Just had something similar, only the work was fine. But my cameras, which they didn’t know about, showed that instead of the 17 year old I hired, it was mostly her parents doing the work.
You bet I was tempted to ask to whom the check should be written. :lol:
We were on vacation in July and I got home at midnight to stalls that hadn’t been cleaned and horses that looked like they had been out all day in a dry lot that has no shade. The stalls, meh but the daytime turnout, I was furious. My gelding with Cushings is very heat intolerant and we’re in Texas. He goes out at night during the summer.
So I texted her to ask if there was an issue. Yes, she had fractured her hand the day before we returned. And despite 2 copies of written instructions and a live walk through, she thought we’d be home earlier. So she’d let the horses out longer during the day to make up for a couple of rainy nights being stalled.
The dirty stalls were easily forgiven. My gelding is still having issues which may or may not be related to that time. But he wasn’t having them when I left for vacation. I’m sorry she fractured her hand and wish she had contacted me before making a bad decision on turnout.
Will I use her again, I don’t know. Would she be willing to work for me again, I don’t know that either.
Leaving the hose on can be a pretty serious issue if a person is on a well.
My comment is more based on other threads where people were told the same thing - just pay them - even though the pet sitting messed things up.
I agree that messy stalls and such are not the end of the world, but I the OP is paying for one service and ended up with another.
Yes but it’s an easy mistake to make. It should be addressed as a caution for the future, though.
The OP said that the stalls were done in a completely different manner, which made her think someone else did them - not just that they were sloppy. I can always tell which of my kids cleaned our stalls because they do them differently, and I do them differently as well. Not huge differences, but noticeable. So the bigger issue is whether the farm sitter brought a friend along, or subbed out the work.
I think if I were in this situation, I would just keep the lines of communication open and when necessary to hire a farm sitter again would just mention that if there are ever times when she cannot do the work, and/or needs to bring help - she needs to let you know. If asked what prompted it - the stalls could be mentioned, but then say that you were not unhappy with the job but concerned only that there could be additional people on the property which is something that you want to be aware of.
Probably the best thing in this situation might be to change the relationship so that it’s not all arranged by text. In person walk-through before the start of the job, and maybe a phone call when you get home to check in about any problems or issues. Texting is fine while you are away.
I think it depends. Some of us are on well water without great pressure. Leaving a hose on all day can burn out a pump and leave the entire property without a means to have water. So. Yes. Leaving the hose on can be a big deal in some cases.
Yes–exactly. Completely different style. Also just a really bad job of it. Obvious manure picked up, but wet spots and hidden manure left. I did stalls when I got back and got about 70% of what I’d expect in the morning. There were other style things around the barn that were obviously different as well.
There was an in person walk through and meeting in the beginning. Texting was consistent throughout the trip. Daily for various small things, including the day I got back in town and after she’d left for the day. Plenty of opportunity to say something about an emergency or stressed for time, or whatever.
I’m not looking to rake anyone over the coals. I am surprised that some would rather be fired entirely than receive any negative feedback at all.
I do wish I had some sort of proof. TheJenners, what kind of camera setup do you have? Hate that it’s even a consideration but would be nice for security.
Still not really sure where to go from here. The options are 1…she just did a really crappy job or 2…she had a friend do it and was deceptive about it. Both are bad. Maybe I just have to find someone new 
I would just call her up and thank her for looking after your crew. Then just mention that you noticed she left the hose on and you’re not mad, but she needs to double check stuff like that before she leaves.
I wouldn’t even mention the stalls unless you use her again, then make a point of going over how you want stalls cleaned, how often water buckets and troughs need cleaning, etc. That would also be a good time to let her know it is/ isn’t ok to bring a friend along to help. Maybe she really was in a hurry at some point and decided a half assed cleaned stall was better than stalls not being cleaned at all.
I find that with teenagers, sometimes they act adult, sometimes they act childish, and mainly they swing back and forth.
I wonder if in your situation, the parents pressured the kid into “starting a business” then were afraid she’d fail, so they went to work with her. Classic helicopter parenting. I almost feel bad for her.
I wonder if she recruited extra help because she was either sick, or injured. If this farm sitter is your only option, then maybe a check list, which includes ‘turn off hose’ as the last entry on the barn wall would be helpful.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that she was being deceptive… she honestly might not have thought that it would be an issue if a friend came with her and picked stalls while she fed/turned out/etc. If you want to bring it up with her, just mention that for insurance issues you need to know who is on property at all times.
I don’t think that having a friend do stalls is a fire-able offense unless you explicitly stated that she shouldn’t bring anybody with her to help and she outright disobeyed. Not trying to blame this on you, but again, she might not have even thought twice about it being a potential issue if it wasn’t ever mentioned.
I always try to see the good in people, so I’m going to believe that she was just naive rather than deceptive 
This a very plausible explanation, i.e.the barn sitter was over-extended. In that case, it would be considerate if the sitter could text the owner a quick note. Something along the lines of, “Ms. Jones, I’m running short on time this morning due to a small emergency at another barn. I am at your barn now and I will make sure everyone has clean water, plenty of hay (and whatever other chores are important) but I will only have time to pick stalls this morning. I will do a thorough job on the stalls tomorrow morning. Thank you.”
It is courteous, professional and it keeps the lines of communication open.
OneTwo,
Yes, absolutely, there was a failure to communicate here. Not absolving the farm sitter for that, at all.
If you’re not happy with the work, raise the lack of quality with the farm sitter (i.e. the pee spots were not removed from the stalls, the aisle was not swept, etc.) but to accuse someone of farming out the work just because it “looks” different to you is an odd thing to do. Either the quality was acceptable or not. If it wasn’t, raise the quality concerns
That’s the beauty of a security camera! (or two or three). We have a Nest camera on our property, which sends photos directly to our phone. We would know immediately if a stranger was on our property.
I had a similar situation occur with my housekeeper for our vacation rental home. She had her teenage daughter help her clean, and the cleaning job was subpar. Nothing terrible, but when I arrived at the property the thermostat was turned down to 68 degrees despite my instructions to turn the AC up to 75 or 76 when the house was vacant and I found a half empty Gatorade bottle in one of the bedrooms. The dishes were also put away hap-hazard. I mentioned the thermostat and the half empty Gatorade bottle in a text to my housekeeper without implicating her daughter, and the housekeeper has not cleaned the house since, nor has she returned my calls. Evidently, she was offended enough by my comments to stop working for me and didn’t have the decency to tell me. Before commenting to your farm sitter about the condition she left your barn, I would have a back up person or you might find yourself high and dry.
I would seriously consider investing in a security camera or two. Also, are you friendly enough with your neighbors to ask them if they would mind checking on your horses in your absence?
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