Hi! I'm a new sitter, and my first booking came in yesterday. They were leaving last minute, and wanted to have me take care of their two dogs. I accepted, and sent the booking request. They have yet to respond, and they already left. I certainly don't want to not take care of the dogs, but I also would like to get paid! :) I already sent them a message to remind them to accept, but I haven't gotten a reply.
What should I do?
I can't tell from the original post if you are actually caring for the dogs currently or just wondering why the owner hasn't responded. If it's the former, Karen has it covered. If it's the latter, the owner likely sent out a bunch of messages to sitters and went with someone else and failed to tell you. That happens pretty frequently, and seems especially common with last minute bookings. In that case, you're free to just archive the message if Rover hasn't done it already.
I'm sure that the owner, too, may be new to Rover and its procedures and may not realize that he has to officially accept the booking and pay for it. However, under no circumstances should you allow the dogs to stay with you if the owner hasn't paid. If they show up at your doorstep, have the owner take care it then over the phone or using Rover's app.
Given the owner's lack of responsiveness., I would make sure to get the pickup time also and make sure it is within the stay's timeframe. Let the owner know when the dogs must be picked up and when they will have to pay for the overage.
It looks like you are supposed to sit for them in their home, right? Did you have a meet & greet and get the key or pass code into their home? If not, I wouldn't worry about anything as it looks like they found someone else. Unfortunately for us sitters, we are not always notified when a potential client hires someone else. If you do have entry into their home, I'd contact them and have them pay before starting the stay.
I am currently caring for them in their home. I didn't realize that I should have had them accept the booking on the spot. :(
Call Rover Support and see if they can help you contact the owners and get the payment made. Lesson learned - don't accept pets or do any work until stay is paid for.
Had the same thing just happen. I sent my client the following message and payment was made within the hour. :)
I'm sure this was an oversight with all the vacation preparations. However, I was contacted by Rover and based on our conversations they are well aware I am housing your dogs. Since payment was not made they are assuming I am accepting cash - which is against policy. They are now threatening to suspend my rover account. Also should anything happen to the dogs while they stay here you are not covered under the insurance. I really would appreciate it if you can please complete the booking. It would be a shame if my site was shut down. Thanks. Rosie
Brilliant..... Slightly passive aggressive but completely brilliant
Okay, Hopefully you've already started this, but if you haven't... reach out to the owners and Rover support and explain that a step was missed. Sounds like an honest mistake. It can be resolved, but you need to take quick action today - even if the owner doesn't respond, be sure to contact Rover