Hi, im a brand new HO and this is the first sit we have booked in.
We’re due to go away mid April and ive emailed the sitter to check what time they wish to arrive/leave and some other questions but havent had a reply. Ive then messaged again to check in and say if they arent able to do the sit anymore to let me know asap and again no reply (although i only sent that yesterday morning).
Is this normal? Im stressing now that i dont know whats happening and will struggle to find someone to look after my animals. What do i do? When do i assume theyre ignoring me and wont be coming?
Thanks!
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Is this a sitter that you confirmed via the site? If not, and they were never officially confirmed, then they may think they’re not actually sitting for you and have applied elsewhere.
However, if this is a confirmed sitter, definitely try again to get in contact with them if they haven’t responded in the next few days. Email isn’t a very immediate way, and some people forget to check their emails.. do you have their number? If so, message, and even try and call if you need to, as arranging arrival and departure times is really important. If that’s not working and they’re still not responding, you can get in contact with membership services to gain help and make them aware of the situation. They may advise that you relist and look for another sitter if the other sitter has gone MIA. But I’d try texting them and waiting 2 more days or so first.
For future reference, always discuss departure & arrival times and any other important details in a video call before accepting a sitter. Also ensure you have their contact details, not just email - most people use WhatsApp to communicate. This is especially important for communicating during the sit.
Don’t forget to also share your welcome guide with the sitter via the site, if you haven’t done so already.
Hope it works out for you!
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You are using e mail, for such important details of a sit? Use the THS site, or something more instant like MESSENGER/WHAT’S APP at least then you can see when your message has been read.
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Hi @Lemon -welcome to the forum .
I can understand your concerns .
You can call the Urgent Support Phone Line which is a 24/7 phone number . The number is on your dashboard.
They will try to reach the sitter for you and advise you on next steps if they also don’t get a response .
I am a sitter and recently have not been getting notifications from THS to inform me that there is a message in my THS inbox . It could be the same for your sitter ?
In our experience, the THS inbox can be glitchy at times. So we don’t rely solely on it . We have found that text messages or WhatApp messages have been the most reliable and quickest way to communicate with hosts . We exchange phone numbers with our hosts as soon as the sit is confirmed ( or before for a video call ) .
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Hi, im messaging through THS and hadnt thought to get a phone number yet so its all i have. Lesson learnt though and will exchange numbers straight away in future.
Its a proper confirmed sit. Ive shared my welcome guide.
I will give it a few more days then and if still no messages will contact the support line to see if they can help.
Thanks!
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@Lemon and also good to have a call (either video or phone call) at the introductory stage. This way you get a phone number, and get to talk to the sitter to get a better feel. It’s not mandatory, but it’s quite common, and often preferred.
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Do the messages show as read or unread in THS? The THS messaging app is terrible and often you get no notification of a new message so it can be missed and the messages can be unread. Especially when you are a month out from your next sit and not expecting any sudden urgent communication from the owner.
Since you didn’t get any contact details from the sitter contact THS who will be able to get in touch with the sitter to get communication going again.
You’ve figured this out already but for this and future sits you should get mobile and email details and also establish arrival and departure time for both you and the sitter before finalising the sit.
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First of all, use the site message facility so that you have a record that management can read. It’s a good idea when things do go wrong to have things recorded on the official site.
Secondly, no this is not usual. We check in with our sits about a month before we are due to arrive, just to sat we are still coming, and arrange the arrival and departure times. If we are in the area, we also suggest a visit before the sit starts as sometimes there is a lot going on of the day of departure and things can be missed. It’s just nice to have a physical walk through and a relaxing chat.
If it’s an international sit, we keep our hosts informed of when we book the flights, when we are arriving in the country and general chat maybe once a month so they have the reassurance that we are going to sit for them.
Please, contact THS immediately and get this sorted out for your own sanity
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It is a month away and I’m sure it is unnerving. The sitters however may be happily disconnected from the world on a cruise with no WiFi while getting to wherever you are for the sit. Yes, if that was us I would have let the HO know to prevent this sort of worry, but not everyone is connected all the time.
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Hi @Lemon
Please do pop back and let us know when you hear from the sitter - fingers crossed you hear soon.
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Are you using the THS messaging system? If so, you can see if it’s been read. But also keep in mind that not everyone gets notifications and if they are not expecting a message, they may not be checking the site daily. If you are using email, that may vary too, some don’t check their email everyday. I would give them a few days before getting concerned. If you have a phone number I would recommend sending a text or calling. If you don’t hear from them after a few days then ask member services to contact them.
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