Last minute date changes by home owners during sit

We had several changes to housesits during our summer in the US and one even cancelled just 36 hours before the sit was due to start.

There is no way to review this HO on the website as the HO marked our application as ‘declined’. They did not offer an apology, Of course we would have understood had it been an emergency, but the reason given was that they had forgotten that they had to study for an exam!

Our whole trip had to be rearranged. We wrote to TH who replied that they would consider a way to review this kind of occurrence. Very frustrating!

5 Likes

It’s just not acceptable for HO’s to behave this way, there definitely needs to be a review process in such circumstances, I hope your future sits work out :slight_smile:

2 Likes

There are two sides to every story of course and you have described your side of it. It would be interesting to know the reasons for the date changes. As far as it goes though, and only hearing your side of it, If I were going to sit and the H.O. started messing me about with dates without either prior agreement or an excellent reason then I wouldn’t agree to sit, simple as that. Presumably you agreed to the delay of two weeks so you do have control! though it would be rather difficult to avoid leaving if they come back a week early!!! Should you detail it as you have in a review it would only be fair to the H.O. to include their side of the story!

I’m very sorry this happened to you. The same thing happened to me this year so I know how stressful it is. I was contacted by a HO who told me they’d just been let down by a sitter at the last minute. The sit was due to start in two days when they contacted me and I agreed to travel to the other end of the country to look after their pets. A few days into the sit, the HO messaged me to say they needed to come back early due to work. It was incredibly stressful and I was less than impressed to be treated like something so disposable after really helping them out and going above and beyond at the last minute. Never again.

5 Likes

Hi @Chatsetchiens and that is truly shocking. Once the agreed end date had passed did you receive a review and were you able to leave feedback?

That is so sad. The ethos of THS and the exchange this implies is based on trust and respect. This lack of thought seems to be a trait associated with things that are perceived as “free” whether that be access to state healthcare where people fail to attend appointments , to free events where people register but don’t bother to turn up or cancel etc. Perhaps for some the valuable exchange of sitters time for a place to stay falls within that category and they don’t value or respect the time and effort that is essential to make a successful sit because there is no money changing hands.

4 Likes

You poor thing. That’s appalling, rude behaviour.
The HO should be ashamed of their conduct and THS should be mortified that they don’t have a mechanism in place to review this kind of behaviour currently.

1 Like

Wow. That’s appalling behaviour on the part of the homeowner.

4 Likes

Neither of us left reviews and I have spoken about this in detail and at great length on a different thread pertaining to THS’ current review system.

Whilst communication between myself and the HO was civil after being told to leave early and things were left between us on cordial terms, I was obviously not happy with what happened and with all the extra headache it caused me.

Anyone who thinks it’s ok to invite a sitter to bail them out at the last minute and travel to the opposite end of the country and then have the cheek to ask them to leave earlier than the specified dates for a non emergency is, at least in my book, not the most honourable of people. My concern was that even if I expressed what happened in the feedback in even the most diplomatic of ways, the HO would’ve come back with a petty, disparaging review response just to make me look bad. I had no trust in this person whatsoever as they’ve given me every reason not to.

I’ve worked hard over many years to build up a great, blemish-free reputation on here and the last thing I need is for a dishonourable person like this to wreck that in a petty knee-jerk response. Human nature can be ugly at times as we all know. I can see from the app that this HO now has a succession of different sitters who haven’t left reviews for them which speaks volumes. Whilst the review system is the way it is at present, it leaves us vulnerable which is why I look forward to the feedback system being amended to a more Airbnb style.

5 Likes

Hi my situation is very similar to yours. I have not yet left a review for my recent sit as I don’t want to risk unfair feedback for a sit in which I went above and beyond, if anything I feel the sitters should acknowledge the flexibility I gave them, an initial 2 week delay and a weeks cancellation at the end.
We ended on good terms and I feel I have been extremely accommodating. I gave total understanding and did not complain. I didn’t believe any confrontation was necessary and trusted their reasons and actions.
My sit was delayed and cancelled at the end due to the fact the couple work overseas and they were given the opportunity to come home early, despite our dates being set. I respect their decision as it’s their home but I do not feel they respected the agreement we had. The more I reflect the more used I feel. Coming home early from a work shift is not an emergency.
They are due to go away this week and already have a new sitter in place, through TH , this just adds insult to injury , especially when they have taken no time to give me a review, it is now that I am likely to consider a complaint being made, it’s just not how this platform should operate.
There are always two sides to a situation but I can honestly say that this is not fair on myself as a sitter and I would hope others within the forum would agree.

5 Likes

This is against the code of conduct that HOs sign up to. Unless there is a very good reason such a change is not ok and very disrespectful to you. I would flag it to THS. In an ideal world where sitters and home owners were all equal THS would remind them of their obligations to sitters. On the bright side, as others have said, this is unusual. I had one that changed the last day, returning a day earlier than I had signed up to but this wasn’t massively inconvenient. Hope you have better luck with your next sit.

