does anyone charge for the meet and greets?

I do not charge for the M&G. It's an interview for both parties and it's just part of doing business. It's a service to the client as well as for us, and most businesses I know do not charge for an initial consultation.

I agree with the sitters who have already responded- I don't charge for M&G's. However, if a dog is special needs and requires more than one M&G then I might set it up as a drop in visit or something of the sort. One interview is just part of doing business but more than one gets into a grey area for me personally.

Not a good idea. The M&G is essentially an interview. Yes, it takes your time but what interview doesn't? Someone sends you a job offer and you respond by asking for a fee to consider it? Not the best form.

If you don't feel like M&Gs are worth the time, then that's your choice and you could always book without doing them but then you would have to deal with whatever the situation turned out to be (unruly pet, misrepresented pooch, bad fit, etc).

The M&G is essentially a protection for Sitters to find the best matches which helps with long-term relationships.

Also, imagine if you did charge a pet parent for the M&G and then decided it wasn't a good fit after you met. How would that go? "Thanks for the $20 but I've decided not to watch your pups ".

Lastly, when you charge for something it needs to have value. What are the pet parents getting? Would you be charging people for a chance to meet you?

I'm not trying to be negative just putting a different perspective out there.

All the best...

Don't do that. That would be extremely rude. The point of a meet and greet is to see if you are a good fit.

I wish I could charge for the meet-n-greet because there are always some that don't work out and it seems like a waste of time. However, if you're looking to build your business they're necessary. If there are any deal breaker questions though I'd ask them before the meet-n-greet; like, if you have cats and you need the dog to get along with cats

I see the M&G as a free consultation to see if the client and dogs are a good fit, just as others would provide for a service. You'd then charge for the actual service when needed.

No, I do not charge for the meet and greet. I am not technically rendering a service at that time, and it is a crucial interview that I will technically be paid for doing after I sit for the owner's dog.

I haven't with Rover but when I worked for a dog walking company, yes, the company charged clients for meet and greets because the walkers were the one's traveling to do the meet and greet. With Rover, if they're coming to my house, then no. I wouldn't. But I've had requests for house sits that are an hour away by bus and train, so I'm making a 2 hour trip, plus however long the m&g takes, paying train fare and the booking wasn't even much money. I haven't charged anyone yet but I think it would be completely reasonable to do so in a situation like that, as I'm giving up a huge part of my day and losing money in travel expenses if they don't book me.

No charge for M&G, but I do like to casually point this out to the client. "The next thing we need to do is set up the Meet & Greet to make sure everyone is a good fit. There is, of course, no charge for this...it's my policy to never book a new client without a Meet & Greet first. " -Something like that.