Of course. I totally agree. It’s just the wording that gets me confused. For example, in this case. The OP says
I would assume if it was a cancellation that went through THS, they would have needed a more solid explanation and if it was the owner who had to cancel, I would expect more interaction. That’s why I think it’s just a withdrawal.
Oh, some entitled people do believe that one needs to pay for the privilege of being in their home and essentially working for them. (these sits often include gardening and loads of pets)
Suppose I did a return sit, I would expect that most of my hosts would say yes if I asked if my daughter could come along.
Before a new sit, I mostly don’t know the owners well enough to know whether to expect a yes or a no.
Similar position here - good experience so far with THS but then had cancellations this year! Still yet to sort. Fingers crossed!
Yesterday, after consulting THS we asked the HO to cancel the sit, due to undisclosed dog behaviour in the listing.
The HO, aware we wanted to cancel hasnt opened our subsequent messages. The thing is, we only told her so that she could relist asap.
There may be a mistaken belief that we want to apply for sits to cover the dates, hence she is stalling.
Right now, the last thing we want is another sit!
You can ask THS to intervene & make the cancellation from HQ with a screenshot of your messages about the undisclosed behaviour if the HO is being too slow @alpem #thatwillfixit
@alpem I agree with @Cuttlefish give it 24 hours and then send screenshots of your messages on THS platform and other ( text/ WhatsApp) where you asked owner to cancel to member services and ask them to cancel the sit as owner is not responding to your messages .
How did you find out about the previously undisclosed pet behaviour ? Screenshot any messages or the welcome guide that revealed this - this is your proof of the reason why you are withdrawing from the sit - send that to member services too - to cover yourself and so they know the reason.
Thanks. We will probably leave it for now. Sooner or later the HO will realise we aren’t begging to be discharged from duty.
I understand how you feel and, of course, it is your choice. Your approach seems reasonable and would teach her a lesson if your assumption is correct
But even though she didn’t disclose all relevant issues, just imagine she’s in the middle of some kind of emergency and not able to read your messages. Would you still be happy not trying other means of communication?
Just a thought.
The HO read the message that we didnt feel comfortable going ahead with sit, after she clarified aspects of the WG. Then she effectively ghosted during a dialogue, leaving the messages asking her to cancel, unread.
We tried for common ground, saying we would only walk the dog on lead, as it could be aggressive to other dogs. The HO replied that the dog preferred to be walked off leash!
That was just one of many concerns. For example- the dog could only be left for a short while, turned out to be 2/3 hours. The dog likes to walk for 1 hour a day. So any thoughts of doing a long walk with the dog went out the window.
@alpem
I’m sure the dog would willingly walk for longer than an hour, unless old or not fit.
However, I would have no fancy for looking after any aggressive dog though
We always ask how long/far the dogs normally walk, especially when HO says the dog will walk ‘forever’. From experience, taking a dog on long hikes, repeatedly when they are only used to short walks isn’t good for the dog. Like humans, they have to build stamina and fitness.
An aggressive pet should not be on THS - you can report it to member services when asking them to unconfirm the sit - with screenshots of the WG that mention it he dog can be aggressive to other dogs .
“5.2.11. not have any inherently dangerous pets (such as venomous snakes or constrictors, primates, wolves or wolf hybrids, non-domesticated cats, alligators), banned dog breeds, or any animal with a history of attacks on pets or people;”
I directed THS to the welcome guide during online chat. They are aware of it.
Sorry. I didn’t have that information. Even if the owner were going through something that prevented her from reading the messages, she is aware of your position. From that perspective no need to insist.
The only thing is that other members have had situations where the other party has raised a member dispute and it seems the account is suspended and you have to prove that you have gone by the book. Sometimes people just let it go to avoid further inconvenience and energy waste, which is quite understandable and reasonable, but ,unfortunately, it is not always possible if the other party wants to drag the issue and “turn into the victim”.
Will leave it a week. If messages remain unread, we will ask THS to intervene. I suspect THS prefer the HO to take the necessary action to cancel, rather than appear heavy handed, which makes sense.
In the past week, I’ve had two hosts ask whether I could sit, because of sitter cancellations.
For one of the sits, the hosts asked for third-party visits that violate THS terms (not mentioned till video chat), which is why I withdrew my application. Maybe subsequent applicants had the same issue with them, which is why they came back to me.
For the other sit, I withdrew after my application went unread, despite it being a low-application listing. Funny enough, the host quickly replied after I withdrew, saying they were sorry I withdrew my “lovely” application. Then they got in touch again later, after what they described as a sitter cancellation.
For a separate listing weeks ago, a host didn’t disclose till they shared their welcome guide that one dog needed to be let out in the middle of the night and the other was prone to diarrhea. I withdrew from that sit immediately once I saw the WG.
I mention such examples, because sitters don’t need to put up with hosts who aren’t good partners. I don’t intend to ever sit for such folks.
In the past, hosts might’ve been able to get away with more. But nowadays, there are more sits than sitters, so sitters can be more selective.
@Maggie8K
I’ve had hosts contact me after I withdrew my application too. And hosts who declined me asked me to sit later. That turned out to be my first bad sit… first impressions do count!
Agreed. I’ve decided to never sit for folks if I withdrew my application in the first place, even if they return later to offer a sit. Their desperation doesn’t change the fact that I thought they were bad potential partners in the first place.
@andrealovesanimals I had a similar instance. I applied for a sit. The HO/PP declined my application with no message. A few days later she contacted me to say her sitter cancelled and asked if I was still interested. She apologized for declining with no message and stated she had a lot of family things going on but she normally includes a message when declining. I did not respond as I was no longer interested in the sit.