Don’t haul yourself over coals or stress more. Stuff happens and it’s done. What’s important is your pattern of being great sitters. Otherwise, if future prospective hosts want perfection, they’re not realistic. Better to avoid those anyway.
Personally, I know I’ll never be a perfect sitter, but I also know I don’t need to be, because it’s not realistic. Plus, I always look for hosts who are reasonable, reciprocal, will show grace if things go sideways, etc. I don’t want to be partner with (or be reviewed by) people who are unreasonable. (Nor would I think most hosts want to be reviewed unrealistically by sitters who are always complaining about one thing or another.)
Just my two cents, but they didn’t do anything about the streaks, so I would definitely not assume the “bald spot” (seems much too harsh) is something they’ll care about. I would mention it when they get back, but please remember that if you are stressed about it, you are likely to stress out the dog and the owners. You seem like a sitter that does an incredible job, every time, and now has a few mishaps. Your standards are great, but the stress of not achieving perfection this time seems way over the top. Maybe just take your lessons and the opportunity to be more understanding about other people’s mistakes. You’re awesome but not perfect. Join the club of humans
Long thread here with much for you to read, but I’ll chime in and say I’d feel exactly like you do! I beat myself up for the tiniest things.
I’ve bought and replaced things at Airbnb’s that I am paying top dollar for bc I feel guilty if I break a wine glass while washing it by hand because I’m afraid it will break in the dishwasher! lol.
So, I get it.
I think your honesty and remorse along with offering to pay for whatever is needed to fix the wall, if they are kind humans, should be plenty for them to understand you are human and still leave you a great review.
I think when sitters try to hide something gone wrong deserves a deleted star. Nothing here was intentional and happens to all of us.
Personally, I would send a photo and tell the stories when they are on their way home…but that’s me. I like to allow people to digest uncomfortable news for a bit before we have to discuss it in person. I would be more anxious to welcome them home with unfortunate news. Some people react before thinking and speak without reflecting. That would make me feel worse. IMO I would want to allow them time to process the news, which I would send them with sincere humility and apologies.
But everyone is different - perhaps in person they’ll be more restrained.
My preference is to allow a few to several hours or a day for them to decide how “terrible” the news is.
As everyone has mentioned, the pets are the priority so you should be reviewed on that first and foremost.
Good luck - hang in there!
Maybe you will find the keys later on a place you never thought about.
If you don’t look for them, or let it rest for a day, you maybe find them.
For the stain:
It really is something I would do: wanting to make it better and then make it worse…so I know how you feel…
(Actually…I did…and it turned out that the houseowners had somewhere a little paint what they put over it…problem solved)
At my sits we never got deducted by stars for minor things…we always tell them when they came back, so that they didn’t have to find out themselves.
And all of the sits, we everytime get asked back and go back now…
Don’t tell them earlier, because it does not need immediate action. It will not become better or worse. It is now what it is. It can wait.
While I’m not the HO, I can almost guarantee that your attitude, your ownership and your sense of responsibility will keep your review great ! Depending on where the owners are and their stated preference for communication, I would either let them know now or when you speak just prior to their return.
These are honest and forgiveable mistakes which say nothing about your skills and abilities. Your response to these mistakes says EVERYTHING about you as a person and that is the most important part !
Spot on! It’s how you respond to the vicissitudes of the housesit. I do remember a review on some housesitter where the issue of a broken wine glass was mentioned because the sitter had not dealt with it properly and it had been discovered later by the Hone Owner. But never meet trouble half way by mentioning it before the Home owner returns if it’s not something that can be resolved earlier.
I was on a Housesit miles from IKEA and a wine glass got broken washing up.. We couldn’t replace it without a great deal of inconvenience. When the Home Owners returned to a sparkling house and three happy dogs and two cats they were so very grateful. We mentioned the glass,
“ Oh, that’s nothing, but thanks for mentioning it. That’s why we buy cheap glasses in IKEA!
They are such lovely Home Owners. They have an album of happy photos of all their Housesitters, and their names, with the pets in.. We felt like family! We know we would be invited back for sure and got the 5 star review no bother.
Striving for perfection is travelling on a road to nowhere but yes I totally get your striving.
The Home Owner had been a pet sitter so was totally empathetic. She had also worked as a chambermaid in a hotel and had some great tips about keeping on top of the cleaning!
There’s something to learn from each experience; the forum teaches us more quickly through those shared experiences of others.
You have lots of people on here rooting for you! Reach for those 5 stars! You deserve them in my book.
This photo made me laugh. The person owning the pets was extolling how great a single bed was.. more room in the bedroom! Then she got up to the loo and the pets took over! Ha ha!
I agree with this response. There are hundreds of shades of white, so you could make things worse if you go out and buy white paint which doesn’t match.
I has a sit like that too - the panel to the drawer came off in my hand on day two lol - I worried myself sick about until the owners returned and told that it happens all the time lol!
Honestly, I would’ve left the streak marks. my dishwasher does it all the time they just look like splash marks then they dry and it’s fine. But yes, the magic erasers good but don’t paint something. Just let the owner know because in my experience I painted something once and used the wrong colour and then it was a disaster. My house sitter lost my house key too. I wasn’t impressed no. But it got worse when she left me a dirty air fryer, took my pet camera lead instead of her lead. Left me with no clean towels. Took sheets off and didn’t leave me with any clean bedsheets. Probably feels like a disaster but better to come clean and tell the owner so they can help your problems solve. I also told her not to walk my dog without a harness and she sent me a cute picture of her fish and chip place with my dog without a harness on, so we had lots of pre communication. And then I kept finding things so it’s probably like your story, but I found things. Clumps of hair stuck to my wall of my shower pens that were moved into different places so I couldn’t find them. But yeah, I’ll lose the house key best to put it around your neck so you don’t lose it. This one didn’t tell me till the end of the sit and then she wanted to leave two days early. I should’ve made her stay till I got home. But yeah, sometimes that’s the way it goes I think. I’ve had sitters take my sheets as well. But yes, I guess it works both ways on a sit so good to hear the other side of the story too from a Sitter’s perspective.
