Honestly at my wits end. Started using this platform and was recieving all positive reviews but it seems like ever since one got posted downgrading my cleanliness it feels like a couple of other house owners have kind of jumped on that band wagon like they are trying to penalise me. The one after that had a cleaner do the house 3 days before I left so I just cleaned up anything that was mine and it was spotless before I left but they still rated me 3/5 stars on cleanliness? Then the next one, even though I sent her pics of the home before I left for my own peace of mind because I had anxiety after the home before, she still rated me 3/5 stars even after I hoovered, mopped, bleached bathroom, did all countertops and sink, changed bedding etc? so disheartening. Its starting to really put me off wanting to continue. If you are going to downgrade cleanliness at least state the reasons! anyone else experiencing this or got any advice?
Ask the hosts who dinged you on ratings. Only they know why. Can’t hurt to ask.
hey thanks for your reply- I messaged one of them and one of them said I dint put her hairdryer back! another one just completely ignored
Hi @Anna07,
Welcome to the forum.
The hairdryer issue doesn’t seem really worth docking two stars off. As cleanliness goes together with tidiness, do you think that perhaps you might have misplaced little things. Some people are very particular about where they keep things. Someone complained about cushions being misplaced on their sofa!
I do agree that it’s easier for people to follow suit once someone has started rating lower.
Good luck!
Hello
I am really sorry to hear that…I know it must feel really disheartening when you know you have received an unfair review.
As for the woman with the hairdryer, that is incredibly petty. If you have not already, I would offer a response to her review that points out that is the reason for the low rating on cleanliness.
You could say something along the lines of " I was certain I left her home in great condition, so I was surprised to see such a low rating for cleanliness, and even more surprised when upon reaching out for feedback in case there was something significant I missed, said it was for forgetting to put the hairdryer away.’ I am sure there are better ways to word it, but this is just an example.
If you do decide to go that route, just be sure it sounds factual and not emotional,etc…
Also, I can’t imagine past low ratings would encourage subsequent hosts to rate you low as well, so I would not give too much attention and energy to that idea.
Thankyou for taking time to reply. I will do that in future, I just feel its a real balancing act with not sounding too defensive whilst also backing yourself up when you feel its unfair! just making me feel really on edge when im in peoples homes now because I always leave it what I would deem clean whereas I feel other peoples expectations are sometimes a bit beyond!
Hi, thankyou for your reply.
It is, I was quite baffled. Perhaps! maybe I need to be even more minduful. Just starting to feel like some owners on here really do treat you like slave labour. You are obviously here to look after their pets and home to the best of your ability but there has surely got to be room for human error and the odd thing that isnt quite how youd like it but with that being the case…surely just get someone that you are paying if your expectations are that high
Yes it is understandable to feel nervous about future sits. And the replies can be a delicate balancing act–I know a lot of people suggest using AI for help with establishing a certain tone.
Whether or not a sitter should reply to a review depends on a lot of factors–I just think in this case it would be a good idea. Getting confirmation of the reason for the rating, and it being so petty, I would want future hosts to know that. Also, it is good for sitters–many will check the reviews hosts leave for past ones, and I would definitely steer clear of this person if I read something like that.
I have been sitting for 12 years and I will say that my experience has been very positive overall. I have never encountered a host who I felt treated us poorly, or had unreasonable expectations regarding cleanliness or anything else, so I do think that hosts such as her are the exception and not the rule.
Also, when people seem to have a run of bad luck with sits, it could be helpful to reflect on the selection process and see if anything can be tweaked there. For example, sitters will often say that in hindsight, there was something ‘off’ in some regard and they had reservations but took the sit anyway.
Or they are really afraid of not finding sits, so they are not as discerning with the opportunities to which they apply, just hoping to get that calendar filled for whatever dates they need. And again, this could lead to taking sits that maybe don’t feel quite right, or may not be the best fit for them personally.
