Tips for homesitters for assignment success

Posted on 5 February, 2018

Checklist

One of the reasons that clients love our service is the care and time we take to find the right homesitter for them.

Before we employ a homesitter they will have gone through a rigorous recruitment process which includes an in-depth interview and reference checks.

Another important process is the introductory meetings that we set up between our clients and the homesitter before any assignment.

This gives them the chance to meet and ensure they are happy. It also lets the homesitter meet their pets, discuss their feeding, exercise and grooming routines and be shown exactly how everything works in the home.

The meeting reassures our clients that everything will go smoothly and gives our homesitters confidence they know what they will be doing from day one.

We provide homesitters a useful checklist of questions to ask the client to ensure they are prepared for the assignment.

  • Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get there and arrive on time
  • Ensure you are smartly dressed and bring a notepad and pen
  • Meet any pets the client has and discuss their usual routines for feeding, grooming, walking etc
  • Discuss where the pet sleeps and if they are allowed on sofas (dogs especially)
  • For dogs, discuss the walking routine, if they are allowed off the lead and the commands they respond to. Also ask about any behaviour that you need to be aware of, i.e dog likes to chase runners, not good with puppies, timid with other dogs etc.,
  • Ask where important things are such as the stopcock, central heating, fuse box, gas stopcock
  • Check the location of smoke alarms and fire extinguishers
  • Ask how to set the burglar alarm and what the security codes are
  • Ask to be shown the facilities for cooking, cleaning, washing machine etc. and ask for instructions on how they work
  • Discuss if you need to do anything with the garden or watering house plants and check location of lawnmower / hose pipe watering can if you will need them
  • Ask for instructions for dealing with callers, such as the window cleaner, bin collection days and recycling rules, as well as when people ring up (if they want you to answer calls)
  • Ask for a list of important numbers such as local plumbers, electricians, vets (if looking after pets) plus someone to contact in an emergency, to be left for you prior to the start of the assignment

There will no doubt be plenty of other questions homesitters will want to ask, but this should provide a very good start.

Happy home and pet sitting!

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