The HO docked me a reliability star because I left the house during the period when she said a gardener comes.
She had not asked me to be there, did not say the gardener had no access to the property, and didn’t say that she needed me to be present on the property for the whole time the gardener was there.
I had gone to a nearby store, and when she called to ask me to let the gardener in, I did so in under 10 min.
She was surprised and displeased that I didn’t know better. I was surprised that she assumed all these things without communicating them.
What says the court of forum opinion?
(Heading edited in line with the Forum Guidelines)
Is this the same person who has accused you of taking or “mis-shelving” mugs?
Please write an honest review to warn other sitters. You’re not getting a good review in any case. Edit–never mind, I see you have received a review already.
No of course that’s not reasonable, to assume you have to be there to “let the gardener in”–what does that even mean? Is the property gated/locked?
Yes, the property is locked. She said that of course she wouldn’t trust her key with workers. But I’ve cared for properties much more valuable than this one and the workers either had their own access or the HOs prepared me in advance to assist. I had tried to very politely explain that TH sitters aren’t like staff, and my time can’t be assumed, though I’m happy to help. I said that communication is key for everyone. I think she was offended that I was saying something critical, but I really was just trying to help her prepare for future success.
It sounds like she should have communicated better that you needed to be there. But depending on the property, she might have assumed you knew he could not get in? That is not to say you are in the wrong.
For example, a couple of sits back we had to let the gardener in because they lock their back gate with a combination lock that can only be accessed on our side of the fence. So they gave us the code and we opened it up around the time they are supposed to arrive. In this instance, it would have been very obvious to us that they could not access the property on their own.
But it also could have been easy to overlook, and ask about, if she forgot to mention these specific instructions, and we happened to not go in the backyard at all and see the gate was locked.
Ultimately, it is on the host to communicate all instructions.
I know it stings but the best you can do is post a reply to her review explaining you were not told this directly;and just remember the true audience is future hosts and not her, so craft a response accordingly…try not to sound defensive,emotional,etc…
Yes. I told her that it’s very important to have written detail about what’s expected of sitters, and she reminded me that I said I’m good at jumping in and helping out in unclear situations. It was a last—minute thing and I left a holiday location to fill in with what time I had available. I guess I thought she would communicate expectations and details better as we went along. I don’t mind helping when people are in a pickle, but I did mind being told I’m in the wrong when I did a great job on all fronts.
I would have assumed that the gardener had keys to the gate. She really should have told you if that was not the case. Being agile and able to jump into things doesn’t make you a mind reader.
And she should have a welcome guide with this in it. If she doesn’t then I would note that is your response to her review.
From your account she is being unreasonable. In our experience gardeners have always been trusted enough to have access to the garden. In this case the HO should have asked you explicitly in advance if you would be kind enough to stay home to let the gardener in.
With your help, I crafted this response to address the less-than-perfect reliability review. I know that maybe I’m being uptight about losing my perfect-five-star-everything, but I’ve really made a goal to give the best service possible.
I posted:
Thank you for the good review; I enjoyed the property and pups greatly. As reliability is one of my strengths, I am sorry you didn’t have a 5-star experience on that front. I will be careful to let future hosts know that if they have any extra tasks they want done, to please share details about how/when those are to occur. That way, I can know what’s on the horizon and achieve it perfectly.
That is a really diplomatic response. I’d have said something more like “sorry you didn’t have a 5-star experience; since there was no welcome guide/you didn’t leave instructions about the gardener, I was unaware you needed me to be there…”
You could maybe say “remind future hosts”, as in, she should’ve known to leave you that information.
I don’t think you were in the wrong. As others have said, you aren’t a mind-reader. I hope the lack of instructions and the accusation about “misplacing” her mugs (did you get that sorted?) will be reflected in your review of her. I am sure you can do that equally diplomatically
Hope your next sit is a nicer experience!
I believe it is too late for the OP to take on board suggestions for what to include in her response to the review. She states that she has posted it already.
The HO should have told you that the gate is locked and the gardeners don’t have a key so you need to be there. Did the HO state in the Welcome Guide? I always, and it’s in the WG, that you don’t need to be home when the gardener comes and my dog knows the gardener.
If she didn’t tell you, why assume that you would know?
