Newbie here. I’ve secured a couple of sits and have applied for two or three more. I’ve found that some home owners respond immediately but that some don’t appear to read the applications at all. I’m just wondering if anyone can shed any light on this, are the homeowners who don’t bother to read the applications waiting to hear from sitters that they’ve used before perhaps? Seems odd to me not to even read the application…
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@MissisE You are SO right…odd indeed (not to mention infuriating)! Sadly in my recent experience, this is happening more and more. You take your time to write a very cordial and informative letter, only to never even have it looked at. I’ve usually waited two days and then wrote to kindly ask if I’m being considered for their pet sit (knowing that the application hasn’t even been opened!) and stating that if not I’d appreciate a reply so that I can move on to apply for other pet sits. AND YOU GUESSED IT, that letter never gets opened either. So it is a problem, but despite TH.com’s email/blog requests to HO to please be kind and reply to all applicants…it has often fallen on deaf ears. I guess that is just the way of the world, people are interested in their needs and often oblivious to others needs. I’ve learned to keep my initial letters either short (so as not to waste too much time writing them), or to have an “initial form letter” that I just quickly update with new HO and pet names, one personalized bit of reply and then send. That way when it never gets opened, I don’t get (as) upset :<
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I have run into this on a few occasions. Recently, when I did not receive a timely reply, I applied for another sit that happened to be in the same vicinity over the same dates. It happened that I was offered both sits and felt bad having to turn one of them down. If the HO does not send some kind of reply, they are at risk of losing the applicant.
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Thanks for your advice and experience. I think I’m a bit impatient being new! I’ve lined up a couple of lovely looking sits so I’m excited about those.
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Good suggestion, @anon36831737 . Have been keeping a list on my phone of all the great ideas I have gleaned from this forum.
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Now that advertised sits in England alone are numbering about 460, HO really can’t afford to be so impolite. When I KNOW that I do a pretty good job of looking after someone’s home and pet, I’m incensed when my application isn’t even read. I now have a master application and I tweak it to suit the advert. I have three lovely sits lined up between July 4th and July 21st! But recently I messaged a HO who had rejected me without reading my application ( I know that as soon as he/she accepts a sitter, the other applicants are automatically rejected). I Asked ‘ Can I just confirm that you have rejected me without having read my application?’. It was still not read several days later! Then they sent me a PM asking if I could, after all, sit. I made an excuse. Last weekend they messaged me again about further dates. I was tempted to tell them I was washing my hair, but I gave another excuse. I’m pretty principled and I really wouldn’t treat others like this.
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Hi @MissisE welcome to our community forum and congratulations on getting your first sits and one thing to remember is even members with numerous sits to their credit were all “newbies” once upon a time. We can’t wait to get to know you better and share in your TrustedHousesitters journey.
I’ve been sitting for 14 years, with TrustedHousesitters since the very beginning, with over 200 sits to my credit. If I have learned one thing it’s that there are those who respond to messages in a timely manner and those who don’t and that applies to sitters and owners.
It can be incredibly frustrating and we do impress on our members to respond to all messages and constantly looking at ways to make it easier to do just that also we stress the importance of reading each and every message, after all they could miss the sitter that is right for their sit by not doing so.
Now that we have the forum and conversations like this are taking place members will be encouraged to look at how they manage their responses to applications and vice versa.
Thank you again for joining you’ll find great support, help and advice from your fellow TrustedHousesitter members and enjoy your first sit … first of many we are sure.
Angela and the Team
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Funny someone should bring this up as I just encountered my first experience with this today. I’m a sitter with five years experience and many glowing reviews. I’ve had my application declined on occasion with no personal reply but my application was “read”. Last night I applied on a local sit and I know I was perhaps the first applicant or within the 0-3 applicants. Later in the evening the sit had 4-7 applicants and no more. This morning I received the “application denied” but my application was “unread”. Never had this happen before. So I can only presume that the homeowner opened the most recent email and chose that person or no longer needed a house sitter. I belonged to another housesitting service where they rated the homeowners on their responses and replies to sitters and if they didn’t meet the response level expected from the organization, their membership wasn’t renewed. I’ve suggested this to THS and think it warrants looking into it. I think homeowners need to have more accountability and definitely courtesy instilled.
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That’s an interesting concept. Perhaps if a HO hadn’t read all applications and / or hadn’t replied to them all, the system could stop the HO from actually accepting their chosen sitter.
Just a thought.
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Ah, interesting! Being a newbie, I’m only just learning about the systems. Got my first sit tomorrow, excited!
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Another reason might be that someone who sat for them previously became available. Many homeowners would prefer someone who has sat for them before, and that makes sense to me.
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That’s brilliant @MissisE … what pet(s) are you looking after and where is your sit? Do let us know how it goes.
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I think once you click on the sitter’s profile from the application they sent you then it is automatically “read”.
Good point!
That’s understandable but it’s just the lack of courtesy when the homeowner doesn’t even acknowledge your application. The homeowner only needs to send one email and it will go all the sitter applicants who applied - not a lot of time and effort.
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It hasn’t happened very often to me but if the owner does not reply I make a note of who they are and when they contact me later which they sometimes do I reply that I am busy on other house sits and what a shame that they didn’t reply.
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As a home owner I try to respond to everyone who applies for a sit. I often take the first person who applies for the sit. Then I let everyone else who applies that I have already found someone but hope that they might apply for a future sit the next time I post one.
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I respond individually to each applicant, not a group email. Just seems courteous .
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I’ve certainly found that it pays to apply for a sit very quickly. I’m currently enjoying my very first sit!
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Congratulations! Wonderful news! How long do get to spend with that beautiful ball of fur?
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