Meet and greets, do you think it's a waste of time?

Oh Gosh I would never take a dog without a meet and greet. I have had meet and greets that has been disasters, where I look at the dog and I know for a fact he/she will not be a good fit. If I don't do a meet and greet and I am stuck with a crazy dog for 10 days, I don't know what I would do. I find that meet and greets are not just you meeting and interviewing the owner but they are interviewing you to, to see if they like you as a sitter for their dog. I've had people tell me that they have set up meet and greets with 3 sitters before making their decision so I don't think charging them would work. In fact, Rover encourages sitters to interview at least 3 sitters, so to charge for that is unnecessary.

You mentioned a kennel. Kennels don't charge for you to walk into their facility to check out their place, they charge once you decide to leave the dog in their facility. I am wondering how you are setting up your meet and greet and why are you having so many no shows. I have not encountered that problem, in fact the day before the meet and greet I am sending them a message to confirm and I always tell them, "if your plans change where you have to cancel please let me know so I can plan accordingly."

As a new Rover dogwalker and a petowner, I see both sides of this issue. As a petowner, I did two different meet and greets. I was very nervous about leaving my dog because she is small--12 pounds. Both sitters were very nice and handled the dogs well. But at one house they had exposed Romex electrical wiring (due to an ongoing construction project) and a very muddy backyard. The other house had cedar chips in the backyard, and no visible chewing hazards. My dog has long hair and is all white....so a muddy yard is an issue. My dog has chewed my computer power cord, so I didn't want to take the chance on her chewing a live electrical wire. I also got to see how my dog reacted to the regular dogs that stay with the sitter. Although some of the dogs were very big, they were very gentle. I would have had none of this insight if I did not do the meet and greets.

Dare I say that there might be another factor? From the tone of the post, I get that you are frustrated, but your communication style might be perceived as abrupt by a pet owner, and they might have had a different experience when contacting other sitters and decided not to go through with a meet and greet with you. If there's a pattern of above average volume of meet and greet no-shows, it might be something to consider.

I insist on a M&G prior to booking any stay and I say that in my initial response to their request. I tell them I require them to make sure that I am the right sitter for their dog, to make sure it's a good fit for both of us. In the same message I give them times that I am available during the next week and ask which times would be convenient for them. Then we agree on a date/time, and I send them a reminder the day before with my phone number in case they get lost or need to reschedule.

I don't really understand why you are getting requests but then no M&G. All of mine have agreed to a meeting prior to booking, and 90% of these then follow up with booking the stay.

I'd like to make a few suggestions about your profile to make it more appealing to potential clients, if I may. Under "When Your Dog Stays With Donna," I would not discuss previous client visits. I would put a description of what the dog will experience while staying with you. How many walks will you go on? Is there a park where you might go walking? Will you be with the dog 24/7? Since you say that you only take one dog at a time (which is my policy as well), you might mention that and say that the dog will have your undivided attention. As a potential client, I would want to know what your plans and activities will be while my dog is staying with you.

I don't think meet and greets are a waste of time, but I don't think they are absolutely essential either. For me, I am not even remotely picky about who we take in. This means my husband and I often end up with difficult dogs, and I would rather have difficult dogs than no dogs. Meet and greets for me are typically more for the dog owner's own comfort than mine in an effort to confirm a stay. I've had a number of people cancel last-minute for meet and greets, and I agree that it's frustrating. I don't feel compelled to do anything about it since I'm not worried about how much I'm making monetarily, while this seems like more of a concern for you.

I have a few ideas for you. First, provide a couple times if you're not already (offering Saturday at 1pm is a lot easier than asking when they are available and then comparing schedules). Also, make sure the meet and greet is as soon as possible. This way, you can potentially avoid them finding someone else in the meantime and keep things moving forward. Another option is not offering meet and greets at all and being up front about that if one is requested, referring them to your reviews and offering to answer any questions they may have. Unfortunately this would probably look pretty weird or suspicious to a potential customer, but obviously they can't cancel or miss a meet and greet if there isn't one. Alternatively, you can only accept repeat customers, but obviously that would significantly limit your customer base, which is probably not what your hoping to do. Finally, you can also ask them to do something for you prior to booking a meet and greet, such as filling out a short survey. This will help you assess their level of commitment and make them a little more committed to meeting with you. Those are my thoughts.

I suggest taking a step back and considering how much time and money you are "wasting." If you're making $25 per 24-hour period, then spending a couple hours on a customer that doesn't pan out means you're losing out on a couple bucks tops. If the argument is that you could be making more money doing something else, then it might make more sense to focus on that if making money is your primary concern. If it's not, then consider setting up meet and greets and some annoying cancellations par for the course. Good luck!

