Saddened & aggrieved by unjustified 4*s

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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Just wanted to vent really, to people who will understand! It’s quite long but even if no-one reads it, it will be good to get this out because I’ve been feeling quite depressed about the unfairness of the review.

Over the past 10+ years I’ve done 13 sits (including the last one), almost all have been full 5*** in all categories, I think just two marked me down to a 4* in one category. All HOs have given me 5* in the organised and reliable categories. So imagine my surprise and mystification to be marked 4* after my last sit (in Spain) in both the ‘Organised’ and ‘Reliable’ categories.

I contacted the HO for some feedback and she said it was nothing major but some things made an impression on her, these were:

  1. I didn’t send photographs after the first day
  2. I didn’t put swept up leaves under the hedge as she’d asked
  3. I didn’t strip the bed as I said I would.

She said these small things left her with a sense of inconsistency (!)

For some background, it was a 10 day sit and the HO was going on a silent retreat so was non-contactable for a week. Basically it was feed and walk the dog 3 times a day, keep the house swept, etc. I didn’t hire a car because I just wanted a quiet few days of dog walking and spend time on my Open University studies.

Re the first point, I had asked about sending photos and thought we’d agreed that there wasn’t much point as she would be offline for a week. I sent her an update and photo after the first day (for reassurance that everything was OK). A couple of days later I sent her a Whatsapp with photos plus another update and asked if she’d contacted her friend to come in on the day I was leaving (as she had said she would). No reply of course because she was offline by then. I decided I’d better contact her friend myself because the dog would need lunch and a walk on the day I left. It’s lucky I did because the HO hadn’t arranged it. I sent another message to update her that her friend was happy to come in and look after the dog on the day I left. I sent a final Whatsapp on the last day and a THS message with handover notes. Isn’t that enough?

Re. point 2. There were some days of extremely high winds and many leaves to sweep up from the front covered patio area. Instead of putting them under a hedge where they would just blow back in, I swept daily and put them all in a large bag, thinking it could go in the street waste bin when full. At home I have a garden waste collection, that’s where all my leaves go.

Re. point 3. I had asked if she would like me to strip the bed and she had said yes please. However, I was leaving early with a 2.6km walk to the bus station for a two hour bus drive to the airport (the only bus that would get me to the airport in time, I couldn’t miss it). I got up early for the usual shower, finish bits of packing, finish cleaning, take out the rubbish, feed and walk the dog and prepare the the dog’s lunch for the friend to feed at lunchtime, etc. So I didn’t strip the bed, I forgot, with all the other things to do.

One final thing to mention is that the online Welcome Pack from the HO was all concerning her main home in Belgium, even the vet contact details. Before the sit I had had to ask her to provide up to date information for the Spanish sit.

As you can probably tell, this last sit has left me with a bad taste and wondering if I really want to do another one. Such a shame.

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2

I think this underscores the importance of communication and that is nearly impossible if the HO makes themselves unavailable for a week!

It sounds like you fulfilled the responsibilities but made some tweaks based on conditions. If you could have reached HO you could have checked with her but she wasn’t available.

The not stripping the bed is on you. It only takes a minute and you should have done it when you first woke up. Just put that down to a lesson learned.

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Why bother? 4 stars is a good score. It’s a pity that many people only consider 5 stars as good enough. Because of that, as host I sort of feel forced to give 5 star reviews, while we had many good sitters, but also some excellent ones. With proper use of the stars, 4 stars would stand for “good” and 5 for “excellent”. I would invite sitters with only 4 star reviews, because they have showed they are good sitters.

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4

Write a calm response to the review. Including that the host was offline for the whole week.

Which one bothers you: that you were judged unfairly and did your best and now have a bruised ego, or are you afraid of your future on the platform. The first stings until it does not, the second is most likely an overreaction and you will be fine.

Annoying that the host was a tricky one.

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I do feel for you, and the not brushing up the leaves is just downright petty. You can of course reply to her review, I would, only mentioning that she gave incorrect info about the house, and was uncontactable re final day arrangements.

I have something like 45 x5 star sits in a row, then an owner docked me a star on “reliable” with no explanation at all. I had actually hugged her as I left, as I thought we had become friends! Boy did I feel hurt.

