
My suggestion to you would to message direct questions, for example: did V eat all her dinner today? Did she have a peaceful night sleep? Was she good on her walk today? Make The questions specific and direct. As it is your need, you may need to initiate contact. It’s The sister is not worried they may not think to give constant updates.
Sometimes I don’t know what communication aHO wants. I usually message After the first night just to say all is well and we’ve settled in nicely. I recently did a one night sit and the HO’s messaged to ask how the girls had settled in that evening, which of course I responded to… The following week I did a repeat sit and even though they knew the girls were being well looked after they still messaged in the evening to ask how they were, which of course I responded to. In that situation if they hadn’t asked, I probably wouldn’t have sent an update. I don’t mind either way as long as all involved are happy with the exchange.
). This is not the most important thing I’m looking from a sitter, so I do not want to over emphasize it.