I do not know for sure about a protocol but in the presentation of what to expect from a HO, it could be said that:
if most experiences are full of good memories for the sitters, some testimonies were hard to hear.
-a lot is asked from THS concerning the quality of their petsitters ( excellent animals care, presences, cleanliness, etc)
so equivalent qualities are requested from the HO. Specifically concerning the cleanliness of the house. After all, you are welcoming in your home, guests that will take care of your loved furry friends and your belongings. Be prepare to welcome them as precious visitors by having a clean house.
Good that you took the step and exposed this behavior. Luckily havenāt encountered this sort of sit only had one were i had to - as i read a few here- had to really clean the kitchen area before i felt ok to cook anything. The cooking plate Was really caked with years of non-cleaning ( the owner never mentioned that it looked cleaner. It went from disaster area to looking spanking new (thanks to lemon juice and baking soda). But I think that these HO definitely need to be mentioned and registered by THS and if it recurs that they are reprimanded /and or taken off the site. As a number have said we do have to pay to get to do theses sits flights, local transport and we pay for our own upkeep while on a sit so itās not as if we are freeloading. In the Netherlands a day&night sit on paid animal sitters sites costs up to ā¬40p.d.
There is a process for addressing any situations of concern brought to our attention. When a member contacts Membership Services a team member will look into the situation thoroughly from both sides and depending on the outcome will take the appropriate action.
Referring to the sit I describe above (Dec 2020). Some 8 months after this sit, the house/cats-owner responded to my review. I just found it by chance. It is totally slanderous and gaslighting! (Having initially left me a perfectly good review!) I have asked THS to remove her response. If housesitters are to leave accurate reviews to let other prospective sitters know what to expect, then we need to be protected from such attacks!
She couldnāt fault me. But because she wanted to discredit my review, she made insinuations and gaslit me for perfectly normal actions, such as maintaining social distancing in accordance with THS guidelines. In fact, THS should never have published her response.
Daft question I know, but what is āgaslightingā? Iām a teacher in the UK so I hear new slang as it āentersā speech but I cannot for the life of me even guess at a meaning of āgaslightingā.
I sat for a place who said they needed me at ā¦ time only to last minute get me there earlier & then leave late.
They then told me that someone would be coming in the house everyday to work & that they would text before coming.
1st day, no text before a stranger arrived as I got out of the shower, they stayed until after 6pm.
2nd day no text & a different person arrived & was wandering around the house regularly. I messaged the owners asking that these people feed the animals as there was no point me staying there.
Hadnāt heard from the owners & was quite upset, went outside to feed chickens & when I went back into the house the door had been locked on me. My phone & everything was inside!
I ran to the gate to get help & the random woman was just still there & said the owners told her to lock the door, she let me back in.
I sent a furious message to the owners saying they had locked me out purposefully & that I was not going to continue the sit as they clearly had other people to do it for them.
As I was making my way home the owners got angry AT ME because they thought Iād been locked out- which I had been. If I hadnāt caught the woman as she left I wouldnāt have even had a phone to access any help!
That is so awful.
I have had experiences of finding that tradesmen were in the house when I arrived or after I had arrived which I have posted on a different thread.
When I spoke to the gardener, he told me that the HOs always organised the painters to paint the interior of the house everytime they had sitters in.
This is clearly outside of the Code of Conduct and we managed to get the work postponed. It was an unpleasant experience though.
I now add this to the questions that I ask before I commit, but I am finding the number of questions that I ask is becoming longer.
Someone on another thread has commented that HOs get a little annoyed with the amount of questions that sitters ask and I have noticed that too.
I am reading this thread in horror. My house is always clean but I make things perfectly ready for the Sitter to be comfortable. I prepare their bedroom/bathroom 100% with new clean sheets etc. I cannot imagine behaving in such a disrespectful way to anyone coming to your home, let alone someone coming to care for your pets! I think that sitters should ask all the questions they need to ensure they are walking into a good situation. I would never have a problem with a long list and in fact I would be happy because it means they are diligent and conscientious - an ideal candidate in my books. If a HO isnt comfortable with alot of questions maybe that is an indication of a problem.
Hi @Kerri
You are the perfect owner. Fortunately, there are many HOs who are similar. However, there are many who do tend to treat you as unpaid help.
It is good to hear that you donāt mind how many questions are asked.
When I apply for a sitting I always make it clear that I look forward to finding out more. It is therefore alarming how many owners then send you the automatic button " You have been chosen" without actually having any further communication!
As I have mentioned on other threads the HOs on the Forum will be caring owners, but the ones that we have problems with will probably not want to bother with the Forum
It would be a great idea if these mandatory questions were complied by THS and asked of the owners by them prior to engaging with a sitter. It protects everyone and takes the onus of judgement away from the sitters. We deserve to be safe and respected. I listed my worst sit- and I have done over 30 now- but there have been others that were inappropriate. The hardest thing is the lack of accountability and transparency, especially in regard to ratings. Because sitters are more vulnerable generally there is more risk. A homeowner can cancel and just come home leading a sitter stranded- Iāve had sits finish early but fortunately the HOās have been accomodating. But not all are.
A lot HOās arenāt realistic about their pets, not toilet trained, night barkers, destruction of property. Iāve actually lost money many times petsitting for others.
I started doing this to get ratings to enable to travel and only after I joined realised that ratings arenāt mandatory but nowhere was I informed of that prior.
Jeez, so sorry. Yeah I agree - people act like itās an even trade. Sometimes it is. But the home owner is at the advantage there. There is more risk at being a housesitter and ending up in compromising situations
Hello @RynMara welcome to our community forum and thank you for joining Iām sorry you had to go through this experience Membership Services are the first line of support for any sitter or owner member who has concerns, perhaps @Katie_Mc can look into your messages regarding this particular situation.
The forum is a place where all members can share their stories and experiences in a way that can help inform and allow our community and product work towards creating successful experiences for everyone. You make a great point about a check list, something for product to look at, itās positive feedback like this which is so helpful.
Enjoy connecting with other members from around the world, you must also have some wonderful experiences and memories to share from your 30+ sits which have enabled you to have a great travel lifestyle ā¦ not to mention many adorable pet pics.
Thank you again for joining ā¦ where are you at the moment, are you on a sit? There are many sitter members on sits in different parts of the world right now, the lucky ones.