We are now experienced sitters but haven’t encountered this before.
We have a sit coming up in seven days. Prior to confirming the sit we had a WhatsApp conversation with the PO. We agreed the sit and said we would be in touch closer to the time to organise arrival time, etc.
The PO later sent us the Welcome Pack and it transpired that she expected us to park in a pay-for carpark whilst sitting for her, even though the photos of her property showed parking. We said this was a deal-breaker for us. She then said she could organise free parking at her property (a block of flats). I replied saying that was good and, again, that we would be in touch again closer to the sit. I could see that the message had been read but there was no response.
It is now a week away from the sit. One week ago I messaged the PO on THS saying it was time for a chat about arrival. I suggested a couple of dates and asked her to tell me when would suit her. Again, I can see that she has read the message but has not responded and we are now past the dates I suggested.
I do have her mobile number as it’s in the Welcome Pack, but the situation feels like a red flag so I am loathe to make the call. Has anyone else encountered this? Does anyone have advice?
Just an update. PO has responded saying she thought she had, but hadn’t. Anyway, we are talking tomorrow. Still interested to know others thoughts though.
She may not have hit “send” when replying. Personally, I have had issues with the dependability of communicating through THS. If I don’t receive a response, I follow up with a text, so I wouldn’t consider communication problems through the platform a deal breaker. But I would want to establish communication expectations moving forward.
personally, I would see the lack of response as a red flag.. and would definitely sent a text or WhatsApp message, then the pet owner cannot blame the site for any lack of communication.
a text now may save you a lot of money in the long run, on parking fees, if she has made an empty promise.
Maybe the pet owner did not want to have a “chat” to discuss details and was trying to figure out a way to tactfully tell you. Some people prefer written communication.
In general, we provide our cell phone numbers and an email address in our application, and if sit is confirmed, we ask for the owners’ cell phone numbers and email address, and home address, so that we can have multiple ways to reach them, and we can plan our travel to the sit.
While the exact desired time of the sitter’s arrival might not be 100% known during the initial chat, I nudge the owners to notify me asap of their travel plans and WHEN I need to arrive at their house. This forces them to think through the timing of their travel, way ahead of the actual travel. This is only fair. The sitter has to plan travel based on the owner’s travel plans. I don’t wait until 2 weeks before a sit to discover these details.
This owner sounds disorganized, or just a bad communicator, in my opinion.
Tried it, turned out to be a red flag and a really bad experience. So I’m super cautious if communication suddenly changes after confirming or if the WG doesn’t match the listing. Deviations can easily be an early sign someone’s not being truthful and there are more “surprises” ahead.
I don’t think that a failure to respond via the TH messaging system is necessarily a red flag since it’s quite clunky. I’m glad you’ve managed to make contact via Whatsapp and hope that the sit goes well.