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No dog info given?

I am new to Rover, and have received a few requests recently that give no or hardly any information on the dogs. Is this owners just being lazy? Or fake accounts? There is no way I will book a request at my home if the profile doesn't indicate whether or not the dog is house trained, dog friendly, etc. I have turned down many requests because it feels like I'm pulling teeth to get information. Is this normal?

5 Answers

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I think Rover should make the clients fill it out entirely before they are activated to make requests.

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I wish Rover would poll sitters about pain points, opportunities for improvement, etc. I think that would reveal great information, and also signal that Rover is including sitter input (a partnership, not just a one-way responsibility upon the sitter -- which it often appears to be.).

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The situation does occur, although I couldn't tell you how often or why. Sometimes when owners sign up, they're more interested in finding a sitter than filling out their dog's profile and may not realize that sitters need to see that very basic level of info.

Lack of information doesn't always signal something bad. Instead of automatically turning down the request, continue to attempt to get the info from the owners via messaging but definitely schedule a Meet & Greet, so that you can get the answers. If certain things are deal breakers, explain to the owner that you need to have this information upfront, even before scheduling a M&G, because you want what is best for all concerned.

Don't give up. Keep trying and definitely do some M&Gs first.

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Many of my clients wait until the last minute to find someone to watch their dog, so a lot of the information is usually left blank. They might have a picture, or at least breed info, and some people write these massive profiles and some people just don't.

Still respond to them, chat them up a little bit, and get to know them and their dog. Go ahead and ask questions to get the info that's missing, and you can usually get a good feel from there.

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Keep in mind if the person is older, not computer savy or from another culture, they probably don't know how to fill it in. The rest its just not what they're focused on. 90% of my requests don't have the info filled in. And ALL of them were "real" people and ALL of them had postive feedback because of how professionally and kindly I asked for more info. I recommend replying with whatever your "deal breker" is and then get more detail in person.

For example if dog MUST be kid friendly, who cares if its 5lbs or 50lbs. My deal deaker is must be crate trained and not chronically bark. Each sitter has things that make all the other questions irrelevant. Pinpoint what yours is.

Fyi when the owner searchs for a sitter the ONLY info rover prompts them to enter is dog name, weight and breed. That is it. I would strongly encourage you to use the site as an owner and see how difficult the info is to enter. I am savy with internet and it was a challenge.

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I have turned down many requests because it feels like I'm pulling teeth to get information. Is this normal? <<<

I completely agree. Most requests I receive have empty profiles. I usually decline them because I figure: if they don't have a passion about using Rover they probably won't review me. Other "drama" may occur (surprises, such as "Oh, I thought I could have you try this new food while I'm away...." -- which has happened to me, which risks stomach upset during an already stressful time). I think it says something. I've read other sitters say the same thing.

I hate being judgmental. But, Rover simply does not give us many tools to evaluate a dog owner. Sure, sure, you could meet the owner and do your own research. But, the same holds true for sitters. Rover could let us have empty profiles ("the dog owner can meet with you if they have questions.").

Compared to what sitters have to do, and the regular "how to be a better sitter" emails, the metrics. It seems like Rover could at least send reminder emails like, "Attract more sitters! Did you know sitters use your pet's profile when deciding to respond to a request? (blah, blah)." The profile is there for a reason. Presumably a productive reason. If it's regularly overlooked, that seems like a problem with Rover's presentation of the profile, educating the member, etc.

When someone sends a request to me, if I'm not available (or simply say I'm not because of the lack of info) I will also urge them to complete their profile, that it could help them attract a sitter.

Rover gives us a place in our profile to say "What I'd like to know about your dog." I used that to point people to their profiles. Now I have people answering the literal profile questions in a message to me -- while their profile remains untouched. (Shaking my head.). :)

It seems like a small thing. But, we have so little to go on. We can't see how many sitters they've had (if they hop?), the reviews they've left (if they're hard to please, or don't bother giving reviews). If we choose badly, Rover dings our metrics which they want us to hold in high regard.

So, it's definitely understandable that you're nervous about things such as this. I think it's Rover. If they just sent pleasant "did you know....?" emails like they do to us, it would probably be much less of an issue. (Or, if Rover had some metrics about the owner. The avg review, ratio of stays reviewed, etc. Avg num of sitters who would book them again.).

PS: I notice you haven't had a verified stay (review) yet. Don't let me embolden you to be too picky before you're established. (But, on the other hand, one bad or un-reviewed stay could sink ... (more)

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Fyi when the owner searchs for a sitter the ONLY info rover prompts them to enter is dog name, weight and breed. That is it. I would strongly encourage you to use the site as an owner and see how difficult the info you're demanding is to enter. I am savy with internet and it was a challenge.