I can completely appreciate how disheartening this is. After 50+ sits and a five star record, I was recently marked down for self-sufficiency and reliability after asking the homeowner how to operate their (very complicated) windows during a heatwave. Much like the homeowner who marked you down for misplacing a hairdryer (which I can’t imagine most people would think twice about), some homeowners will never be satisfied and will actively look for things to complain about.
It’s easy to say ‘don’t take it personally’ or ‘put it behind you’, but I know that after you’ve worked incredibly hard, being marked down for something so miniscule can feel like an injustice. If you haven’t already, I would suggest responding to the review in a calm and measured tone, giving your side. I found that it helped me achieve closure, considering the mark down had been upsetting me.
I hope you go on to sit for much kinder and more reasonable people in the future.
If someone dinged you for something like not putting the hair dryer back, I’d reply neutrally, so other sitters can see how petty they are and avoid them.
I think I’d pre-empt any future marking down at the pre confirmation stage by talking about how mystified you’ve been up front during your video chat with the next potential sit. Also really take note of just how much impact you have on a home, some people tread very lightly others spread themselves about all over the house, which are you? Has something about how you sit changed from before? Are you maybe cooking more now? I wonder if this is a seasonal thing maybe? Just speculating as it sounds very mysterious.
Best wishes, maybe wear a hazmat suit for the next sit or wrap yourself in cling film!
Unfortunately sometimes people suck and social media has created a “pile on” herding mentality. All you can do is try and put it behind you and most importantly don’t preemptively raise it with future sits otherwise the idea takes root. Good luck.
HO opinion here: if I were considering a sitter with a couple of dings on cleanliness - especially if the review didn’t state anything about the cleaning, I’d be more inclined to give a sitter the benefit of the doubt with something like…
“I’ve had some reviews lately with lower ratings on cleanliness. I’ve tried to find out what wasn’t up to par, with no success. Can you tell me what is important to you in this category so I know your expectations?”
That’s neutral enough that if an HO’s expectations are over the top (the hairdryer??? makes no sense unless you weren’t supposed to use it, which would be a different issue), you can just say no thank you.
The reason I think this is a good idea is, if there WAS something that wasn’t great when I returned, I’d be more inclined to give the sitter a heads up and talk about it than dock stars.
I think some owners expect us to be professional cleaners as well as petsitters. As long as we leave the place as clean and tidy as we find it that should be enough, but some owners expect us to clean the house for them. Fortunately most are not like that.
I really agree with this.
I also wouldn’t randomly mark a sitter down because other HO have. 3/5 is pretty harsh for a misplaced hairdryer, and the HO who didn’t reply isn’t helpful. I do like approaching it directly in the future.
When we first started, our mentors told us that they always take pictures when they first get to a sit to remind them of how to put everything back in place. How the bed is made and pillows arranged. Open all cabinets and drawers and snap a picture. What’s on the counters? Etc. etc. I also keep a running list of odd things I might take out to use if they weren’t in an obvious place (blue bowl from shelf in garage). I almost never need to refer to these pictures later, but they have been helpful in more than one instance.
I also let the HO know what I’ve done in my final “Welcome home! Rover is going to be so excited to see you!” message. Something along the lines of “Everything is ready so you can settle right back in. The kitchen and bathrooms are clean, the bedding and towels have been washed, and we vacuumed and mopped the floors.” I want them to notice how clean we’ve left their place!
Hi thanks for your reply and yes I have tried to sit and analyse how ive been and whats changed as im with you, it seems very suspicious. I have always cooked the same amount in the homes. I had actually left pictures before I left for the last one and all seemed fine but shes just replied to me when i asked for feedback and again…really minor details. just seems like really unfair treatment when you are looking after their pets and home well on the grand scheme for free.
I appreciate your response and think thats totally fair- I will try that going forward as im slightly concerned this is going to affect my chances moving forward even though I would consider myself a genuinely good pet/house sitter and do care about the state I leave the place in. Thankyou.
this is great advice. Will be doing this going forward- thankyou!
absolutely agree. My personal view is if you are that pedantic about your home, HO should pay a cleaner after the sit to do a thorough deep clean- the pet sitter should not be expected to clean more than ensuring its back to how it was left.