I’m booked for a sit next week but my remote job starts next week as well. I didn’t realize thrre is a work laptop being shipped and I’m not home and I asked to push my start date by a week because I have a sit that overlaps and would mean I would have to fly back to the states from the uk within a day in between. Would the owner be understanding if I cancelled the sit given it’s in a week? Or do I stick with it because I already committed? It’s always stressful for me because I want to keep my rep on the app and was wondering if the owner would be understanding.
Put yourself in their position: they have travel plans and reservations, then you cancel with one week’s notice. What should they do?
Hi @matchacat97 I’d stick with it. No home owner is likely to be ‘understanding’ if you cancel with such short notice.
Can you get the work laptop shipped to the sit instead? Or would work allow you to use your own laptop for that first week? Or if it’s a long-term role or contract, just say you’re not available to start until the following week.
I can’t imagine the pet owner is going to understand. You made a commitment to them and they are highly unlikely to be able to find a replacement sitter at such short notice. For them, it may mean cancelling their trip/flights/business trip, or having to put their pets in a cattery/kennel, but a lot of owners won’t do that, that’s why they became members of THS.
Yes you stick with your commitment to them, BUT life changes, so if your financial situation has changed since you applied for the sit, then you need to do what is right for you. The owner may have insurance that covers care, but it’s such short notice, they could be fully booked anyway.
I’m so confused, it’s hard to give advice without knowing the below:
- Is it a permanent job?
- Has your financial situation changed since applying/accepting?
- Why did you agree to start a new job when you knew you had commitment to be in a different country?
- Why did you push back your start date by just 1 week, instead of the duration of the sit?
- A job doesn’t magic itself up overnight, so you have known for quite a while that you were trying for a job, so why didn’t let the pet owners know so they could find someone else?
Personally I would get the laptop shipped to a US family member’s address instead, and push back your start date again… why you only pushed it back a week confuses me.
We’re full time digital nomads so balancing work and sits is always an issue. If you can start work without the laptop then that’s ideal and log on remotely with email etc for the first week. Or get the laptop shipped to the UK instead. Only a weeks notice for the host is pretty tough on them, they can’t give you a bad review as the sit won’t happen but it’s not good karma when you’ve committed such a long time ago. Work is definitely a priority for income over a voluntary sit though so only you can make the final call. #worklifebalance
- you should fulfill your commitment
- have your laptop shipped to the host´s address
So not to make a negative first impression with work, could a friend ship the delivered laptop to you at the sit? Then work would be none the wiser, and you would be a “problem solver” and the sit would continue as planned.
Talk to your host and have the laptop shipped there. I had a car shipped this summer to my host’s address and they were very understanding.