I was surprised by Rover hiding all individual ratings, and showing only average rating. The site also lacks capability to sort ratings. So the potential customers can never see negative ratings without having to read through all of them. Am I missing something??
Ratings/ Reviews don't give a full person of that person's ability. The only true way is meeting them in person, talking and observing how they interact with dogs. Just because someone is "highly rated" doesn't mean they're right for your dog. That doesn't mean Rover is "unethical" it just means they want you to meet instead of relying on subjective reviews. Plus 99.9% of sitters on rover have 5 stars.
For example I own a dog that's more shy. I met a sitter. She was so-so but her dogs were not socialized. Not aggressive, they just hadn't been around other dogs that were smaller. I would recommend her for walking but not boarding. Fyi she was a vet tech assistant so had college degree and everything. Another lady was very good, experienced, only took one dog at a time. However with her kids, one was 2 years old and was timid with dogs. He would back up and run away from them. Not a good fit for my already shy pup that likes to chase things. Nothing was "wrong" with her, just not a good match.
I don't think you're missing anything. They give the average rating to give you an idea so you can decide if you want to look more into the sitter.