client reviews??

Everyone here has great reasons why this would be a valuable feature for sitters. I agree with all of them. However, from a business standpoint, there is no reason for Rover to do so. Rover's TOS pretty much absolves them from any responsibility for determining either the qualifications of a sitter or the background of an owner and his/her dog. They toss the ball into the sitters' court and don't feel the need to give them any tools. Naturally, they give owners a tool (posted comments/ratings) but the customer is the one on which Rover is dependent. The majority of revenue is derived from the customer side.

Rover's rationale is likely that, if an engagement goes badly for a sitter, then the customer will try others and eventually he/she may find one that can deal with their dog or is so desperate for money that they'll put up with it. Every so often, Rover may need to refund a customer, but that's probably a small percentage of the time and Rover would never need to reimburse a sitter for damages. So it's a business decision on their part not to give sitters the tools. Isn't this one of the main reasons why the Facebook group started, to share info on client dogs?

Sitters have been asking for this feature for more than 3 years and it has been suggested at least a zillion times, but I doubt it will ever happen. First thing about dog behavior is they will act differently in your home than they do in their own home, this is just doggie 101 and not that owners lie

I'm with you on this! I don't know that I would let someone else's experience make my decision about taking a dog (or the owner), but 2 or more sitters with similar feedback would absolutely influence me. I do know that some dogs have done better with me than other places, just as some I know I wasn't the right environment for that particular dog (as Walt said). But it would be a great tool to help us assess how a dog and owner may be in our care.

I agree with the point that dogs will act differently in the sitter's home. That said, a dog is a creature of habit, and if you board one for any length of time, they will 'do what they always do'. On the point about a sitter-available information source for client dogs, probably won't happen because any comments would be very subjective.

I wish we did! Karen's point makes a lot of sense, though with that in mind, a feature that doesn't alienate clients or frighten sitters away is still possible. If they sent out a survey after each booking where we send back positive criticism (the answers to which aren't published until Customer Service reviews them), we could prepare the future sitters of problematic clients to have a better experience. If sitters know ahead of time what behavioral issues the animals have, they can avoid them and/or charge adequately for their services and everybody wins, including Rover.

There's one ex-client in particular that tries to convince sitters to do transactions off Rover and then finds a reason not to pay them. I found out recently after an ex-sitter of hers found me on Facebook to ask for tips on managing the animals, and a third ex-sitter confirmed this client had made up accusations and demanded a refund or tried to skip out on payment altogether. Even with all that, there's nothing Rover can do about it because I didn't meet her through here, which makes sense to a degree? But they're basically providing this person with a tool to siphon money away from their business and scam good sitters out of their earnings.

I would love to have an option to review an owner that other sitters are able to see. It would allow sitters to connect and discuss any issues the sitter had during the stay, walk, drop-in, or just any issues that came up for the sitter, that would be helpful information for future Rover sitters to know about the owner. For instance, if an owner is difficult to get in touch with during a stay, how did the first sitter remedy the issue? Was this owner's behavior consistent? I just want to know other sitter's experiences with the owner so I, as a sitter, can make a better decision to take on a client. It would also be a great oppoutunity to talk about the animal, its needs, likes, dislikes etc I understand the owner can provide the information about the animal, but the review would be from the sitter's point of view and what worked for other sitters

Lastly, it would be another tool for sitters to spot potential fraud and bad practices of owners.

It works for Uber! Why not Rover???

This exists: After you complete a Rover engagement on your phone, we have the opportunity to review the pet/person/situation. Sometimes it just pops up on your phone when you are already busy but we can always leave reviews online.

I’d love to have this! I have an owner I am most likely not going to with with anymore because she either misrepresents what is needed or leaves a note at the house requesting things like garbage removal and plant watering. Additionally, her cat constantly brings in and dismembers animals so there is always a mess to be cleaned up. Not only would I appreciate being warned about the “quirks” of a pet or owner, I’d like to be able to earn others.

This feature would have been helpful for me with my last set of dog walks. On my first visit of 14, one of the 2 dogs I was watching bit me and drew blood. I left a note about it in my rover card and was shocked I didn’t hear from her. I assumed the family must be on a cruise or somewhere where cell service is difficult. But, she answered me when I had more positive reports. I would love to have the ability to rate an owners communication during a stay. That way, it can serve as a slight warning to others that she was selectively communicative—and not when I needed her most. I was left to wonder and hope that the dog was up to date on all of his vaccinations.