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Booked before accepting, normal?

I just got a request and booking all in a matter of seconds. I had not replied because I am home sick. Not able to walk a dog or care for one today.

But the long story short, someone sent me a request and when it came, it came with a booking confirmation. The person did not wait for me to reply. They simply sent a request and then booked it in a matter of seconds, when I had not replied, at all.

Of course I was able to say no afterwards and archive it. But this was a first for me and I found it very suspect. They also had 2 dogs and my profile makes it clear I only book 1 dog at a time. The 'members' just joined today.

Something feels off about this and I wonder if anyone else has seen this happen or reported it?

2 Answers

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score:
4

It is likely that they were new to Rover, and so were unsure about the booking process. Perhaps they had an emergency, were in a time crunch, or had someone cancel on them and were looking for last minute help. It is not unusual to receive requests from clients who had just joined the same day, and sometimes they haven't filled out all of the information prior to sending a request. This is something I usually discuss at Meet & Greet. I probably wouldn't have accepted the request either, because I'm not comfortable making a visit without meeting the client and especially the dogs beforehand to get acquainted. I wouldn't be too fearful or anxious about people who have joined the same day, as if you limit yourself to only those that have used Rover in the past, it may be because they keep having to change sitters due to something unpleasant (aggressive dog, extremely nit-picky owner, etc.)

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More details. The people said they had 2 dogs. I only sit 1 dog as mentioned on my profile. Claimed to be getting kicked out of a local hotel, without saying why. That hotel does not allow dogs. They also booked me, below my day rate, while saying they would pay double my rate. It did not add up

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That is 100% normal for people who just joined rover. I just had a meet and greet today with a man who had sent me a message and then immediately confirmed the stay. When we talked in person, he explained he didn't know how to work the website. I actually pulled up the website on my tablet and showed him how to message sitters without clicking confirm. The dog was not a good fit for me so I showed him some profiles that would better.