I find Meet and Greets a good way to make sure it's a proper fit. I do have cats though, and most dogs I've sat for haven't met a cat before, so it's a good way for me to at least watch initial interactions and take a guess on whether I'll have issues during the stay. I also find that the owners (especially the new Rover sign ups) like to actually see where their pup is staying, ask questions and confirm that you're not a weirdo....lol. I also like to confirm that the owner is not a weirdo. Most meet and greets for me take about 15-20 minutes, the longest has taken about an hour, but I'll actually get more concerned over someone who just wants to dump their dog on me without a meeting.

It does take a little time (and I do have to declutter, depending on the day), but I doubt anyone would pay for it - they would just move on to the next sitter.

I think meet & greets are essential. How would you know if the dog is a good fit otherwise? The meet & greet gets everything out in the open on what is expected of you as a sitter during the stay. I would never book a stay without a meet & greet! I think charging for a meet & greet would be equivalent to charging you for looking at items in a store without buying them. You are lucky that your stays without meet & greets went well.....extremely lucky.

While I understand how you might feel like they can be a waste of time in some cases, Meet & Greets are incredibly important for both you as the sitter and the pet owner. I never accept a sitting job without a Meet & Greet. It allows the owner to get a feel for me as an individual, gauge my interactions with their pet(s), and note their pets' reaction to me. I've had several first time Rover users tell me how reassuring a Meet & Greet before booking truly is. As a pet owner myself, I would personally feel very uncomfortable booking someone to take care of my 2 dogs without meeting them first. As a sitter, Meet & Greets also allow me to determine if I feel comfortable with the various aspects of each individual job. If the dog owner(s) are unable to do an in-person Meet & Greet because of a very last minute booking and they are a first time booker, I offer the option of a Skype Meet & Greet.

Since Rover encourages pet owners to schedule multiple Meet & Greets when they are in need of a pet sitter, there is always a chance that they may feel more comfortable with another sitter for whatever reason. However, while that can be a bit frustrating, I'd encourage you to also consider every Meet & Greet as a networking opportunity. If the pet owner was impressed with you but chose someone else because of their availability options or distance to their residence, you STILL made a good impression. That means they may recommend you to a friend, or try to book you in future :)

I am very new to rover, but for me a meet and greet also means security. I was pet sitting only by word of mouth for the longest time, so I knew the people I was sitting for via friends and family. I also find that meeting my clients in a dog park prior to having them come over to my house gives me more confidence. I have not found it a waste of time and I can watch their dogs behavior. I also have cats and it is nice to first introduce my dog to their dog and then if its a good fit they can come over to my house, but that's just me.

I know this is an old thread but I thought I might comment for some future person who looks up this thread. For us, about 90% of the time meet and greets are not possible because we live near Disney and universal studios, so the vast majority of our stays are from tourists, and are unable to do meet and greets beforehand. However, due to this, we have had to make some major renovations to the house because of the lack of meet and greets. We have 2 dog proofed rooms inside and 1 outside, we have a dog run that's inescapable, and a backyard that's all astroturf. If you don't know what the dog is like, especially if you have more than one, you have to prepare for everything. We do have a lot of customers, and my husband handles most of the meet and greets we are able to do, and he thinks they are a waste of time. Probably because if we just denied everyone who wanted one we'd still have plenty of buisness. We also take up to 5 dogs at a time as well. My husband said the same as the OP, that they are a waste, but I understand that for someone who has not made the upgrades we have, and can only take 1-2 dogs at a time, meet and greets are essential to know if you and the dog will work out. My husband has worked with dogs for many years, so he has a lot of professional experience, and isn't worried by even the most troublesome dogs. If you are just a normal person with a normal house or apartment, I would highly recommend meet and greets. If you are prepared for anything, they are probably a waste of time.

The only time I don't do M&G is if person is coming from out of state & it's impractical to do. In that case I spend a lot more time talking by Rover text. The only time I have had a problem is one time when an OOT person assured me that their dog was a little angel & he turned out to be the dog from Hell! I had no problem telling the owners I would not be keeping their little darling again. Much to my surprise, they still gave me a glowing review!

If a person lives locally I insist on a M & G, it only makes sense. The only one who didn't book a stay after a M & G was because my little doxie had a bad attitude that day & pulled a hunk of hair out of their dog (very embarrassing!). Otherwise, they have all been successful.