Reviews are the currency
“Reviews are the currency of THS.” - great quote (and true)! @Jenny should send you a T-shirt with that!
Agreed. And there’s no binary or exclusive purpose of what reviews serve, because no one user (or even THS) dictates what various members’ intent(s) is.
For good sitters and hosts, the “reward” element of a good review is clearly that it helps to get additional sits, especially to be more competitive for popular sits. That’s currency.
With bad sits, sitters and hosts, there can be an element(s) of warning in reviews. And for satisfied sitters and hosts, there might be an element(s) of appreciation present in reviews. Or maybe a combo of elements exist.
I WISH we could do stuff like that, it’s such a cool idea! Great quote too. I’m seeing a bit more chatter around reviews lately and I’ll have to reference this!
I agree! What matters to me is what the other homeowners write rather than the stars. I tend to write very extensive, detailed reviews because I think it would be helpful to the sitter and other homeowners. It’s rarely anything negative-not because I’m afraid, but rather I want others to know
We’ve been really fortunate with our 20-30 sitters over the past 3 years! When we look back at the few that were not fantastic, the “ding” usually was that they did not leave the house as clean as we left it. In our zoom chats prior to offering, I often mention that and get their take on cleaning.
One time, we discovered a nail polish spill on the carpet which had been covered by a hassock. Instead of putting it in the review, I wrote directly and say I was disappointed in the spill, of course, but more so she didn’t let us know and actually tried to hide it. I mentioned in future sits, I’d suggest being forthright with homeowners. We would still ask her back bc mistakes happen, and the rest of the situation went well!
Furthermore, even when it’s not been really clean, or they completely ignored the checkout process (like stripping the bed, tossing leftovers, vacuuming their living area, locking windows), it’s still never been a negative experience. And sometimes , we adjust our expectations, focusing on what really matters: was Luna safe, the house fine, our car okay.
I read the comments, and when I see” just a sentence or two about all being good or great, I wonder if they didn’t want to say what they really thought or if they just dont write much.
I just wonder if stars is the best way to evaluate a sitter. And whether a minimum of words should be required,
I think she’s referring to “kneading”???