I’ve recently had a sit - she left a day earlier than planned (I should have known when she arrived she asked what time I was getting back and I had to remind her the correct days listed on the advert!). Anyway, I was nice about the “emergency” and arranged something else for the last night. I was reluctant to give bad feedback in case I/my dogs got a bad review back, she also knows where I live etc and I got slightly strange vibes from her (she’s also blocked my partner on linked in - weird (their career paths cross so had mutual interests)).
Anyway, I’ve requested a review and finally left one for her but haven’t had one back….what do you do when you don’t get reviews back? I’ve used a sitter around 7 times but only have 5 reviews…
Reviews are published only after both have been submitted, or at the end of 14 days post-sit, if only one has been submitted.
If you attach your listing to your forum handle, members may be able to give you insights about your missing reviews. Some people are not great about leaving reviews, so it might not be anything that you are doing wrong.
And about the dates of your last sit: The dates should always be clear in your listing, and also reiterated in messages between you and your sitter (THS messages, texts, emails). It sounds like the sitter left a day earlier than agreed. I would raise a “member dispute” if you have proof that the sitter agreed to different dates, and this should definitely go into a review.
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The other party can’t see your review before they have submitted theirs or after the 14 days limit. After that they can’t submit (or alter) but both of you can give one answer to the review you’ve got. So you can’t get a «bad» review for giving one. A review is really best if it is honest and factual, and one can be honest and still nice.
I believe THS gives nudges to write reviews. When you submit yours, they will get a message that you have written a review and they get to see it if they submit theirs.
A tip could be to submit your review early so they have ample time to write theirs and will get nudges from THS to do so. If you wait until the limit they might think you won’t write one, and then not wanting to write one for you.
Have the sitters left reviews for their other hosts? If they usually write reviews but don’t for you, there might be something they have found difficult with the sit. That could be something to look into, if that is the case.
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So, I am guessing you gave her a bad review, if you were worried about getting a bad review back? If that’s right, it’s not the case anyway, reviews are kept private until either both submit, or 14 days is up.
You’ve had 7 sits, and only 5 left reviews, so are those reviews 5*s? If so, I wouldn’t worry at all, because we as sitters would then look at all the wording of your existing reviews thoroughly to ensure we’re the right fit for each other.
With LinkedIn, you mention your partner so she may not have recognised the surname. However if that’s not the case, perhaps you maybe don’t quite understand how LinkedIn’s algorithm works, because I’m not at all surprised that she doesn’t want to connect. So please don’t read anything into that, because it’s probably got nothing to do with you both, and everything to do with her specific career because it’s her livelihood and future.
When I was actively on LinkedIn I never wanted to connect with random people with a similar career path/industry, I was after connecting with a very very specific type of person within my specific industry, not just random people within it. Because LinkedIn’s algorithm then does the hard work for you, as it brings those very very specific type of people to you, instead of bringing a bunch of random people within the same field/industry. LinkedIn is great like that, but if you accept random people within the same industry/field, then you get a random outcome with your career.
You won’t know what her LinkedIn goals are or what type of specific person she wants to specifically connect with. Also, when you say she’s blocked your partner, is it not more likely that she probably just has her profile settings as private. But it’s her career, so I just think she knows how to make LinkedIn’s algorithm work in her favour. I would have done the same, so don’t read anything into it.
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My review wasn’t “bad” at all. I mentioned they had to leave a day earlier than planned but it was communicated and I sorted alternative arrangements. And then I mentioned how clean and tidy the house was, how well my dogs were looked after and how happy they were. So certainly not bad at all.
Re the LinkedIn point - they were both chatting at our house and she asked him to connect with her there and then which is why it’s odd but that whole thing is neither here or there really.
All the reviews I have are 5* so I guess I was just worried it would change but it’s good to know they’re hidden until both parties review. There’s a week left on the 14 day period so we’ll see.
Thanks for putting my mind to rest 
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I’ve looked back and the dates were clear, however we had a video call and I didn’t re-confirm them by message so not sure I’ve got much to go on with “proof”, other than she accepted the dates I published.
It’s a learning opportunity - I’ll reiterate the dates by message for my next sitters.
Thanks!
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That is enough proof! As long as the dates you published are the ones that you actually stuck with…
Good idea to re-iterate dates but not necessary. Glad you mentioned it in your review.
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Another thing to consider about firming up dates before confirming the sit, discuss your return plans and time of day you plan to be back at the house. We ask for flight or driving times, so we can arrange our scheduled exit, and if they’d like us to be there when they arrive back. If you don’t see a review before the 14 day deadline, you may want to reach out to the sitter with a quick note “Hope all is well, was just checking to see…..”
Yeah we always do and say they are welcome to leave at any time that day as we have arrangements to someone to pop in if we need so that’s no problem.
This sitter has like 20 reviews already so I just find it unusual. Never mind 14 days is up tomorrow so we’ll see.