Hi everyone. Help! I have a sit scheduled to start Oct 2, she wants me there at 10 am so I need to get a hotel nearby the night before (I am road tripping. At the moment about 6 hours away).
I asked for a welcome guide about 10 days ago, still have not received.
I messaged her on the app 3 days ago to prompt a welcome guide or at least an address so I can make plans. It says she saw it but no response.
Another detail - she asked to extend the sit two days, I confirmed but asked her to change dates in the app and she has not done so.
What would you do at this point? I do have her cell number so I could push by cell text or call but I’m feeling like this could become very uncomfortable very quickly.
Also I have 22 five star sits and I take communication very seriously as part of the mutual 5 star experience.
Would you ask customer service to intervene? If so when?
I would CALL the owner and leave a message if they do not answer. Also if they do not answer, I would send a text, asking them to listen to the voicemail that I just left, and keep the text very brief, but ask for the address.
You need to have the address very soon!
She must have a decent Welcome Guide to get the 5 star reviews. Some owners do not use the THS Welcome Guide. They have their own Word document. Perhaps the owner will email it to you.
If i were in your shoes, I’d likely drop them a message and let them know I was going to call this evening to get the address and finalise any other details, perhaps gently nudge them to send the Welcome Guide again.
Then as planned, make the call.
If things haven’t moved forward by this evening, reach out to Member Services.
I’d be very uncomfortable to have not recieved a welcome guide by now. I like to be given one well ahead of time.
With regards to updating dates and receiving information, I allude to when I expect to receive things in messaging so that the other party is clear that it’s not official until it’s booked. But additionally I also ask a lot of questions. On the video chat.
Definitely just call to gently remind. In future, I’d also gently let HOs know when his expect to get a welcome guide from the perspective of wanting to review it and ensure you come prepared, etc.
I see on facebook this issue has been resolved. But it seems very straightforward to contact the person over the phone, not an app. Apps don’t always work correctly, so they may not get notifications.
@PeripateticPam call and tell them outright if they want you to continue with the sit they need to send you the welcome guide within an hour. Time is of the essence. If they say they have a hard copy at the home ask for the word or PDF version. How inconsiderate of them to not provide the necessary information to ensure you arrive to the sit on time and fully informed of the pet/home care responsibilities. I always request the welcome guide immediately after confirming the sit and have no problem following up with the HO if they have not provided it in a timely manner after my request.
As this topic might be read by other seeking advice (as it is referred to this specific situation being resolved):
I think it is unreasonable to expect a sitter to pay extra acommodation because the host want to leave early. If you need to leave a host should offer to host you or pay for a room. All fellow members would normally need to travel for a while, so a morning handover, unless a local sitter, should somehow include accommodation organized by the host, IMO. At least an offer to do so.
I think a WG should be sent well ahead of the sit. It seems when there are problems regarding the WG, it is too often revealed things in the WG that should be adressed before the sitter agreed to the sit. You could suddenly find out things that would make you avoid the sit (peeing indoor, can’t be left alone, barking at night, reactive etc.) Sometimes it could be an accident, but I’m afraid in some cases it is quite on purpose to hide things to get a sitter. I don’t think it is a good idea, as you won’t get a good match that way, you are setting up yourself and the sitter for failure.
Personally, I would have cancelled in this situation. I know everyone can’t do that and don’t really have a choice, but it is regardless nice to know that it is alright to set boundaries as a sitter.
Yes, I did text her and got a response. I have had HOs who wanted to only talk in the app and other HOs who preferred text. It can be a bit confusing. I actually had an HO get upset with me for trying to clarify dates by text, so I withdrew my application.
I’m good with getting my own accommodations the night before, assuming I know the address and it isn’t some place where rooms are outrageously expensive. This is a sought after area and I did agree to the morning meet, but in other circumstances I might decline this arrangement - it’s all situation dependent. She did get back to me, I was just starting to panic since I saw the app showed she had viewed my message and not responded. In the future I will simply assume that a text nudge is ok, and not let it go until the last minute.
