Not finding a pet sitter

[Itchyfeet]

Hi @MtnSk8tr
I would like to apologise from all the sitters who, like me, do not have their availability calendar up to date.
This subject has been mentioned on other threads as it is so difficult to manually update the calendar each time the sitter has a day or dates where they are not free.
THS have been looking at this for months now and I really think that this, together with the review system, should be priority rather than some of the IT changes that they are making

[Snowbird]

I agree with @Itchyfeet that the calendar function certainly needs to be addressed. Even those like myself, who do keep their calendars current, may not be available in the ‘green dates’. They may have commitments that are not easily added into the current calendar format, and so would decline.

In keeping with Itchyfeet’s theme, I would like to apologize for the sitters who have not responded to your direct invite. In my opinion, that is disrespectful and inexcusable. When I receive such an invite, I promptly respond, including an explanation as to why I’m not available, if that’s the case.

Another option, if you have standard or premium membership, is to consider boosting your listing. However, as a sitter, I’m not familiar with that process. I see that you can only do it once, so you may want to consider when it would be best to do that, if you are eligible.

[CreatureCuddler]

@Snowbird

I would like to apologize for the sitters who have not responded to your direct invite. In my opinion, that is disrespectful and inexcusable.

When I’m not actively looking for a new/planning for an upcoming sit, I don’t monitor my THS inbox. It can be weeks/months before I see an invite. I always reply eventually, but I think expecting people to monitor their THS inbox 24/7 in case they happen to get invited to a sit is a bit much.

[Snowbird]

Hi @CreatureCuddler . It may be a difference in our THS email settings. If anything comes into my THS inbox, I get a notification email in my personal email account. That’s what prompts me to review and reply. Otherwise, I don’t check my THS inbox either.

[CreatureCuddler]

All emails, except for financial stuff, go to an email dumping ground that I literally never check. It has tens of thousands of messages that I’ve never opened and never will. If I looked at every email from every website I’ve signed up for, every day, I would literally have no time left for anything else. I probably get those messages, but they just go into the black hole, which is why I only respond once I go back to the site to arrange a sit. It doesn’t say anything about the level of respect I have for HOs and I think it’s far from inexcusable to not be constantly monitoring my email for some random email that may or may not appear.

[MtnSk8tr]

Another comment about the calendar function, and suggestion for improvement:

Searching for available sitters by date pulls up not only sitters with calendars marked in green, but also those sitters whose calendars are not marked at all – the dates are simply white, without slash-outs. It is necessary to search all of those calendars manually to find ones marked in green so I can reach out directly.

Possibly this topic has been discussed elsewhere in the past. If not: THS, please consider a programming change to enable searches by date more efficient and less frustrating.

[MtnSk8tr]

This conversation is very informative. It sounds as if one of the improvements needed is a way for calendars to be easily marked and updated.

Sitters I’m reaching out to all have the needed dates marked in green…and so far, all have declined to discuss this sit further. Those adding a PM all state that they they are “not available”, and only 2 have stated more than that. “Not available” can cover a lot of ground, incl. “not available” except for sits in a certain location; that something has come up, or simply that they feel it might not be a good match for a variety of reasons. Thus, they are “not available” for a particular sit that is still marked in green. I am not taking this personally.

I received a very nice PM last night from a couple that explained they had discussed our sit at length and seriously considered it, but ultimately decided they had too many other commitments right now. I really appreciated the thoughtfulness of their reply, the extra time they took to explain, and will definitely contact them in the future. Their kindness spoke volumes about what kind of people they are.

My THS plan includes 1 extra “boost” that I am saving for now. At this rate, I am going to need it!

[Angela_L]

Hi @MtnSk8tr welcome to our community forum and to TrustedHousesitters, thank you for joining from the Pacific Northwest, thank you also for introducing us to your lovely home and adorable pets. I see you’ve had some great help and support from our members and good advice from @Snowbird, you live in a stunning part of the country, popular with sitters. As @Snowbird says it is a little early during these very uncertain times.

I would not be too concerned at this time, although appreciate the need to have pet care plans in place.

Welcome again,

Angela and the Team

[mars]

Hi @MtnSk8tr , your listing is excellent. Not only are your pets sweet and your house beautiful, you have that VERY cool vintage-looking stove that reminds me of an Aga, (maybe it is?). You’re way too far away from me since I am trying to avoid planes but I sympathize with your frustration re. the availability calendar. This has been discussed here at length. See the topics below. I hope the availability calendar is near the top of the list (after review revamping) of improvements we will see in the near future.

Availability calendar

I’ve brought this up previously on a THS “live chat” and hope I’m not the only one that feels this way. I find the availability calendar not “user friendly” but rather laborous. I’d rather be able to click on the dates I’m not available than the go through the entire year clicking on dates I am available. I’ve had a problem with this from the beginning and I consider myself fairly computer savvy Find it very frustrating! Interested to know what others think.

Calendar

As a sitter, I wish I had more control over my calendar. As it stands now, unless I’m mistaken, our calendar only shows when we are busy due to committed sits in the future. Those days are automatically blocked off, as they should be. But, what if I don’t want to sit over holidays, what if I’m busy a certain day or days, or traveling for pleasure, just anything that makes me unavailable. I would like to have the option to go in and modify my calendar and put in unavailable dates that aren’t …

Sitter calendar availability

I agree with Colin. I’ve saved many sits, actually starting before home owners had the ability to see them. My main reason for saving/favouriting them is so that I am notified when the home owner posts a sit. However, in my opinion, it doesn’t really work the other way around. Even if I have the dates set as “available”, I may not be prepared to go to a sit when a home owner sends an invite. Almost all of our sits are planned well in advance and are made as part of a longer trip to a specific…

[MtnSk8tr]

@mars observed: [quote=“mars, post:30, topic:8681”]
you have that VERY cool vintage-looking stove that reminds me of an Aga, (maybe it is?).
[/quote]

Thank you! It is an Elmira Stoveworks (model “Oval”). Orginally manufactured in Canada, and often installed in off-grid remote mining & hunting cabins, they are apparently no longer made. The original homebuilder installed it for both cooking & making hot water before there was power to the property. It took a lot of steel wool, stove black, and elbow grease to restore it to its former glory. It now serves as a terrific pet feeding station: Phoebe (dog) can’t get into Tabitha’s cat food.