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Traveling to Dog Sit - Do you Charge More?

Hi, All -

I'm a relatively new sitter on Rover, but have been sitting for others for a few years now. I recently had a request from someone to watch their dog for a few hours on two separate days (no overnights). While this is totally awesome, they are staying 45 minutes away and are just in town for the weekend, vacationing. I definitely want to help out, but between gas money, the rover cut, and taxes, the time I will be spending at someone's else's house doesn't seem cost-effective. Do you charge more for far travel? Do you take a hit money-wise to build good rapport with the community? Not sure what the best course of action is here for future clients. Thanks!

2 Answers

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Hillary H.

I would suggest mentioning to them that they are located 45 minutes away, which is out of your service area radius and recommend finding a sitter that is more local. Since they are only vacationing and will not turn into a permanent client anyways, I don't think this will affect your business.

Comments

Thank you. I wanted to be helpful for sure, but I didn't realize they were so far until after much of the sitting info was discussed. I'm okay with sitting for this client now, but I am definitely going to have different rules in the future!

Angela G.

For future reference, when you receive a new request, if you are using a computer instead of the Rover app, on the left side of the page there is a grey box outlining the details of the stay request, and under the "Where" portion, it will tell you how many miles away the client is. Hope this helps!

Hillary H.

Thanks, he didn't put in his address when he contacted me, so it wasn't clear where he was until right before booking. I should have asked earlier, but it was my first time ever being contacted by someone so far away, so I just assumed he was in my radius.

Angela G.

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Cari C.

If it's just for drop in visits, I personally would not accept the assignment because of the distance. That's an extra 90 minutes a day for two days. If you do want the business, I agree with Hillary. Tell them of the distance and suggest additional money to cover gas and expenses. I would suggest half your regular rate as the extra amount, and charge that each day.

I limit walking and drop in visits to my local zip code, no more than 5 miles one way. This information is in my profile.

Comments

Thank you. I did add some info to my profile indicating I would venture out of my service area for price-per-mile fee.

Angela G.

I think rover should have a menu for that to be added. Because when someone contacts you and you say oh well because you are so far it is actually $?? instead of what you have advertised. And also how does that get added into their bill?

Lynanne P.

You can adjust/edit the total price of the stay before you confirm it. You can either change the nightly rate or just add the extra charges as a cost adjustment. The new price is then sent to the customer for confirmation and the dance starts again. They confirm it, you confirm it, and it is booked.

Cari C.

That just doesn't seem right. I think the customer should be able to see I will do it and show what the cost would be to travel. It seems like false advertising. Is there a way to let Rover know this as feedback or something.

Lynanne P.

This topic should be discussed at the M&G prior to making any commitment. If you are adjusting the price to compensate for extra travel, you need to adjust your normal rate. The customer will see the adjust total price before they confirm the stay.

Cari C.

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Traveling to Dog Sit - Do you Charge More?

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