I queried it, she said I had not refilled the 4 x squirrel feeders with hazelnuts, ( I had, but not daily) and the peanut level on the bird feeder was also low.!!

I was there to look after the dog! I replied, pointing out that her adult dog was not fully house trained. fact.

Don’t let the b***ards grind you down,

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What did she say in her written review? Did she mention those things? I can’t be the only HO who doesn’t expect absolute perfection from the sitter. (We’ve had friends sit for us and they weren’t all great sitters but their sitting defects didn’t ruin our friendship.) When I look at sitters’ reviews I take docked stars that have no explanation with a grain of salt. If the HO hasn’t said anything about why they gave 4 stars, I just assume they realise that spelling out their reason will make them seem petty.

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She’s been on a silent retreat??? You’d think she’d be more calm, relaxed and more accepting about the other things, they aren’t worth docking a star given the circumstances, apart from stripping the bed if you said you would, that’s the only one, but even so to knock you down a point for it is harsh.

Dust yourself down, and forget about it because you know from your past sits that there are lovely owners out there that would have appreciated everything you did.

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Hi @karenlet Don’t even spend time thinking this one over. The home owner doesn’t sound particularly reliable or organised herself if she forgot to arrange pet care for your final day, and didn’t provide you with a proper welcome guide in the first place.

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It was just a two line review but nothing negative. It was only when I messaged to ask the reason for the 4 stars that she mentioned those 3 issues. Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it.

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It does hurt when you think you’ve done a good job. And after all our priority is to take care of the pets. Thanks for your message, I appreciate it.

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Thanks for taking the time to reply. It needs to be put in perspective at the end of the day but I know I did a really good job, housework, pet care, etc, which is what matters I guess.

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Thank you for your response, you make a good point but I’ve run Airbnbs in the past, sold on eBay, etc. so my mentality is that I need 5 star reviews! But good to know that you would accept sitters with 4 stars.

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I thought we had good communication, I gave the HO 5* for that, perhaps that was wrong :slightly_smiling_face: Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

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You’ve got my sympathy.
I think the owner was very unreasonable, she should have praised your self sufficiency for coordinating with the neighbor and for not letting the leaves under the hedge under such circumstances (I live in Spain and know weather conditions have been terrible for over a month now.)
The only thing that’s on you is not stripping the bed but that’s not really worth mentioning or deducting stars, as it’s obviously something minor, which takes less than a minute to fix. Considering that she didn’t do her part brilliantly, it sounds like an unfair review. It won’t significantly spoil your record, though. It may not even be worth replying but you’ve got all the time in the world to decide whether you want to.

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Thank you for your kind response. Yes the winds were pretty violent, but still better then the weather we have in UK!

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Am I the only one who thinks you having to sweep leaves is absolutely insane? :flushed_face:

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I understand your need to vent. Personally I think that leaving a neutral response and owning up to not stripping the bed for fear of missing your transport home will stand you in good stead with future HOs who will have insight into your personality in a way that bland 5* stars reviews cannot.

Your response will also help future sitters decide if the sit is the right one for them.

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18

Well it was part of the ‘job description’ but I would have done it anyway, I find it therapeutic and like a tidy garden! The issue with the HO seemed to be that I put the leaves into a bag instead of throwing them under a hedge (where of course the wind would have blown them back onto the patio!)

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Thank you for your response. I did leave a reply to the review, hopefully neutral enough. If I had only realised that not stripping the bed would be such an issue (although the HO hadn’t even mentioned doing it in the notes, I asked her if she’d like me to do it :roll_eyes: )

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I agree with pretty much everything said by other forum members. @KChev mentions that, as a HO, that they cannot be the only one who does not expect “absolute perfection” from sitters. That is also my view, with regards how I approach HOs when I sit. THS is supposed to be an enjoyable experience for everyone. I have never felt the inclination to dock stars as - when there have been issues - I have considered them far too minor to make a big deal about. I think I also screen quite well, hopefully, prior to the sit, in the sense that I tend to sit for HOs with a similar mindset to mine - although it appears that you also felt that you vibed well with the HO prior to the review. Did you read her reviews of previous sitters? . . . With regards your ‘right to reply’ - I would keep this factual, short and unemotional.

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