Up to now the pet owner will bring the food, toys, bed, etc. Now how do one proceed when the owners comes with the pet(s) and no food, etc. Are we suppose to charge the owner for the food we buy? Or this is talk when we meet the owner and the pets? Thank you for you answer
Whenever this has happened to me, I text them immediately and let them know that they forgot their dog's food but don't mind getting some for them if they're already too far away, and they can just reimburse me during pick up. I've never had anyone get upset that they have to pay for their own dog's food.
I make it a habit to text the owner a short list of items to pack the morning of the drop-off so they don't forget, because usually it's that the just forgot. Something like, "Hey! Looking forward to taking in Rover a little later today. Here's a friendly reminder to have enough dog food, a bowl, his treats, poop bags, and anything else you want me to use all packed and ready to go. Oh, don't forget Rover either! See you shortly."
Works like a charm.
I like this, Timmy. Great idea. I am going to use this idea from now on! Thanks for sharing!
As the rest have said, make sure you go over what you expect the owners to provide before the stay starts to prevent this problem in the future. I go over it at the M&G and send another message the day before the stay begins with a reminder for my new clients. This is helpful for your clients, but is also protection against clients who might try to take advantage of you by 'forgetting' items and trying to push the cost onto you. It's not a common occurrence, but it's always best to protect yourself.
Since that doesn't help with your current situation, I'd also echo what everyone else has said and advise you to contact the owners, asking the brand and amount of food the dog eats so you can pick it up. You can have them reimburse you however you choose - cash upon return, paypal, or have Rover customer service add it to their fees so they can confirm while still on their vacation (though remember Rover takes 15%, so if you/they want to do it that way be sure to add that to the cost so that you aren't eating the difference). If, for whatever reason, the owners were under the impression that you were supposed to provide the food, explain that it's hard on a dog's digestive system to abruptly change diets, and can cause vomiting and diarrhea. This will be exacerbated by any stress the dog is feeling from being away from his/her owner and staying in a new environment.
Make sure you tell them to bring food, and enough o cover the days they will be with you. Once I had a regular client have her 16 year old daughter drop the doggie off and she literally brought a ziplock (maybe three cups) of food for a two week stay. in this worst case scenario you can buy the food for them and add it to the bill by contacting http://rover.com OR what I did was have her order it from amazon with expedited shipping and the next day it was waiting for me at the door.
Hi Estrella!
In ordre to avoid this happening in the future, once you confirm a stay, send the client a list of things to pack up with their dog. I usually say something such as, "Hey! I'm really excited to watch Fido! While you prepare for his stay, it would be great if you included his food, his dog bowls, and some of his favorite toys..." etc. In the case where the food is forgotten, contact the owner or see if they have provided an itinerary with the stay so you can find out what their regular meal plan includes. When purchasing food for the client, ALWAYS KEEP THE RECEIPT. That way, you can show proof of purchase and hopefully will be refunded. If you have any further problems with extra expenses that occurred during the stay, I would contact Rover to figure out the best solution.
All these answers are great. I too mention during the meet & greet, and messaging before arrival, and then I check the amount packed either upon arrival or by the first meal (meaning I roughly measure it out and figure out if it will be short). If it's significantly short, I message the owners, let them know and ask what they'd like. That way they make the decision. Their responses have ranged from feeding less at one or more meals, to my purchasing it and being reimbursed, to having their friend/relative bring more, or shipping it to me via Amazon.
Talk details about this when booking the client. Always tell the owner to bring their food and find out feeding schedule. Try to get in touch with the owners for right brand. Otherwise you will probably have a mess on your hands. Bill their acct/paypal. Maybe they forgot or didn't know better?