Oh @CatsAndDog I didn’t know that. I usually use an iPad so I’m used to pinching photos etc in & out to zoom 
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Oh! 
Well that is pretty damn useless isn’t it?
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I hate the tip jar idea. Once sitters are “tipped” it shifts the relationship. It’s no longer an equal exchange. You are paying someone for good “service.” As a HO, I often have hosted sitters who are probably doing better in the current economy than I am, and it would just be awkward. As a sitter, I have a sense of pride, and I like feeling that I am guest who is “earning” my keep by being a super guest.
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I hate the tip scenario too @Marion. I posted about it in another thread that was all about the topic here
I’m going to take a wild guess that @Starsitter is American? The tipping cultures are so wildly different between UK and America and, IMO, it has become totally out of proportion there now.
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@Saltrums. I live in the U.S. Tipping culture is out of control as you now expected. In NYC we’re encouraged to tip cashiers at swanky new-style deli/bodgegas. In the past when I used a pet sitting service, I tipped for drop-in sitters as I calculated that they were barely getting minimum wage.
The issue of somehow codifying rewards/payments/etc for THS sitters comes up a lot. I’ve got a combined membership. The day tipping is codified or expected on this site, is the day that for many reasons too long to go into now, I would quit the site as both a sitter and a host. Meantime, I’ll continue to try my best as a host to make sure my guests are comfortable and even provide wine, chocolate, etc. in addition to other amenities. As a sitter, I’ll continue to enjoy the free stuff I get, including garden fresh veggies, wine, chocolate, etc. plus the company of great pets!
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I don’t mind getting tips, or tipping other people.
But I find the concept of sitters requesting or hinting about wanting tips pretty grotesque.
I was a paid professional sitter for many years, and I quite prefer the “barter” method that we use here.
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In all honesty, and granted I currently only have cats, as a host in a competitive city, I’m not going through more than five “sitter with pet photos.” Each of those photos needs to show some interaction, and because I have cats at least one has to show cats! I would think if you could show different sizes and breeds of dogs, people would get the idea. You also of course have your written applications. The mini-pix just make the profiles look busy.
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Yes @Marion , interaction in the photos is what I look for, too. Just pictures of different animals don’t tell me anything, I need to see the sitter with the animals.
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