@Crosswords_and_puzzles Absolutely. I wrote about several examples of the items that were depleted. Not everything…it took weeks of discovering what was missing and many trips to the store. It would have been helpful if they left a grocery list.
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Wow. Sorry that happened to you.
Just curious…Did you take any time to re-review the sitter’s reviews with hindsight to see if any “read between the lines” from other HO’s became more obvious?
@HelloOutThere Interesting. I didn’t pick up on any “read between the lines” in their reviews BUT there was one that commented on their tidiness. The sitters responded to that comment by saying that the HO had promised to change that rating and went on to say that they could no longer contact the HO. Their reviews are quite concise with general comments.
Gotcha. Thanks for taking the time.
@HelloOutThere Ok, I see your personal point. I still think the $20 might make up for any fresh produce or perishables you may have finished and it’s just plain nice to welcome someone home.
But anyways, every housesit feels different. When we receive a lot of generosity (not just food, you quickly get an idea of owners’ generosity in other ways), then we are happy to leave them with essentials and more! We have even gone as far as replacing faulty dishwasher wheels (broken before we arrived, not our doing!) and other things when we really like the owners and had good rapport. And of course the length of sit also plays a role. For shorter sits we’ll be less inclined to leave much. Apart from @emmieo - (unbelievable situation btw) we believe you get what you give. Generosity is so often returned when given.
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Very good points, especially “housesit feel.”
I think for me it is more about being comfortable setting boundaries and expressing an equal footing in the THS exchange.
Honestly, I don’t think I would be comfortable fixing anything in someone else’s home which is not the same as dealing with any house issue that came up, i.e., water heater melt down but you do and I am sure others do as well, and that’s cool.
And… Honestly I don’t want anybody fixing anything in my house either. I rather than leave me a note or make me aware of something that they noticed.
One thing I am being reminded of is perception and how online exchanges can be devoid of personality, tone and sometimes the need for clarification. But that I am sure is another thread all together =)
I appreciate your interest!
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Did the homeowners ask you to replace those items?
Hi @debparte
Welcome!
If you have a minute…I don’t think it’s clear to whom you are asking your question, so you may want to mention the person with the @ or reply to their direct posting via the grey arrow at the bottom right of their post.
Unless I am missing it.
I had a similar sit out west here in the US. Except for oranges: everything else was frozen solid or locked up. She hinted they wanted me to check on the house but didn’t want me back in once the cleaning lady finished, which was 3 days before the end of the sit. I believe they intentionally meant to have me supply their refrigerator. I booked another sit, with a car and transported the food I bought to the next location. Interestingly enough, that HO said I could eat anything I wanted, just leave a note of what I finished. When I left for my next visit, I took enough food for the train ride and let them have the rest. They were grateful.
Edited by moderator due to guidelines
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Don’t tell sitters to help themselves unless you literally mean they can have whatever they want and however much they want. Yes, the majority would not do so but each sitter is different as evidenced in this thread.
I’ve appreciated it when a HO asks if they may buy anything for my first few days so that I don’t feel the rush to immediately shop and can relax with their pets instead. I don’t eat the normal staples and feel weird if someone tells me to eat their leftovers/perishables.
Making a statement that there’s no need for a welcome home gift would affect me in a different way than most. Just because that’s my personality, to thank and to gift, not because I feel obligated to. Over longer sits I personally enjoy taking dogs shopping to pick out a treat or a toy. Your statement “do not want them to spend any of their money on us” would make me question whether I could do so. Or maybe the sit was during a holiday and I bought bandanas for a surprise photo with the intention to leave as a gift after, and now I’d feel bad about it. There are other examples I could make, but hopefully you see my point.
It’s nice that you plan to leave welcome items for the sitter, not everyone does. Nor do they need to, but it would make me feel appreciated so thank you.
Hope this helps!
Helpful comments. Thank you for taking the time to reply.
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These are all things I would expect and do. I run a B&B in Alaska and know how to care for a house and people’s property/stuff! If I come into my place and find that my favorite bottle of wine has been consumed from my personal fridge (it has happened) I truly feel violated. I now make sure my lodge help is telling new guests what is and what isn’t open to their use. I will ask these questions to be certain of anything off limits! Thanks for your input!
This has been so thoroughly discussed that I have nothing to add except a funny experience from about 30-35 years ago. My dear friend wanted to take his girlfriend on a vacation and she needed a catsitter. They asked me and I said sure! And I did not charge her. Second or third day in, I found out she had not paid her electric bill, so the power was off. Oh well, at least she had water pressure and the cat’s food wasn’t refrigerated, and I went during the day so I could see without lights. She’d asked me to water her plants…about 100 African Violets…but they were all dead and dying from her neglect. I honestly don’t remember if I watered them or not. It was sad. Then, she did not have a litter scoop…I looked everywhere…no scoop. So I took a slotted spoon out of a kitchen drawer and I used that. I’ve watched a tremendous number of pets in my years, but that was the absolute worst!
Hello Manette, I think it just depends on the HO. I have not had that less than generous HOs so far, with only 5 sits, I am not going to say I won’t meet one.
I do replace paper towels if I use an entire roll or more. I do purchase toilet paper and replace an equal amount to what I used. If I finish off a bottle of oil or condiment I do leave a new one in the frig, so the HO come home and are not suprised by what they thought would be there. However, if they say, “here’s the pantry, use whatever you like” I don’t replace just keep a list of what i used the last of. Hope this is helpful.
For my upcoming trip, I was unable to find a sitter through THS so I am paying for someone to look after my dog. In comparison, leaving a sitter fully supplied with basic household items is incredibly cheap.
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I think the more I sit, the more people ‘make sure’ there is nothing in the house when you arrive. I try to leave it as I found it but a little cleaner.
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I’m not sure whether this has been mentioned on this long thread, but I use grocery delivery services where I live and where I sit. I don’t need anyone to leave me food, because I can get it easily via delivery.
If I use a lot of something, like paper towels or toilet paper, I’ll replace it. I don’t typically eat other people’s food, especially not leftovers. The exceptions would be produce that they offer, which would go bad before their return. Otherwise, I’ll throw away anything that would spoil by then.
If there’s something extra of what I bought, as far as supplies or unopened food or drinks, I’ll leave that. I fly to where I sit.
Also, some HOs are kind and I’m happy to reciprocate. Like one pair took me to dinner on my arrival day and, after their return, I took them to dinner. Another pair ordered dinner in for us, so the next morning I ordered plenty of breakfast and shared.
Some HOs also offer rides from the airport or train station. If I’m comfortable driving there and they’ve offered me their car, I’ll offer to drop them at the airport.
To me, generosity of spirit is ideal.
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@Maggie8K Wow. I commend you. With free sitters like this one, why are there even paid sitters who also get a free place to stay? Does anyone want to chime in with the difference(s)?
I feel like sometimes, especially when the HO has a lot of pets or especially more difficult pets to look after, there would ideally be more compensation from the owners’ end in terms of food offerings or whatnot (not money obviously for this site). Otherwise, we’d be doing free labor with a free stay. And I know that’s the idea, sure, but we’d be adjusting most of our schedule to suit theirs (unless we had similar pet-caring back home) and feel taken advantage of.
I don’t mean to sound entitled, but maybe I am.
There were times when I had to do a lot of extra work not described because of the pets’ less-than-desirable habits.
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I think most of us agree with your post Mars.
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@FreeSpiritManette - you have to look at the big picture as a whole. For some sits the home host gets a better deal, for others, the sitters gets a better deal. In our experience, as a whole, it works out fairly equal
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