Hello. We have an upcoming trip that will last the entire month of July. There’s a particular sitter that we would like to invite, however, they are not available for the first weekend of the month. Has anyone had a sitter handoff a sit to another sitter? Just wondering about logistics etc. Thanks
Hi @SandBee
I did that as a sitter. It was very unusual and exceptional circumstances but I was happy enough to do this to help the HO. I had sat for the pet previously so it wasn’t difficult.
I didn’t meet with the sitter who was taking over from me but I left my notes on the sit and if I remember rightly we spoke on the phone.
The cleaner was going to be at the house when the other sitter arrived.
It wasn’t a complicated sit and all was well with all parties.
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I was offered a six-week sit when I started with THS and asked for a split sit so I could go home for part of the time. The hosts obliged and I ended up bookending another sitter. I wouldn’t do it again, because I think the other sitter cut corners, but was able to fool the hosts.
When I flew back for my second sit of the bookend, I found gnats in the dogs’ food, debris in the water bowl, and a pile of just kibble rather than signs of a mix of fresh food in their bowls. They were also off their feed. I suspect the sitter went home (a couple of hours away) early, like maybe the day or night before. The flowers they left for the hosts also were wilted, another sign of leaving early.
The dogs were older and one had nearly no teeth, so was always supposed to eat a watered-down mix of kibble and fresh food, not just dry kibble.
Overall, the dogs were resilient and got back on their feed. They also had access to the yard. But given the risks of things going more wrong, I wouldn’t accept a split sit now.
I was angry on the dogs’ behalf, too. They were not only super sweet, but easy to care for, and they deserved to be looked after well. The other sitter gets great reviews, too, despite what I saw of their care.
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If you use the Spy Glass and type in Split Sits, you will see other threads on this subject that may help you
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@fyfie So which of you got the review? I don’t think a homeowner can leave more than one review per sit.
@SandBee something to consider and discuss with potential sitter is that your review of the first sitter will have to be done within 14 days of their part of the sit finishing - how will you review them on cleanliness / pet care when you won’t have been back home to see ?
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@KenandMary1998 We’ve done split sits a few times. The host has to create separate dates for each sitter so that each can be officially reviewed.
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@Maggie8K I feel for you- returning to the sit and seeing the dogs had been less than well cared for AND the other sitter getting a great review! That leaves a bad taste. We’ve been there!
We’ve done split sits 3 times. The first two sits went great- easy handovers between sitters. The third one was not good. The host couldn’t get sitters for a month long stay and we were able to do only the last two weeks so we suggested they create 2 x 2 week sits and we’d do the second half. So we did not meet the host. The first sitter they got had much lower standards than us. He did not appear to have done any cleaning at all for our arrival & freely admitting he had not cleaned the bathroom during his stay!! He left it disgusting! And the stink from the cat litter- down in the basement- was apparent the moment we entered the front door! Clearly gad not been changed. He said it was like that when he arrived!! So the hosts must have had low standards as well!
Later that day we notified the owners of our experience with handover and they apologised profusely.
We then deep cleaned the parts of the house we were going to use and changed the cat litter, vacuumed & mopped etc and after 2 weeks left the house much better than we found it.
Despite our comments they gave the first sitter a great review the day after he left. But we had to wait 2 weeks for ours- after sending 2 reminders -and it was very mediocre! Not a good experience.
We won’t be doing a split sit again!
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@SandBee Do you have a trusted relative, neighbor or close friend who could do the first weekend and orient the sitters for the handover? This may be a better solution than having an unknown sitter do the first weekend. Best of luck in finding a solution that works for all parties.
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Unless you already know and trust both sitters, I would be hesitant to do a split sit, even if for a cat. It adds more variables and if something happens, it can turn into a he said she said situation.
That being said, people do it. I would be hesitant to apply for one when there is no “authorised person” to sign off on the handover.
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Thanks, Lokstar. Sounds like you folks had a bad one and it makes sense to avoid such risks in the future.
I got off easy, considering what could’ve gone wrong. I had no idea at the time — hadn’t done a single sit when I was offered the unsolicited sit and asked for the split. The hosts didn’t flinch and they were easygoing.
The home was clean (included a regular cleaner and gardener) and the other sitter was clean as well. We each had our own guest room and bath. I handed off to the other sitter, but they weren’t there when I returned. I ended up getting good reviews, fortunately.
The cleaner actually broke something during the other sitter’s stay and they ended asking whether I’d done it. Luckily, the cleaner must’ve owned up, because I didn’t hear more. The hosts shrugged it off. It was inexpensive, but what if it had been pricey and there had been finger-pointing.
Now, there’s no chance I’d take the risk of a split sit.
@Maggie8K Yes there is the issue of breakage or usage of stuff by the other sitter that you have no way of knowing about! We wondered that on our split sit- if something happened or went missing that the hosts may have blamed us for. Hence their change in attitude towards is after they returned
Not meeting the host in such circumstances can be messy. In our case the first sitter did not have a vehicle so the host picked him up at the station and he overnighted with them so they had a chance to get to know each other a little. We have no way of knowing if the first sitter was telling the truth- i.e that he left the place as found (dirty by our standards) and the cat litter was stinking on arrival…etc Maybe it was true! and the hosts really were slobs! We’ll never know. But we think the hosts loyalty went to him as they’d met him. Perhaps they felt insulted by our complaints on arrival slthough we had friendly messaging all through the sit. But once we returned there was radio silence until we finally got our review 2 weeks later.
So we did feel they were punishing us somehow but we’ll never really know…
I think I have had this happening. At least I was totally unaware of anything being wrong. I had used the item, but it felt like it was working like it should. Or maybe it was the pets.
That all sounds bad, @Lokstar. Sitting carries enough unknowns and risks even when we do normal sits.
With my sit, the hosts also offered use of a car. I’m also lucky that nothing went wrong with a split sit on that front. The other sitter had their own car, but I didn’t know that when I asked for a split.
Well, cheers to learning and moving on!
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Yes, unfortunately, we risk those sorts of things when sitting.
On one of my sits, I was invited to come early and the microwave acted goofy while the host was using it. It could’ve just as easily malfunctioned when I was on my own. I was glad that wasn’t the case. I wouldn’t want to be blamed.
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It was 2 separate sits, It just so happened the HO was not going to be home at the changeover due to exceptional circumstances. So we both got reviews.