That is a pity.
I do not quite understand what went wrong at the airport (she flew out where you flew in I gather, almost at the same time?), but had you tried a voice call?
That is a pity.
I do not quite understand what went wrong at the airport (she flew out where you flew in I gather, almost at the same time?), but had you tried a voice call?
Honestly I wouldnât worry too much @KallyMayzy - youâve done what you can do and the sit is finished now. If the sitter wonât give you additional feedback then just log it and chat more to your next applicants about how they like things to work and find a balance that suits you all. The fact youâre concerned already shows that you care and youâre taking it on board. You can also add feedback to theirs and say something along the lines of âI appreciate your candour and experience. I want sitters to enjoy their time with my pets and will take your feedback on board for the future.â Or similar. Future sitters will read both. Best of luck
If I understand correctly, the plan was for the sitter to drive to the airport, meet @KallyMayzy to hand over keys, and KallyMayzy would then drive? the sitter to their terminal, or else the sitter would just make their way to the terminal for their departure.
It sounds like the sitter chose to just park, leave the keys in the car, and head to their terminal without communicating with KallyMayzy until much later - possibly because they needed wifi to text.
@KallyMayzy
How many pets were there to take care of? Did you add additional tasks to the pet sitting ones? Did you ask her to do things or did you word them as âyouâll need to do this,âŚâ?
These are things that could indicate a boss-employee relationship type of behaviour.
We donât really know the sitterâs side, and why she felt that way, so itâs hard for us to comment, I think.
I donât think you are âjust luckyâ. You intelligently choose the sits that fit with you, carefully reading the expectations and doing your research. Just as âluckyâ HOâs choose their sitters.
Do THS inform houseowners about what not to expect?
I had a sit earlier this year where the owner complained in her review of me that I was not always present to receive deliveries. I had made sure there were alternative arrangements for packages being left, but deliverers sometimes ignored them. Even a paid servant would not be able to guarantee 24/7 presence, but thatâs what I suggested she needed during her next time away from home. The concept of exchange in which I would be living my own life was absent.
She was to pick me up at the domestic terminal and then I would take her to the international terminal. She did not want to share her phone number and pay for international calling. So the only way to communicate was through email and THS.
I would hate that! Sometimes it is just necessary.
And via Whatsapp, it is free when there is Wifi.
(I have had an HO who did not want to communicate unless they had Wifi, just because of cost. That caused problems when they were on their way back.)
I have 2 cats, which, from what I understand, she got along with well.
Everything was laid out in the Welcome Guide, no surprises.
It would be nice to get her side, but sheâs gone radio silent.
OK, thatâs very awkward. I always share my phone number, often even before we first chat on video. If an owner didnât want to give me their number, I donât think I would sit for them.
Hi @KallyMayzy
Can I suggest using whatsapp in future. It works great for communication via wifi for sitters and is easy to add pictures of your pets and anything a sitter needs to bring to your attention.
People do disappear on THS @KallyMayzy. Both sitters and HOâs Iâm afraid.
Think you just mark this first sit down to experience. Iâve sat for a couple of HOâs who had disasters of sitters as their first THS experience. One the sitter ran up a considerable international phone bill on the HOâs landline (think it was 200 euroâs) and another left the bedroom full of trash despite large bins opposite the house. Iâm doing a second sit for the latter soon.
So donât give up. Hopefully you find a better fit next time.
May I suggest that the review system is broken? If you give someone less than 5 stars, you can expect they will come up with a negative about you. Nothing is perfect, so it is very easy to do and also human nature. As a result of the broken process, I do not review poor sitters. I just move on. Most are wonderful. I have asked THS that they let us know when a sitter had sits with no reviews because it is telling.
Both parties must shoot for a win/win situation.
I have a business that I do get paid for my services, many of which I provide for free to HO. It often cost me money and time to house sit but it does give me something to do and I do what I want instead of what I am getting paid to do. So yeah, more freedom, but I really end up just doing the same thing as I get paid for. But I love the young people and I enjoy helping them out. Itâs fun to see different houses and different pets.
In general, I agree with you. But speaking from my own experience. I have never taken a house sitting job because I want to see the area around their house. I take the jobs to help people out and give me something to do, perhaps a new adventure. I try to provide the best service possible for the HO. The HO does, at times I believe just think of me as âfree helpâ. Maybe they think I am unable to get a âReal jobâ. How does not enjoy site seeing around an area when they only have 2-3 hours at a time? Seems like the most I can do is go grocery shopping. HO, I think, should prepare for House sitters just like they prepare for their trip. Not only is a House Sitter taking care of your house, and cleaning up after themselves, they have to take responsibility for your pet and clean up after the pet. Thats not a vacation. Thats a volunteer job. Now, do you know how to treat volunteers? Appreciatively. Even volunteers are given food, sometimes special tickets to an event, etc., because the people they are volunteering for, appreciate them. HO are offering a place to stayâŚwith strings attached. Itâs only even if the House sitter REALLY REALLY wants to be in that area at that time. I have been very fortunate. I love the people and pets I have met and I enjoy helping people out. But my HO are usually very generous and thoughtful. They dont sweat the small stuff either.
Thanks for posting this! I posted something along these lines a couple weeks ago and it got shut down due to a few wildly heated comments, lol.
I like that this conversation has brought up themes of mutuality and capitalism. I think there is a culture on THS that fails to confront the entitlement and classism at the root of some sitting requests and would love to see the app used to establish a better culture and expectations.
Some owners really do see you as unpaid slaves. A message from one owner was - I see you are available for dates I require so I would like you to arrive at such and such a time and leave at such and such a time. Then went on to give all the orders of the task they wished me to complete etc. etc. Needless to say I politely turned them down. I did not want to spend a fortune on petrol money, travelling to wherever it was now, just to be bossed around. I have a nice home and happy to stay there, unless an interesting sit comes along. This wasnât it, as really sounded like I was being spoken down to and being given orders.
Yes. I was treated as an unpaid slave a couple of times as a sitter.
I might have addressed them as âMemsahibâ or something like that