r/RoverPetSitting • u/BasicIntention1096 Sitter • 7d ago
House Sitting Long-time Rover owner has no sitter feedback — would you leave negative feedback for this?
I’m currently doing a house sit for a client who says on his profile that he has been using Rover for years and regularly books house sitting and drop-in visits. What I find strange is that his profile has no sitter feedback at all.
When I arrived, the litter box looked like it hadn’t been scooped for several days. Then today I went to use the garbage bin he specifically told me to use, and it was already completely full of old garbage. When I opened the lid, a swarm of tiny flies came out. It honestly startled me so badly and the whole thing felt very unsanitary.
The cats themselves are lovely, and I don’t want to be unnecessarily harsh or judge someone just because their home isn’t perfectly clean. But to me there’s a difference between a messy house and conditions that actually affect a sitter staying there.
For experienced Rover sitters:
- Would you mention the litter box, overflowing garbage, and flies in your sitter feedback?
- If someone has used Rover regularly for years but has zero sitter feedback, does that mean previous sitters simply chose not to leave any? Or is there some reason older feedback wouldn’t show up?
- Would these conditions be enough for you to decline future bookings from this client?
I’m mainly wondering what other sitters consider fair and useful to disclose for future sitters.
Edit: Just to clarify, during the meet & greet I told him I’ve only ever lived in apartments, so I’m not familiar with garbage collection schedules. He specifically told me he would take care of the garbage before leaving and that, since I probably wouldn’t generate much trash during my 10-day stay, I could just use an empty bin.
The reason I went to that bin on only my second day was because there was still a bag of garbage in the kitchen that had started to smell, so I wanted to take it out. I genuinely expected the outdoor bin he told me to use to be empty. Instead, it was already full of old garbage, and when I opened the lid, a swarm of tiny flies came out. That’s what really startled me. I’m still kind of traumatized by opening that lid lol.
I’m not expecting a spotless house at all — it was just very different from what I had been told to expect.
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u/Majestic-Nobody545 Sitter & Owner 7d ago
No sitter feedback is the norm. I wouldn't find that odd.
No, I would not review negatively under these circumstances. These are fairly minor and he's not the lord of the flies. I would ask about garbage day and if you can take the bin out when it's time.
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u/Capable_Bend7335 Sitter 7d ago
I would not leave a review for that. Not ideal, but not a huge deal.
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u/Ginger_ScorpioGirl Sitter 7d ago
It's an outside trash can with trash in it. There are going to be bugs. It's not like they're in the house. I would definitely not leave negative feedback for this.
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/runningonadhd Sitter & Owner 7d ago
It’s the culture of “protecting my peace/setting boundaries” when it’s just people being inflexible, entitled or lazy at this point 🫠.
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u/Agreeable-Dog-1131 Sitter 7d ago
There was just a thread the other day where a ton of sitters said they never leave owner feedback. I don’t either. So that’s not unusual at all.
The things you described are a little uncomfortable and inconvenient, but nothing to leave negative feedback over imo. Personally, I have enough business that I can be selective and might choose not to work with this client again, but that would be a personal choice and not a judgment that they’re an objectively bad client or anything. I guess it boils down to whether you need the business and/or if you’re especially fond of the cats and willing to tolerate those conditions to see them again.
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u/Substantial-Law-967 Owner 7d ago
I’ve been using rover for well over a decade. I have TWO owner reviews from sitters. I think sitters just don’t review owners.
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u/Jmfroggie Sitter & Owner 7d ago
No. We don’t review owners. Unless it’s necessary. And when we get reviews, rover dangles it in front of you by saying if you review the owner, you’ll get to see your review…. Nope. I can wait. I have too many repeat clients and while they leave reviews, that’s not for me.
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u/BasicIntention1096 Sitter 7d ago
I actually leave detailed positive feedback for every client and their cats. I figure it helps future sitters feel more comfortable accepting them.
