Hi @belluca it’s certainly a good idea to request feedback from a sitter following a sit but just to clarify, a sitter can leave feedback without being sent a prompt. We have always completed our feedback for homeowners without ever being prompted, it will probably just come down to whether the sitter is aware of leaving feedback or not.
It might be a good idea at the end of a sit if you could just mention to the sitter how helpful it would be if they could leave you feedback and say it will help you to secure future sitters.
3 Likes
ok, now I’m really confused - I thought (based on posts on the forum) HOs had to request feedback, and the review that sitters are prompted to leave are actually reviews of THS, not of the HO?
yet another reason that the review system needs an overhaul…
(and yes, I did include the ‘helpful to future sitters’ when requesting feedback)
Hi @belluca both sitters and homeowners can leave feedback and reviews for one another on the website/app without needing a prompt to be sent. If you are on the website and you click on your profile photo you will get a drop-down with various options, previous sitters/sits. If you select this it will then prompt you to leave a review/feedback. On the App you can click on your Dashboard and past sits or go to the “me” page and select Reviews & References or Feedback depending on whether you are the sitter or the homeowner.
Also there is now a “pop-up” on both the website and the app when you log in that asks you to leave a review/feedback from your sit that has just been completed.
Of course if you do not receive any feedback in a timely manner you can then send a request to your sitter.
I hope this explains it better for you.
3 Likes
I normally leave reviews for sitters and ask them for a review but I had a bad experience, multiple things broken, things taken that I had to ask for, damage done to my couch, etc. my concern was if I left a realistic review the sitter in turn would leave me a negative review. THS needs to fix the review system.
1 Like
I’ve been sitting since March and have always been prompted automatically by THS to review my sits. There was one I didn’t review, because it was so dirty, but THS annoyed the cra* out of me with its auto-reminders, which popped up every time I logged on. I even contacted membership services, but they said they couldn’t turn off the prompts. They finally stopped after I completed another sit or two.
1 Like
Yes, it is pretty irritating. (I did not have much to say, the owners had taken the pets with them.)
It seems that the system is not pestering the HOs in the same way?
@pietkuip Homeowners also receive “pop up” reminders to leave a review following the completion of a sit on both the website and the app.
Ok, thank you. Then the difference is probably that they may not be using THS as much. Many sitters are logging in every day.
3 Likes
I think that’s the issue. I’m reminded when I log into the app but if the HO has no reason to log in after the sit ends, they won’t see the reminders like a full time sitter who is constantly scouring the site.
1 Like
I agree Some occasional hosts may not log on to the site again for months until their next trip. Therefore we always send a review request straight after the sit- which arrives to them by email. We don’t rely on them seeing a prompt from THS.
1 Like
I haven’t had that many sitters, but one of my sitters didn’t leave a review for over a year. It was our second sitter, so we didn’t make anything of it, mainly because they didn’t leave reviews for other HO’s. I think some sitters don’t leave reviews. Sure it’s a lot of steps, but I agree that it doesn’t necessarily mean is a red flag, especially if it appears like a great sit otherwise (home, location, and adorable pet).
@wendy_chicago do you send your sitters a feedback request? Many hosts don’t seem that bothered if they get feedback or not. They should- because the feedback helps future sitters to decide whether or not to choose the sit.
But for sitters its very different. We rely on great reviews on our sitter journey so will always ask for a review.
I agree that if there is a PATTERN of sitters not leaving reviews there may be an issue. However, each situation needs to be assessed. I had one sitter who never left a review. I never contacted her about it. However, I had another sit and contacted her both through THS and WhatsApp asking if she had any interest. She never got back to me. Yesterday, I publicly listed a sit. I didn’t get in touch with her beforehand as she never got back to me last time. She actually applied! I sent her an email, saying it was nice to hear from her, and I’d consider her, but mentioning that I thought she didn’t like the sit as I never got feedback or heard back when I invited her to apply. I haven’t heard back from her! She probably won’t get the sit as other candidates have responded more quickly and after what felt like ghosting twice, I’ve moved on. In another case a sitter sat twice and didn’t leave me feedback the second time. To be fair, I was late on her second review.
2 Likes
I wonder if she somehow didn’t realize that she’d already sat for you when she applied? Weird!
No, from her note, which was very short, it sounded like she knew. But slightly off-topic, I really wish there was a private feedback “survey” on both sides that could be encouraged. I think there can be things on both sides that people don’t want to mention publicly but could be useful areas of improvement for both sides. Not having feedback from her, I did worry that there was something not to her liking, but I think more likely she’s just busy.
2 Likes
My last sitter, who I thought did a great job (though a tad slow at responding), said over the phone that we went above and beyond in making her feel welcome and appreciated while looking after our pet. I decided to repay her kindness with a nice review, but then she went MIA on us. I also wondered if we did something. I tried reaching out through text and the THS messaging system, but still nothing. The THS message is still marked as unread. I had the reviews blues for a couple of weeks. However, I realized after I had confirmed with her that she hadn’t written any reviews for previous sits’ HO - same as the one that didn’t write me no for a whole year; I think that sitters who don’t do this all the time or are relatively new review don’t make that a priority.
2 Likes
My first sit, I offered private feedback at the HO’s request. Didn’t need a feature to do that. I just texted him, which is how we’d been communicating normally.
1 Like
True, but unsolicited advice is often a bit more sensitive, and an option “private feedback” at the same time as the public star rating might take the the edge off that a bit.
2 Likes
It hasn’t always been a thing on THS for sitters to leave a review for owners, not sure when it actually started but it certainly wasn’t around in my first few years of sitting. I wasn’t sure how to approach it when it first started and haven’t done so yet (don’t do many sits tbh). I can see the point and should do but only if it’s a really honest review.