Yesterday I managed to send the welcome guide to my confirmed sitter (this didn’t work with the desktop site, only through the app!) but I am actually still working on it. There are still things I find important or informative to add.
Does the sitter see the edits I made or do I have to send it again?
Hello,
I think the sitter can see the edits made by the owner. The sitter consults the welcome guide in his dashboard. It is a link, It is not set in stone.
THS will tell you if that’s it.
I saw your listing, and I put it in my favorite for another time😸
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Hi @anon39388349 apologies or the delay in replying, the updates are available as you edit.
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Don’t worry 
I am not finished yet anyway 
That’s great! So I don’t have to send it again 
Oh, thank you for putting me on your favorites list 
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One thing to keep in mind @anon39388349 is that while all updates you make to the welcome guide are available to the sitter without additional action by you, the sitter doesn’t have any tag or indicator letting them know what’s been added or changed. For example, if you share the welcome guide and your sitter reads through it all, then you go back and add a note about a plant that needs watering or a tip about feeding your pet, your sitter won’t know what specifically was added or changed. They’ll have to read through the entire manual again and hopefully recall it well enough to know that a specific sentence or section is different.
So, we highly recommend letting the sitter know what you added if they’ve already read through it. That way nothing gets over looked We mitigate this by waiting until the guide is complete and reading it just be the sit starts.
@Angela_L @Ben-ProductManager Maybe adding a “new” tag to any section that’s been added or modified in a welcome guide could be something reviewed to be added as an enhancement? Either as a time trigger (x amount of days since added once the sitter opened the guide) or trigger based on the last time the sitter opened the guide.
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This question brings up a good point. The sitter will see an “updated” banner across the welcome guide (on the website version), which is great. What’s not so great is that there is nothing to indicate where changes have been made. On a thorough guide (which I appreciate), it means combing through everything trying to figure out what might have been added or changed, or asking the HO for guidance. I would love to see an indication in the text (new, color coding, etc).
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@lifephasenext Looks like we had the same thought at nearly the same time! 
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Great feedback @ScrewTheAverage @lifephasenext … thank you, having members input regarding our available resources is the most insightful and helpful to the team.
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Thank you all, this really is good to know. I imagine myself sending the updated Welcome Guide over and over again and the sitter goes like 
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Angela, I’m wondering if, when THS is more fully staffed, the Welcome Guide format may need to be reviewed. I have only ever had one homeowner who had completed it, but also reverted to her own list to print off for me. This was two years ago, but she said it required a lot of pages to be printed. I’ve seen negative comments about the Welcome Guide’s format. Not being a homeowner here, I can’t assess it. I’ve always had written instructions from a homeowner (7 years of sits now), but only once seen the guide used. Is that maybe an indication that it needs a refresh?
Hi @Snowbird
Did you ever read my thread Headed up "Do you prefer the Welcome Guide or a Word document "
It is interesting to read people’s opinions
Hi @Snowbird it’s a resource which some find extremely useful and others not so, it may be more the format than the content. I’ve had many owners complete and others like you’ve experienced, will come up with their own document.
The obvious benefit is it serves as a reminder impressing on owners to prepare details for their sitters. For those who do view, and owners are reminded each time a sitter is confirmed, the headings serve as a guide as to what is essential information.
But agreed, as with all documents it would perhaps benefit from an update.
I think so, but I’ll go back and look it over again. Thanks for mentioning it.
I think, as I am a completely new HO here, I find it very useful as a guideline. Actually I filled it out and found it ok but not perfect. It’s a good start for the sitter to check beforehand but I also made a document of my own for the sitter to print out, as I was told this isn’t possible with the Welcome Guide. I understand that only the HO can print it. However it’s not easy to find out which pictures I took from Water shut off, electrical stuff etc match the description because they are uploaded somewhere else.
That’s why I made my own document where text is right beside the picture.
I also didn’t find the order altogether logical, but this might only be my thoughts.
I find it useful but not good enough.
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Yes, it’s the format that would benefit from a change. There are extra spaces and headings that take up their own lines. It needs to be reformatted so it uses the space on the paper more efficiently. I usually edit the welcome guide, removing spaces and generally condensing the information by cutting and pasting it into a Word document. For example, the name of a food store uses six lines: name-double space, pet friendly- double space, comment (close to home, large selection) - double space. All of this info could actually fit on one line.
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Thank you @mars great feedback and this will all be passed on to the Product team.
I copy and paste in a document on my tablet, with an automatic translation as well as the photos. I delete all unnecessary lines. Sometimes I print it. But, I always do a summary in my little petsitting travel journal. So I always have address, phone number … information on animals, veterinarian … And, in this notebook, I add everything that interests me. If necessary, I go back to the welcome guide on the THS site to check some information. And if the HO has not made a guide, ditto with the information he gives me. I take notes.
Even, it is not perfect, the welcome guide has the merit of existing, it is a base. And, I think it’s an help for owner to know what is important
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I received a Welcome Guide a week ago when a sit was confirmed. I scanned through it and all appeared straightforward.
I went to look at it today to get contact details and it had an ‘Updated’ banner across it. There is no indication as to what has been added/amended. I had no alert to say there was an updated WG. Once I had read the WG the updated banner disappeared.
I would suggest sitters refer to the WG regularly in the run up to a sit to ensure there are no additions regarding extra responsibilities etc.
Back in 2021 it was suggested that additions/amendments appeared in a different colour. Could it be put to the team again @Carla?
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@Twitcher Changes don’t show any differently. I just had one updated too and I have no idea what was changed. I assume it was minor changes since I don’t see anything substantially different. But I may start taking screen shots of the initial welcome guide.
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