‘’Xxxxxxx-was nice to meet-looked after the place very well’’
At least the HO HAS given a review, and for that I should be grateful.
I noticed that for all his sitters, the HO has given a ‘review’ of fewer than 10 words. So I asked him to please make mention of the fact that I’d looked after his dogs and his chickens (in my opinion) very well. I wrote a fulsome piece of feedback on him and his pets but this is all he’s written for me.
If I was a HO I’d be ‘reading between the lines’ and wondering why the review is so brief when he’s given me 5 stars in every category.
I’m a bit miffed, to be honest.
We’ve received a couple of reviews that were on the short side even though we were given 5 stars in every category. I just put it down to the fact that not everyone has a way with words and goes into great detail the way I do when I write a review for a homeowner. I do agree with you though that it is a letdown when you don’t receive a glowing review when you did a great job on the sit.
Now that reviewers don’t see the other review till they reveal Theirs it may be a game changer, I also put things in like I stepped in at the last minute as often reviewers forget to mention how truly wonderful I am! Ha ha!
Totally agree that it’s disappointing to receive a telegram mastic response when you’ve done a brilliant month’s job with the challenging menagerie!
There is a chance of a response to their review of you feel the need to embellish!
As the review is the payback for excellence on both sides, I like to do a good job on praising thoughtfulness and consideration. It’s an important reference for prospective sitters so I try to give a fair appraisal and think how I’d manage without a car etc.
I’ve always appreciated detailed reviews from earlier sitters when I’m making my choice about which sitters to select in the future.
The Devil and Angel are revealed in the details!
Yes, it is fustrating. I structure our reviews to talk about all the important points - communication, welcome, pets behaviour, home and garden, location. This takes at least 10 minutes and a lot of thought goes into it. Then I get a two sentence review back! But let’s think about this. What can a homeowner say? The animals were looked after, the house was left clean and tidy, the garden was tidy. They didn’t see you clean up the sick when the dog came in after eating all the fallen apples in the garden. They didn’t know the shower room had taken 1hour to get it up to your standards. There are so many things we do but the HO hasn’t got a clue.
I know, it’s very disappointing when you are expecting a glowing review. I spend so much time crafting a very personal review for owners and I’m the same, I find it very demoralising.
If you’re concerned about brief reviews, take a look at a host’s reviews before even applying. If they show a pattern of reviews that are too short or too generic for your liking, just avoid their listing.
If all of this HO’s reviews are like this, why would you expect any different? Did you not look into this prior to accepting?
It’s wild to me when sitters moan about getting 5-star reviews. Adding a lengthy response detailing ALL the ways you went above an beyond would concern me far more than a short, positive review. Just focus on getting more sits with HOs who know how to write useful reviews and bury this one.