Question for Sitters- I pride myself on being a great sitter, doing not only what is asked but leaving everything in tip-top condition. I have asked the owner repeatedly (nicely) of a recent sit for a review to no avail. (I have not given them one and won’t until they go first, which is my standard procedure.) It was a great sit! What do you do when this happens? It’s never happened before to me and I see they have reviewed their first sitter, but not me or the one right before me, and the one before me has excellent reviews from other owners, like I do. This is very disappointing.
@SoloTraveler , This is the issue that first brought me to the forum. I did a search but can’t find the discussion, maybe it was so old it’s been removed.
I had done the best job I possibly could for these HO and despite numerous requests, they were not leaving me a review. I was really upset, as I had bent over backwards for them. I received guidance from @Angela_L . She told me that people sometimes get busy with work and life and to give it a chance, that she once had HO leave her a review six weeks after the sit! So, I decided to give it more time and after 12 days, they left me a great review. So my advice is after three gentle reminders a few days apart, sit tight and wait.
Oh, and like your HO, when I took another look at my HO’s listing, I noticed they had had several sitters they had failed to review. It didn’t seem important to them. I faulted myself for not taking note before I accepted the sit, so I was doubly worried I’d end up with no review. Fortunately, it all worked out.
But from that experience, I now take note of a HO’s “review record.” If I feel there is a chance I won’t get a review or won’t get any kind of substantial review, I don’t apply.
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We’ve never had a problem getting a review but we always do our review (aka feedback) immediately after the sit so maybe that encourages the home owner to do one as well?
I’m curious though - do you have a particular reason for not giving a review until they do? Have you considered that perhaps they have the same policy? Or maybe they are worried about why you won’t give a review first so they are hesitant to give one as well? I think if I was a home owner and a sitter informed me that they would not do a review until I had done one first, I’d suddenly start to wonder why, and it might make me nervous about giving one. Just a thought.
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Hi @mars. I don’t think your post would have been removed. I clicked on your username, looked for the date you joined, clicked on your name there and it brought up every post you’ve done, back to your join date. I tried the same with mine and it was similar. Total transparency, for sure. 
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Last year I sat for a few weeks and all went fine, and when I asked for a review there was a long pause and then, finally, the man said he didn’t ‘believe in’ reviewing things online and it was nothing personal about me. I explained what we all know and he flatly refused. I was already engaged to return to the house a couple of months later, and rather than cancel I went ahead because the location was so interesting to me. Perhaps he chose me as a sitter without reading my profile or reviews? Maybe he’d have engaged anyone?
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@Lauraa that’s so sad to hear, and you’ve been so respectful in the way you’ve retold the details here. I certainly would have provided feedback for the second sit, without asking. I would have included that I was disappointed to hear his position but nevertheless realize that the homeowner must have indirectly given me a positive review by having me return for a sit. 
There are always creative and respectful ways of making a fair statement. That owner should share his position on that with a sitter before they accept, in my opinion, but I doubt he does. Congratulations on taking the higher road. 
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They’d engaged me for both sits at once, quite a bit in advance. When the date for the second sit was approaching they asked if I was going to do it, realising I was displeased about the refusal to review. I said yes of course I was looking forward to it. I didn’t leave any feedback about them, which I know isn’t right, but I think they left TH anyway.
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Hi @SoloTraveler - Why are you so adamant not to leave a review until the home host leaves theirs? I think if you have this rule then you have to respect the fact that you occasionally will not receive one yourself.
I am struggling to understand how you can be disappointed with the home host for not leaving you a review whilst at the same time admitting that you are refusing to leave them one?
Maybe the home host has the same ’ you go first’ rule - in this case you are now in a stalemate situation and neither of you will have any chance of getting a review.
I would say leave your review. If you get one in return, great. If you don’t, then at least you know that you have done the right thing 
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If you have other reviews i wouldnt worry too much.
We missed one review, obviously not because the HO was unhappy as they asked us back but i think they just have super busy lives & i noticed they dont usually review.
All had gone well on the sit, we liked the HOs, understand their circumstance & didnt take it personally.
They did however reply nicely to our feedback for them.
We have had other HOs maybe take a week or two before we have their feedback. People can be busy and have various things that demand their attention.
I like to do our reviews within a few days of leaving the sit and do feel that a HO is more likely to respond when you have reviewed them. They could be waiting for your review first.
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This is interesting and has made me think that in future, I should make sure HO’s generally leave reviews when we apply for sits. If they don’t, I may ask about it in the application process. I’m not sure I want to do a sit where it’s unlikely we’d get a review.
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Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Following each sit, I request a review from the HO, including a personalized note in which I mention that I will be providing my feedback shortly.
I don’t wait until the HO posts their review, I go ahead and post my feedback when ready.
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Hello - even though I am a HO I am going to add a comment. I tried to leave a review for a sitter recently and found it super hard to know where to do this. I also did receive any reminder with the review link to be able to do this. Not sure if this is intended but I wonder if other HOs might find it tricky to find where to do this. I know when I usually do anything in the digital space then i get sent a link to leave a review once the transaction completed. Be assured i did eventually find where to do this and did leave a review.
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I think there is a thread on how 'user friendly the process is to leave a review and feedback … also that the two are named differently , giving rise to perhaps, different expectations.
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I am bringing this here though to answer one of the questions about why HOs don’t leave reviews. This should not be taken in isolation but it might be an explanation.
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Thank you for weighing in! It’s helpful to hear everyone’s comments.
I didn’t mean to appear adamant about not leaving a review first, in fact I went ahead and left a nice, thorough one (lots of details) for the sit. The HO has said more than once that they will leave a review but haven’t yet so it’s just rather frustrating. Reviews are everything to a sitter!
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Go ahead and leave a review. Not only is the review process for the sitter and homeowners, it’s for our fellow members.
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To make you feel better I did a sit this past holiday season, same scenario, went overboard and left HO a thank you note and flowers. I requested a review and no response despite her thanking me profusely by text. Anyway, she finally left me a 5 star review in May. She’s a college professor and sometimes life gets in the way and they obviously have other priorities. So, sit back and just give it a chance.
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I always write our review of the home owner before the sit ends so I can cut and paste it into THS the very next day. I tend to be busy the few days after a sit, either travelling or starting another sit, so I like to have it already done while things are calm and fresh in my head.
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