Is it typical for a sitter to text and say they’ve left several hours before out arrival? They knew when we were arriving home but sent a text that morning four hours before we would get home saying he had left to go to church and to let him know when we arrived. We have a dog door and fenced yard, but it just took me by surprise. Usually sitters have been there when we got home. I would at least have expected a heads up ahead of time. Thoughts?
Hi @lamoore406 and welcome to the forum!
yes it’s common to leave before the HO arrives, so they can come back home and enjoy their peace, or simply to let the sitter get to their next sit on time, or catch a flight. These things are agreed upon before the sit, so that nobody is surprised: next time, you might simply want to ask the sitter what they usually do, and what you prefer, to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Welcome to the forum.
Did you have an agreed time when the sitter would leave but they left early? That’s not rare but usually there’s a good reason why schedules get tweaked but they should definitely have let you know if they were changing something that had been previously agreed. That’s pretty much anything including departure timing.
However, if you did not have a departure time arranged, sitters will usually leave early. That’s more convenient for both sitter and host.
Clear communication is key. Arrival and departure times should always be discussed before a sit is agreed. There is a new section in an owner’s listing called “Sit Essentials.” The owner can put a specific arrival time and departure time (or time range) so that potential sitters know up front what your expectations are. We almost never are present when an owner arrives home. We clean up, pack up, and leave before the owner arrives home. There have been a couple of owners who really wanted us to stay until they arrived home, and so we did that, but we really don’t prefer to sit around and talk for an hour after the owners arrive home. Our time is important, too.
I have the sense that this really varies from sitter to sitter. I personally hate leaving before hosts get home safely, in particular with dogs — I like to know the host found things as I left them, & that pets are safely in their hands — I worry about delayed flights etc. But I have still done some unattended handovers where it couldn’t be arranged otherwise, as long as I knew there was backup in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Regardless, it’s something that should definitely be coordinated & agreed ahead of time — if not discussed before the sit is even confirmed if you feel strongly one way or another.
We always communicate with owners to make sure they arrived home safely and all is OK with pets and house. We stay nearby and let owners know that we are absolutely available if there are any hiccups or needs. It’s all about communication.
This is a shared responsibility for hosts and sitters to discuss ahead of a sit. There’s no reason to make assumptions or guesses about timing (and discussing helps avoid letting pets down).
My approach: At the outset, I ask hosts to send me their departure and return times in writing. Based on that, I make tentative travel plans, which I send to them, so we can discuss (and coordinate or adjust, if needed). That way, there’s little room for unpleasant surprises or mistakes. For instance, I’ve never been caught off guard or left hanging by when hosts will leave or return.
And even when I leave before the hosts return, I know that they will have a fallback plan if they’re delayed. Plus, they know whether I have flexibility about when I leave or whether I have a firm departure time. That way, pets are never left for too long.
This is out 4th sit and it just hasn’t come up before. We listed a time and on day one we moved it ahead by 7 hours. What we didn’t agree to was whether he was expected to be at home til we arrived. All is well at home with the dogs … I just was surprised.
Thanks for clarifying this detail @lamoore406
The sitter will have made their onward travel arrangements based on the original departure time stated in your listing. A change of seven hours is significant, and it is not reasonable to assume that a sitter can simply adjust their travel plans to leave seven hours later than originally agreed.
Any change of this magnitude should be discussed in advance so that a mutually acceptable arrangement can be agreed —one that works for the sitter, the host, and the pets.
Right. If I read in a review by a sitter that a host moved arrival by seven hours that late in the game (unless a legit emergency), I probably would avoid that host, because there are plenty of other sits with hosts who haven’t done such.
Right. Discussing specifics well ahead help avoid unnecessary surprises. There’s no reason to assume that a sitter will be there till you return. Sounds like you and the sitter missed discussing their departure time and you changed arrival time late in the game.
To clarify, we asked to arrive home seven hours earlier than the original plan (due to a family emergency) not later. So arriving home at noon rather than 7:00 pm. We actually would not ask someone to stay later.
I agree. To clarify we came home seven hours early (noon instead of 7:00 pm) because of a family emergency. We let him know as soon as we knew and that seemed to be ok. I certainly hear your point.
That makes total sense. Thanks for the sitter perspective!
We had an agreed time but had not covered whether he would be there when we returned. So it was just a surprise given our previous experiences. I appreciate your perspective on this.
Ah, his having to make an early departure maybe explains why he inadvertently left his laptop and charger behind ( re: your other thread: Sitter items left behind - #8 by Happypets )? How much notice did you give him?
We usually agree to leave a sit before the HO arrives home, subject to them pinging us an email to confirm travel plans are going to schedule and letting us know when they get in, just to let us know all’s well. We also communicate to let them know when we’ve left the sit. This is all agreed before confirming , to ensure all know the agreed plan
If you had agreed the time of the sitter’s departure, @lamoore406 , then that’s the time he should have left, regardless of whether or not you’d arrived home. Is that what happened?
To amend departure times by 7 hours - whether earlier or later - can really disrupt onward travel plans for a sitter. I’m guessing with it being a family emergency, you sprung this on him at the last moment? It sounds as if this might have prompted a disorganised departure for the sitter.
It was a four day sit. We told him on day two. He said “that’s great”. We’ll just do it differently going forward. A learning experience!