1 Like

What a lovely HO you are!! :heart:

I did check the T&C’s, which say something completely different than what the previous poster had said about their being a cap of $450. Just wanted to make sure THS didn’t have two versions floating around.

Both the sign up page and the Help state:

For Premium Sitters -

In the unlikely event of your pet parent cancelling, our guarantee provides up to $150 compensation per night to cover the cost of alternative accommodation, up to $1500 per sit. Terms and Conditions apply.

1 Like

It certainly isn’t fair to you at all as you’ve really bent over backwards for them. To not have that acknowledgment is obviously very upsetting. I totally get it. It’s the lack of regard for any impact this has on the sitter that concerns me with some home owners. In my situation, I was just binned once my use had been served which is not pleasant at all. They lose out though by treating us so badly. I will certainly never put myself back in a situation where I’ve been mistreated. If they’ve done it once, guaranteed they’ll do it again.

Whilst I can attest to not having come across many owners where dates have been changed, I have, on occasion, been put in some very uncomfortable situations in the past on sits. Once I was on a sit abroad. I was quite new to THS at the time and got a call halfway through the sit to say their teenage son would be coming home so I’d have to now have him stay in the apartment with me. The possibility that this might happen was never discussed prior to the sit starting. If it was, I certainly would not have gone ahead with the booking. To have that sprung on me was awful.

It was a small apartment and the bedroom was right next door to the one I was staying in and he played on his play station until 4 am. The mother told me I’d have to tell him off if he kept me up at night with his music or his play station. Apart from the fact that I didn’t speak the same language as him, I was only there to look after the cat as agreed, not take on parenting duties as well! There’s a lot more I could say on that experience but I’ll leave it there. It was certainly not pleasant though. I’d love to tell you that’s the only time I’ve had someone have their teenagers sent back to the house to stay but it’s actually happened to me three times in as many years!

The thing is, I have had some absolutely amazing experiences on here too which is why I stay. I have a good few regulars now where it’s just a perfect fit on both sides and I always really look forward to going back there to spend time with the animals again. A good relationship of mutual trust has been established on both sides and it’s great and I know the owners would never dream of ever messing me around in any way. You will also find sits that you’re a perfect fit for where you’re treated well and valued in the way that you deserve to be.

4 Likes

We try, just a matter of treating others as we would like to be treated and doing what’s right. :blush:

4 Likes

Wow, you really have been put in some challenging situations but I love the fact you remain positive and want to continue based upon all the great experiences you have had.

I will definitely continue, my first ever sit asked me back again which felt good.

I am going to raise concerns about the house sit I have discussed in this thread with the TH team , as I think the HO’S need to be made aware that their actions are not acceptable and also to make other sitters aware.

I can’t help but still feel disappointed and taken advantage of, still no feedback despite the fact the sit ended 2 weeks ago ! maybe I should just leave mine and then put it behind me, such a shame but like you, I love doing this and am looking forward to further experiences !

3 Likes

Perhaps accommodation is easier for me but should I need to return home sooner than was originally agreed then so be it! I would only do so in such circumstances as I can’t envisage but all the comments here saying it against this or that, or it’s appalling behaviour is not allowing for whatever was the reason for the HO to return! As I said, perhaps accommodation is easier for me as the sitter would still be able to stay in their own room and have the freedom of the house and I would make it clear they are welcome to stay. Just to dismiss the reasons for a HO to return though is wrong!

1 Like

Hi, I agree to an extent with your views for sure, however, in my situation I do feel I went above and beyond to accommodate the HO, a 2 week delay followed by a weeks cancellation is quite significant in terms of date changes regardless of the reasons.
As a pet sitter you wouldn’t leave mid sit or request a delay and expect Ho’s to agree.
There has to be flexibility and respect for each others reasons to change agreed sit dates , but again this has to be within reason, not forgetting the terms and conditions we all agree to.

5 Likes

You could leave a review that starts with all the positives, everything that was good about the sit. Then in a neutral, nonjudgmental tone, you could recommend that future sitters have the ability to be flexible. It was fortunate that you were able to accommodate the HO as they needed you to fly from __ to __ with two days advance notice and they ended up returning home a week earlier than expected --or something to that effect. And that you had a wonderful time there.

Here is a portion of a review left by a previous sitter at a very attractive sit I was considering:

HO told me that “pet” does go out in the middle of the night to pee, but this wasn’t too much of an issue, I just let him out when I woke up in the middle of the night myself and he would come back on inside. Mentioning because if you are a ‘sleep straight through the night kind of person’, you might not like that. A lot of natural beauty in “location” and “pet” was a great companion, I would highly recommend this sit!

This sitter did the rest of us a favor. You now know your sleep will be interrupted every night should you decide to apply and be accepted for this sit.

9 Likes

This is a positive and fair way to review , thank you for your feedback:)

1 Like