Hello, my husband and I just joined a few days ago. We posted a sit for next weekend and we have three sitters who have reached out already. I have a video call set up with one of them for tomorrow morning. Should I wait to respond to the others until after that conversation when I firm up that sitter? Or is the proper protocol to notify all interested parties that I am communicating with one sitter already, and will confirm or decline with the others by X day/time?
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Hi @jenkorba. Welcome to the forum.
Of course it is up to you. Once a sitter is confirmed, the system will even send an automated message to the other applicants if you donât want to contact them. But, as a sitter, I think itâs nice to get a message acknowledging reception. You donât have to be that specific if you donât want. You can just say something like âthanks for your message. Iâll get back to you /ASAP/in a couple of days/etcâ Itâs not only polite but it will also increase the chances of applicants being more patient and available in case you are not happy with your video call.
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Hello there @jenkorba
Welcome to the forum.
If I was a pet owner, I would acknowledge each application with a brief âthank you for your application, we will get back to you soonâ, or similar words.
If you decide to choose the sitter you are doing a face to face chat with, just remember that once you send them the invite to sit and its accepted, that the other applicants will get an automatic message from THS telling them they have not been successful this time.
So you can send them a quick personal message to tell them the same before that automatic decline goes to them, which is just so much nicer and a polite thing to do.
All the best, Louise
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Welcome @jenkorba
If they seem suitable, thank them for their application straight away .
Something for you to be aware of is that sitters likely have applied for several sits at the same time , so they may get accepted in the meantime by another host. This could also happen with the ones that you have a video call scheduled with .
Prompt communication by both parties is vital to confirming a good sitter .
Also if any of the sitters that applied are not suitable you can decline them now - so you donât keep them waiting for a reply .
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Itâs up to you whether you want to set up more than one video call. Some sitters are offended at multiple video calls. I think most sitters expect it. As a host, I only set up video calls with sitters that sound really good on the application, have a good profile ,y reviews, no red flags, and maybe thereâs already been some questions back and forth through the email.
If there is more than one sitter who sounds great, you could write to the other sitter or sitters that you are considering to let them know you already set up a chat with someone, but would love to chat with them in case it doesnât work out or that if it doesnât work out, youâd be in touch to set up a chat.
Iâve tried different approaches. I live in a competitive sit area, so there are generally lots of applications. Iâd done this where I reach out to one person who meets the criteria, is great, says yes, and done. But there have also been times that someone agreed, but then didnât confirm and got back to me later that they couldnât do it, maybe because they chose another sit, or there was a travel issue. So I try if possible to set up chats with 2 or 3 people. This gets messy, because if then if you canât say âyesâ to someone right away, they might take something else! One thing I donât do is wait around for chats. If someone canât meet you for a week because they are busy or puts off the chat, I take that as a sign they are probably waiting to hear back about another sit and move on or I make the appointment but tell them that I will be talking to other people before then, and canât âholdâ the place for them.
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Your home and pets and location must be GREAT that you have 3 applicants quickly for a 2-3 night opportunity that is less than one week in the future!
Considering the fact that your dates are less than one week away, it is truly imperative that you respond to the applicants quickly.
At the same time that I reached out to the âbestâ candidate to set up the chat, I would have acknowledged the others, âThank you for your application; I will get back to you by Sunday.â Obviously, decline any applicants that are not suitable at that point also.
Even if your dates were 3-6 months in the future, the above etiquette would be productive. I wish all Owners were so diligent!
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This is exactly how I handle it and itâs worked well. It keeps things positive and maintains good relationships with the sitters so in future maybe a sit will work out with them.
Once a sitter has applied, it opens up lines for future communication with them so Iâd also favorite any that sound like a good fit for future sits.
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Hey as a sitter, I understand the pet owner may want to interview a couple of people to check they are they right fit. I donât mind knowing this and appreciate the honesty and being informed of the decision.
If you feel like you want a few days to read through the applications before deciding, just let people know this is what youâre doing. After all this is about finding the right people for your pets, so itâs an important decision.
Only once have I had someone else chosen over me and the owners sent a lovely message which was really appreciated, so no bad feelings at all.
Equally when Iâve applied I really appreciate an acknowledgement, even if itâs a âsorry weâve found someoneâ. I try to do the same whenever I am approached as itâs just good manners.
I hope that helps.
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As a sitter I would suggest replying to each to let them know that you got their application and let they know you are either considering them or not. For those you are considering, set up a video chat. Donât wait until you have all the applications or have even narrowed down your choices to one or twoâŚ
Review each application on itâs own merit. Look are their profile. Is a fit? Schedule a video chat. Not a fit. Decline the application
We had applied for a sit and didnât hear anything for four days⌠in the mean time we kept applying for and accepted another sit. On the same day that we accept the other sit, the original HO reached out and want to schedule a video chat but we were already under contract. Had we known we were being considered we would have waited.
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You should do whatever feels right for you.
You will get different views on here but all that really matters is that you are happy with how you treat ither people.
So let people know or donât it doesnât matter someone will always complain and be unhappy with whatever you decide. So just be you.
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