Considerations before you choose a home or pet sitter

Posted on 21 November, 2016

Homesitters Paula and Gavin Rose brishing Scottish Terriers

Trusting your home and your pets to someone to look after is a big step, and selecting the right company to work with is vital. You need to know the sitters are professional, reliable and trustworthy, but what else should you consider?

We recommend that you check the company’s track record. How long have they been in business and do they have glowing testimonials from happy customers?

Also, how well does the company know its sitters? Some companies are agencies so they may not have met and interviewed all their sitters. At Homesitters Limited, we employ and pay our homesitters - they work under our direction and terms of employment.

They have all completed our in-depth interview process which includes background checks of their previous 20 years of experience and employment. Many agencies don’t vet their sitters so it’s important to be aware of this.

How do companies match their sitters and clients? We take a very detailed brief of our client’s requirements and only match them to homesitters who meet this brief. We also set up an introductory meeting to ensure everyone gets on and feels comfortable before they go ahead.

We give our homesitters a handy check list of questions to go through with the client to ensure they have all the information they need - from details of the pet’s routines, to their favourite dog walks and any emergency contact numbers.

Former Rolls Royce employee, Roger Noon from Lancashire decided to homesit with us because of our professional approach. He told us, “At Rolls Royce there was only one standard and that was perfect. I’ve found this to be the same with Homesitters. It is an upmarket and extremely professional company and I am proud to tell people that I work for them.

“All homesitters are company employees and required to follow strict rules and regulations. The company is meticulous about detail. If a client uses a certain floor cleaner then you must use this brand when you look after their home; everything must be exactly as the client wants it.

Another important factor for clients to ask is what happens if the sitter is taken ill on assignment or has to leave for any reason? We provide 24/7 support and emergency back-up for homesitters and clients. In the event of a homesitter falling ill or having to leave an assignment unexpectedly for any reason, we can provide an appropriate replacement from our nationwide network of employees quickly and seamlessly.

We also provide our homesitters with comprehensive insurance cover whereas most online agencies leave it up to the individual sitter to have their own insurance.

One of our clients who has been using our services for the past 15 years said, “We wouldn’t go away now and leave our home empty, we always use Homesitters, even for long weekends away. It’s not just a professional service, the homesitters are interesting people and you feel like they will really look after your home. Also the company follows up after every homesit to check we were happy with everything.”

“In the whole time we’ve been using Homesitters we’ve had the same contacts at the company which makes it a really personal service, we feel we know them really well, and they know us really well too.”

If you are considering using a homesitter, please get in touch and we’d be delighted to explain more about our services. Please give is a call on 01296 630 730.

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