Hello,
I’ve just completed a longer sit. The home owners requested that I pay their staff at the end of each week. I’ve only been on this site for a short time and made the mistake of agreeing to the sit. Once I arrived, I realized that the day staff had access to the property grounds 24/7. Things became more complicated when the HOs called and requested that I find the lead staff member and call the HOs back, so they could provide additional task instructions. I’m not sure why they didn’t call their staff directly. When I couldn’t find the staff member, it became apparent that they had left the property early. The HO then asked me to give instructions to the staff on what tasks to complete and report when they arrived at and left work. When I responded that giving instructions to staff was inappropriate, the HOs said it was no big deal and other sitters had done so in the past. It became even more tricky when I finally facilitated the call and heard the HO telling a staff member that he had arrived 4 hours late (based of my stupidity in letting the HOs know on one occasion) and his pay would be reduced according. AND I was the one who was supposed to hold the pay back. Of course the staff knew that I had provided the information about their attendance. So, there I was, in a remote location, with 2 disgruntled men who have 24/7 access to the property. Fortunately they turned out to be decent people. I used my baby language skills and Google translate to let the workers know I wasn’t their supervisor and didn’t make decisions about their pay. If they had questions, they would have to wait until the HOs arrived. So, YES! BAD decision on my part to accept this sit AND completely inappropriate expectations and requests of the HOs. This was a complete eye opener for me. I’ll not put myself into another situation like that ever again.
@Orawro include this information in your review to warn future sitters .
Sitters should be aware that there are third parties working at the property daily . These workmen have 24/7 access to the property . It’s not mentioned in the responsibilities section of the listing that the host requires the sitter to communicate and interact with staff on the host’s behalf , relaying information about tasks to be completed .
Also the sitter is expected to monitor staff’s attendance and pay staff on a weekly basis .
What a nightmare! Please review accordingly, since no other previous sitters did.
We thank you in advance.
I wouldn’t have agreed to any of that. If the HO didn’t disclose these duties before I accepted, there would be no further discussion other than “No, I cannot do that, not in the responsibilities I agreed to.” The acceptance of a sit is a contract. It wouldn’t be my problem how the HO could proceed to handle it.
We have had wonderful sits for years - very few of our sits have less than ideal.
We don’t mind being asked to deal with unexpected things, or to interact with scheduled staff in a grand property.
But the ones that were not great? HO did not disclose things to us that they KNEW in advance of offering a sit, then piled on by making inappropriate demands.
The one that stands out was one of the very first sit we did (different platform).
HO told us we had to be at their house several days in a row to allow contractors in/out of their home to assess & quote on work.
Then told us the contractors schedule, and that we had to be at the house for “security” while the chosen contractor did the work. Surprise? Contractor called he was running late. And called again - even later. And then rescheduled for another day. We were new to Sitting and just did it.
In an EMERGENCY of course we would have understood. But this was for annual “winterizing” work that could have waited until they got back.
Another instance was similar: no mention of sinificant road work by their home that meant access to markets, etc took 3X longer than was normal. On our arrival: “Oh didn’t we mention that? Well I’m sure it’ll be over soon” Not the two weeks we were there.
They then sent a note after leaving that workmen had to do a job on their plumbing: so on top of not being able to get from their area into town easily, now we were stuck in a home where water was unreliable for days as the workmen did their job. Pretty sure they planned their trip around not wanting to be home for all that. Thanks.
We have become adept at seeing Red Flags in Posts or when doing a Video Chat so have dodged most inapropriate behaviour.
Lesson learned: if people show you who they are (inconsiderate) believe them and let them know what is/is not part of the equation.
In BOTH instances the HO made up BS to complain about - this was back before blind reviews - I’m sure so we wouldn’t write bad reviews of them!
BUT as others have said, be kind to your fellow Sitters and be clear about inappropriate demands.
So sorry to hear this @Orawro . It is a learning experience - this is far beyond a petsit and for sure taking advantage that you should supervise and monitor staff. I think it has to be breach of terms as this must be considered «work» in any country, monitoring and paying wages to staff.
Please review honest and factual so it is transparent what the sit was like. As reviews are blind the other party can’t see your review before they have submitted theirs or the 14-day-limit is up - in either case they can no longer alter their review (both of you get one opportunity to answer). It can be done in a nice and balanced way.
Oh, no…
Unimaginable!
I am glad you’ve resolved to use boundaries in the future. There’s being affable and then there’s putting your finances and safety in danger.
Thank you all for your feedback and support. I’ve a lot to learn. I wasn’t sure if I was viewing this correctly. I didn’t realize I had to know more than taking great care of pets. It seems learning how to read between the lines, setting strict boundaries and saying no are also important. Just like life. 
This is what THS say about a sitter’s responsibilities
“Please note that sitters are not expected to complete any tasks that are considered ‘work’. This may include helping a pet parent maintain any business they have “
Although these are the “rules” , I have seen a sitter’s profile where they offer to help the hosts run their business during their stay … and list the tasks that they are willing to do ( for no payment ) !! - these sitters have over 100 reviews …
Maybe they’re retired and crave mental stimulation (or are short on money and are secretly charging against THS terms). Of course, whatever their reason, they could be reported.
They violated the THS terms and conditions. I really hope you write an honest review for everyone’s sake
Best to make sure that you can afford a fallback plan when sitting (or don’t accept the sit). Otherwise, it’s easier to get trapped into bad sits or to be stranded.
The hosts the original post described were bad, but even good hosts can have emergencies come up, canceling or shortening sits.
Thanks. I always have a back up plan or 2. 
Since this went against TH guidelines and was not an unforeseen emergency, I sure hope you reported this sit to member services!
A bit of a digression from the original post, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like to hear what you see as red flags. Could be helpful to many of us.