So I'm a new sitter and have been contacted 3 times..1st time the person found a relative to sit for them, 2nd time they had contacted 2 rover sitters and went with the other one, 3rd has not responded back after I tried to set up a meet and greet. Am I extremely unlucky or is this sort of thing common?
Not all sitters get immediate bookings and as Karen mentioned, we all have had requests go no where, it is just part of the business. I looked at your profile and there are things you should do to make yourself standout. 1) take and pass the Rover 101 quiz and get the badge. 2) start to market yourself locally, post tearoff flyers in public places, consider posting on Craigslist and Nextdoor 3) get Rover business cards and hand them out at local dog parks and pet supply stores, folks with new dogs or puppies need your services. 4) since you are only offering boarding you should expand your service area as it helps you show up in searches. You can find it here: https://www.rover.com/account/profile... Under House Sitting, Drop-In Visits & Dog Walking What is the maximum distance you'll travel to get to a client's home? Best of luck and lots of success
Agreed! These are all great suggestions!
It's hard to say since I can't speak for all sitters, but it does happen. In fact, Rover encourages pet owners to contact multiple sitters to interview and then choose the one that best meets their needs.
I've been part of Rover for several years and have every one of those things happen to me. Paying a sitter is a last resort for many in my area; they do try to find friends to watch their dogs and try to establish reciprocal arrangements of taking in a friend's dog so that they can do the same. I've had customers tell me that they're meeting a few and then I never hear back again, so I assume they went with someone else. I've also responded to requests and tried to set up M&Gs and then nothing.
So you are very likely going to get a little bit of everything. All you can do is your best, follow-up once, and then move on. Be sure to archive the message so it doesn't affect your search availability. Just mark it as customer didn't respond or customer's plans changed or similar.
I have found that the 1st booking is the hardest. Try the park or walking your own pup. ALWAYS carry business cards. I wear my rover shirt as much as possible. And enjoy. Offer to do walking for friends and family. they can then give oyou a review as a verified stay which will help get you off and running.