Will the review anxiety ever go?!

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
21

Good to know its not just me!

Tbh, if i was a homeowner on THS i woukd send a message as soon as we were back and settled to let pet sitters know everything was ok- we actually used a local sitter for our recent trip away and sent such a message on our return. I find it a bit rude that people dont do this automatically within say 24 hrs of returning home (bar mitigating circs of course). However, i havent asked anyone to do this, so maybe i need to start requesting when i send our ‘leaving now’ message.

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22

I always send a wrap-up text or WhatsApp message right after I leave, saying the pets are X, have been walked, when I’ve reset beds after doing laundry, when I last watered the plants, etc. Also to thank them for the hospitality.

And if there’s anything I left on purpose, say unopened food, fresh produce, etc. Or if there are any orphaned items that they left in the dishwasher (which I can’t tell came from wherever), I leave them in a pile on the counter so they don’t have to hunt.

So far, every host has messaged me back and said thank you, then followed up when they’ve gotten home, then followed soon after with a review.

During sits, I update at least once daily and send notes about how their pets are doing and photos, often fun ones. The hosts and I develop rapport, even if I never meet them in person.

So far so good. But I’m also very selective about hosts and listings to start with. If the hosts don’t seem like hospitable, reciprocal, thoughtful people, no reason to sit for them, IMO. Thoughtful folks say thank you and let you know they’ve returned and they’re happy to return to content pets and a clean home.

Note: Even hosts who had major events all wrote reviews for me promptly. Those hosts for example: Started a new job after they returned, or attended a nephew’s funeral after they returned, or returned early because they got into an accident that required surgery, or a pair of hosts who returned early to say goodbye to their old and sickly pet, who had to be put down.

Maybe because I withdraw within 48 hours if a host doesn’t reply after my applying, I’ve had the benefit of the best, most responsive hosts.

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23

@catscatscats24 Same here. We always send a leaving message with last update on pets & home etc and HO usually reciprocates with a friendly message directly and/or on arrival too. But not always, so now we’ve started asking for a quick return message so we are reassured all is well. Peace of mind!

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24

You are right, but I am a) lazy b) not into asking anything from hosts in fear of them taking it bad. Why does THS send me notifications “let the pet parent know how you will arrive”/”how it is going”, but does not send the pet parent a notification “let the sitter know you are pleased”?

a) I am not into doing structural work for a company. They need to change the culture, and they can easily do so. I already accept newbie sits, and help them out in an extra way, I just cant be bothered to message extra. I take responsibility in that creating stress for me. Will still whine.

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25

Though thanks for this pre written message, I might just copy/paste it to my life. Great that you gave such a clear example.

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26

No I don’t think it ever leaves you but as others have said as you build up more reviews the odd bad one shouldn’t harm you. I have 26 5 * star reviews and 1 4* star review plus a non review from my worst HO that I gave my only 3* too.
It’s funny as I had 2 sits in a row that docked me a star for cleanliness and one mentioned I left the place less than perfectly clean. My next sit was a regular one where the host said I left the place cleaner than when they left!
I guess ultimately us sitters are dealing with people all with different standards and expectations!

6 Likes
27

@richten1

How did the hosts who dinged you review other sitters? Any yellow or red flags in retrospect? Anything you would’ve done differently in retrospect?

My current hosts dinged a previous sitter, for reasons I thought fair, best I can tell. The reviews they wrote seemed reasonable and they received five-star reviews that sounded consistent.

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28

Hi @Maggie8K
The first sit was a sit with a very senior cat. She was 23. It was 20 minutes from me. They asked me to visit the day before where they revealed the cat was incontinent and this sit was in an 8 figure property with solid wood floors. I guess I could have withdrawn at this point but the day before felt bad. Hours spent mopping, disinfecting and drying said wooden floors later I should have made more of it. So a big red flag I should have paid attention too!
The next one I think punished me as their cat had severe separation anxiety and refused to eat or drink despite my best efforts and leaving food and drink near them. Contacted owners after chatting to this vet line on day 3 to suggest a vet visit. Owners refused.Thankgully the cat started eating and drinking on day 4 but a dangerous situation.

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29

Wow, really crummy hosts.

30

I usually take photos of kitchen, lounge, bedroom etc and use this as a reminder to put things back in the same place. I might store things that are precious/vulnerable, the photos help with this before departure. On a zoom call before confirming the sit I ask about (not obvious) niggles that would disappoint them on return; this way I can ensure I make the effort to get it right.

I had one lost star for cleaning in a sit that had filthy bathroom & cloakroom. I cleaned the bathroom before and after I didn’t use the cloakroom on purpose so didn’t clean it! I think I gave them a 3 for cleaning.

31

The bit that vaguely worries me is that if, as a sitter, I really did need to leave a less-than-glowing review and the HO probably realised that (or a HO wanted to leave a bad review of some other sitter), they ONLY get published if BOTH sides write one. So I could write an honest but rather negative review but it would never get published if the HO suspected that would happen and so don’t do a review themselves. Or same if a sitter was poor and knew it, they could just not write a review so the HO’s never gets published.

32

^That is a misunderstanding. After 14 days of the sit, whatever review has been left goes public. If both review, both go public as soon as the second one is in. After 14 days, neither can leave a review.

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33

Where did you get this false idea?

34

^You message sounds judgmental and blaming. If this is not your intention, consider other kind of wording.

35

Apparently not. A HO has told me they wrote a review (a nice one) but after 14 days the sitter had not done theris so the HO review did not get published. I checked for them if Icould see it but nope, no review appeared.

36

From an actual event involving a HO friend

37

That isn’t true. I had a disaster of a sit that I left a balanced but 3 star review for but the HO left no review (probably thankfully).

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38

“I am worried” not sure how that is judgemental?

Yes, I’m “blaming” a system that potentially lets poor sitters or HOs slip though the net. An incident of this type has indeed happened (though not involving a negative review, just that the other side didn’t do one within 14 days). I’m English not American, so I really do not understand what, in my factual post, you find judgemental and blaming? Nor how you would suggest I rewrite it?

39

https://support.trustedhousesitters.com/hc/en-gb/articles/14719141511965-What-happens-if-I-don-t-leave-my-review-before-the-14-day-window-has-passed

1 Like
40

Sorry, misdirected. Was ment for Maggie. Though I realize that blocking is better.