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Is anyone else experiencing a lack of willingness to meet and greet?

Hey guys! I am relatively new as a Rover sitter but I keep running into one problem: owners don't want to come around for the meet and greet! It's not an availability issue as there has never been a scheduling conflict - people just aren't interested in coming.

What I'm finding is people want to have dogs hosted in my home but won't make themselves available for a meet and greet. I have a kitten - although he's used to dogs - so that is one concern, but I feel like regardless of that detail it's very important for pup and parent to meet the host family just to make sure everyone is comfortable! Is anyone else having this problem? It's affecting my booking rate drastically and I don't think that's very fair.

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Everybody I have asked to have a meet and greet has agreed to it. I do have a dog here right now just for one night that we didn't do a meet and greet for, luckily it's working out great. Funny thing is that the other dog here who did have a meet and greet has actually turned out to be a bad fit.

5 Answers

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Meet and greets are the cornerstone of success for all sitters, without them, you lose the most important factor of having a good booking. The client's dogs must fit in your home or it just won't work. If clients won't agree to them move on and don't worry about you booking rate as it is only a measure against other sitters in your area and doesn't hurt one bit on showing up in searches. Best of luck

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I do not book any new clients without a meet and greet. If you look around on here, there are some bad stories that could have been avoided with a meet and greet. I mention on my profile that I require a meet and greet for anew clients and I have lost some potential bookings because the owner didn't want to meet but that is okay. Save yourself some trouble and do the meet and greet!

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I agree with Walt. If the client doesn't want to do the meet and greet then that is a potentially unsafe environment for everyone if they want to book without it. I would stress the importance of the meet and greet and if they still don't want to do it, I wouldn't book with them.

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I like clients who do not require a meet and greet and I prefer them to those who set up a meet and greet and bring their whole family and stay for 4 hours while their dog is exploring my huge yard and refuses to leave :D

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It helps me if I give an expectation of how long the meet-n-greet usually takes when deciding when to meet. Ex. "I am available the dates requested .Let's go ahead and set up a meet-n-greet. Meet-n-greets usually last anywhere from 30-1hr so lets decide on a time where this would be possible. "

* 30 minutes

Sure. But in my case, the dogs just do not want to leave because my yard is like a dogs paradise :) I personally do not like meet and greets, it's a waste of time for me because they affect our daily regime. My ideal clients are the ones who don't do meet and greet.

That shameless self-promoting lol

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I suggest framing it as an orientation. Make it about their pet's well-being. "We want to make sure Sparky is content and safe here. Part of making that happen is having an orientation we can book right on Rover as a 'Meet and Greet.'" and then list your time slots.

I hope this helps! The other answers are definitely great for reminding us how crucial the meet and greets are on our side. Make it about your customer and it may help change their tune. Otherwise, say that the orientation is a requirement, and that you cannot take on their dog if they cannot do it. Gently, of course!

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That's typically how I word it. When I ask for a meet and greet I bring up how good it is for the dog and makes the dog happier and more comfortable...which is completely true and also serves to subtly guilt them into doing it ๐Ÿ˜‹