I’m a homeowner, and I don’t like video calls. I only do them if the sitter insists.
- I find that the conversation can become chatty and lack substance. At the end, I can feel that the applicant was charming and friendly, but that I don’t know anything in-depth about them.
- As you say, I can come away thinking that we are agreed on something, only to discover later that the sitter is of a different opinion.
- One sitter lied through her teeth during the video call, and I later thought that, given the reflection possible with messages, I would have been able to challenge her instead of accepting the lies at face value.
- The sitter may appear diffident/hesitant/lacking confidence, but this relates to the technology, not the house sit.
- I won’t show the interior of my home on a video call - hate to be untrusting, but you really don’t know who is on the other end, so that is not a reason for a call.
- Appearances can be misleading. I had one wonderful sitter who looked as though they were off to the Burning Man Festival; had we video chatted, I might have decided against her.