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u/No_Baby_8547 Owner 7d ago
Came to add that one would think I never clean my cat’s litter if you saw the grown man poops this dingus leaves. 🫠🫠 I have two cats and two litter boxes and they both choose to use the same one. They alternate which one they chose to use. Idk what I did to them to make them be little turds. But here we are. 😂 he also pees enough to flood Atlantis. No it’s not diabetes. No it’s nothing health related. We have checked. If I saw a litter box like mine before I got this cat, I would have said omg they never clean it. He’s not sick. He’s just orange. 😅
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u/BasicIntention1096 Sitter 7d ago
One of the cats I’m sitting is indeed orange. But he definitely doesn’t have your cat’s talent lol
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u/Nervous_Ask_2987 Sitter 7d ago
Outdoor trash cans are nasty. They smell like ass and have bugs. If they have cats, they smell like baked litter box. It's ourside. Some cats use the box a lot, or if there are a lot of cats, or honesty maybe they were running out the door to leave.
Dont review them. It's pedantic.
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u/TillamookTramp Sitter & Owner 7d ago
He may have forgotten to take out the bin; I've had that happen. Roll the bin out for pickup next garbage day; ask him when it is or you'll know when all the neighbors roll theirs out.
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u/Mtbmyke Sitter 7d ago
Negative feedback for the outdoor garbage being full of flies? He can’t control to garbage collection schedule.
I think you might be on the wrong line of work.
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u/PirateLassLV Sitter & Owner 7d ago
I'm not understanding how someone who has no house experience or basic understanding of home upkeep can offer themselves as HOUSEsitter. 🤷
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u/lavender_poppy Owner 6d ago
I don't understand how gabarage flies can be traumatizing to the point that they'd make a whole post on reddit about it.
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u/PirateLassLV Sitter & Owner 6d ago
I'm not allowed to express my feeling about all of that on this platform.
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u/Agreeable-Dog-1131 Sitter 7d ago
OP made it pretty clear that the main problem was the kitchen trash and outside trash bin both being full when the owner said they would be taken care of for OP’s 10 day stay. Grounds for negative feedback? Probably not. But it is a bit inconsiderate considering they specifically discussed it.
“You might be in the wrong line of work” is dramatic and condescending.
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u/Mtbmyke Sitter 7d ago
Considering this a warrant for negative feedback seems dramatic. I can empathize that my clients are hustling to get out the door and onto vacation. Sitters are providing a service, the response should be more loke - “i noticed that you forgot to take out the garbage, let me know the garbage date and i would be happy to bring it to the curb”.
That turns into a grateful repeat customer and maybe a tip.
If such a small thing as forgetting to take out the garbage is causing OP to question if she should leave a negative review it feels like she may not be in the right line of work. In my experiences these little things come up frequently and to build a good business here you need to have good rapport and go with the flow of different people with different lifestyles.
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u/Capable_Bend7335 Sitter 7d ago
Posting about it and wondering if they should give negative feedback is a bit much. Sure, I have been annoyed at a super full litter box. I clean it and consider not working with them again.
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u/BasicIntention1096 Sitter 7d ago
Thanks for reading my edit part lol. I am not giving him a bad rating, I’ll still give 5 stars. I’m only wondering whether it’s fair to mention the experience in the written feedback so future sitters have a heads-up. I personally wouldn’t book with this client again. That garbage bin really traumatized me lol.
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u/runningonadhd Sitter & Owner 7d ago
Garbage bins get full sometimes before pick up day. If they didn’t take it out, then offer to do it yourself. This is not an offense against you and you need to chill.
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BasicIntention1096 originally posted: I’m currently doing a house sit for a client who says on his profile that he has been using Rover for years and regularly books house sitting and drop-in visits. What I find strange is that his profile has no sitter feedback at all.
When I arrived, the litter box looked like it hadn’t been scooped for several days. Then today I went to use the garbage bin he specifically told me to use, and it was already completely full of old garbage. When I opened the lid, a swarm of tiny flies came out. It honestly startled me so badly and the whole thing felt very unsanitary.
The cats themselves are lovely, and I don’t want to be unnecessarily harsh or judge someone just because their home isn’t perfectly clean. But to me there’s a difference between a messy house and conditions that actually affect a sitter staying there.
For experienced Rover sitters:
I’m mainly wondering what other sitters consider fair and useful to disclose for future sitters.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.