Heya, I would love to know if you, as a HO, would feel comfortable to feedback (privately) to your sitter about anything you are/were not pleased with either during or after their sit?
I always like to make my best effort to have a successful sit. I´d love the HO´s I sit for to feel worry free while away and happy upon their return. I know there are sometimes preferred ways of doing things and occasionally maybe even better ways of doing things. I am always keen to learn, so I am particularly interested to know if the HO´s I sit for have any preferred ways to do something in particular in their homes which would make their return home even better, if I were to ever sit for them again.
I´ve so far received great reviews for my previous sits, but I do sometime wonder if the HO would let me know of anything that didn´t quite work for them, so that I can be made aware if it and be more considerate about it on future sits. I do try to ask for any helpful feedback at the end of my sits, to present them with the opportunity to do so.
Would you as a HO let a sitter know if there was anything in particular you thought they could do better, or if you have a preference about something that they did differently? Or would you thank them and just move on to try out a new sitter next time?
I’m a sitter but hope that HOs would tell me if they weren’t happy with anything. So far I’ve done 47 housesits all with 5 star reviews.
It works both ways as there have been times when I’ve had niggles about the sit and would certainly bring these up, as diplomatically as possible, with the HO either in person or text or both.
My only experience thus far has been with paid sitters (where I rather feel that as I’ve paid for a service and been clear about my expectations, I can feedback if my expectations werent met).
However, it still depends whether the sitter has done something ‘wrong’ or if they’ve not followed my ‘preference’. If the important aspects are done well (pets happy, home in good condition) then I wont cavil about minor aspects (house less tidy than I would have left it).
I had this happen and focused the review on the positives of the sitter. I then privately messaged the sitter on what had happened that I wasn’t satisfied with. I wrote a very tactful message and made suggestions as they were new sitters to THS. I tried very hard not to be negative but hoped it would come across as a learning experience for them.
Well, the message didn’t go over well. So next time, I just wont leave a review for the sitter.
On the flipside, I always ask the sitters to let me know if a) I’ve forgotten to tell them about something or b) if there were any issues at my place or with our pet during their stay. I want to ensure that sitters are happy and would really like to know if I can improve the stay by updating the welcome guide, improving descriptions, having a kitchen appliance that is needed or if there is a maintence issue in the house. For example, we just bought a kettle as we know that some sitters drink tea vs coffee.
I think it would be a learning experience in any case.
Did they ask for the honest feedback, or did it seem like they were just looking to get a good reference?
Often we can feel a bit defensive at first when receiving unsolicited feedback if it points out an area of weakness or something like that. Especially when we are trying our best at something and learn it ¨wasn´t quite good enough¨. However upon later reflection we´re thankful for the feedback, as it helps us to better develop ourselves and our abilities! Of course the delivery is very important. Constructive feedback is great when it is directed towards further development.
I think that getting feedback from other people is so valuable, as there are so many things we cannot recognise about ourselves, or things we might not have the awareness to see without a little guidance from someone else…
Personally, I think there´s so much to learn from the people we encounter and I am so thankful to those people who supported my personal growth with their constructive and considerate guidance in the form of honest feedback.
I wonder how people would feel if there was a standard feedback form exchange after each sit, for both the sitter and the HO to let each other know what went well and what didn’t go so well with their experiences of the sit exchange… Not something public. But a standard process of perhaps letting each other know at least one thing that went well with the sit and one area where there may be room for improvement. So we can help each other to maintain good sit standards for the THS community!
Hi @Lake although for some this may be a useful tool, it’s not something I’d support.
One reason is that any requests for TrustedHousesitters to provide more tools will use labour that I would prefer see directed at the top wish-lists earlier items, which seem to be the calendar and the review/feedback system.
I would also hate to see what I produce as a personalized approach reduced to a standardized form. By that I mean that by the time I am approaching a sit date, I have established a comfort level with the owners. While on a sit, I immediately start a draft email, working towards a final update and any comments I might share with the owners. Once the sit is finished, I send that email and include a request that, once they get settled back into their usual life, I’d appreciate a review.
If I were sent a standardized form, I feel that would downgrade the way I currently handle interactions with owners.
I agree @Snowbird. I have past experience in a working capacity of forms that force you to come up with a positive and a suggested improvement for an issue and in my opinion what often happens is you rack your brains to find something just because there are boxes to be filled. I also like the personal element and the relationship that can develop between sitters and HO’s and feel that a standardised approach might take away from the more personal touches that are so very important.
I don’t think it needs to be forced. Just there as part of a suggestion for good practice or something. Just like we aren’t exactly forced to leave a review after a sit has been completed.
Personally I don’t really like that we are forced to give a rating when we leave " feedback" for HOs. I think it’s important to see some feedback from past sitters, as an indicator for safety at the least. But I would prefer to have the option to leave written feedback without the thumbs up indicator, for occasions when the sit may not have been my ideal, but could be okay for someone else with different preferences perhaps.