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How would you handle this situation?

I did a dog sitting job recently for two dogs and five cats. I did a meet & greet prior. 1) I didn't realize that I would need to ask the homeowners if they had a place for me to sleep. They did not. I mentioned to them that I was sleeping on the recliner, because the only other place to sleep was their bed. With the five cats. I agreed to take care of the animals, not sleep with them. This was not disclosed prior. 2) On the directions, they stated that I was not to leave the animals for more than 4-6 hours at a time, yet if I did have to leave, they would text me each time to find out how long I would be gone. It was apparent that they actually never really wanted me to leave the pets at all during the four day stay. 3) I was heating up my lunch and the microwave handle came off in my hand. I immediately went online and ordered a new handle and paid $35 for shipping to having it rushed to arrive the day they returned. I sent them pictures and let them now I had replaced the handle. They advised that it was already broken and they just had not told me about it. They offered to pay me for it, but then did not. How would you handle all of this? I do not want to take a job for them again, obviously, but I feel like other sitters should know, but I also don't want them to post a bad review on me in retaliation. Advice?

2 Answers

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Your profile does not currently show you offer house sitting, which sounds like how this was booked. Maybe you’ve eliminated that service. In any case, it sounds like you’ve encountered learning lessons. A thorough meet and greet is as much (or more) benefit for the sitter as it is for the owner and their pets. For House Sitting: It’s advisable to ask any relevant questions that would help you determine if you’d be comfortable staying there for the agreed upon time period, which includes where you’d stay/sleep, house privileges for wi-fi, kitchen, etc. It also includes coming to a mutual agreement of how long their pets can be left alone (what they’re comfortable with And if you’re agreeable to that).

Regardless of what service is booked, sometimes things break (pet dish drops, toy destroyed, as well as occasionally finding kitchen items not in best condition). The best course of action is to nicely inform the owners, and you can offer to replace (i.e. So sorry! After I washed the pet dish, it slipped from my hands and broke. Would you like me to search for another one and order it?) Most of the time, the owner is going to appreciate that and respond in kind (I.e. oh no, don’t worry about it). I’ve come to realize that some people rent homes where things are broken and they work around it or do not use them. You could nicely ask them if they would please be willing to reimburse you for the handle.

There really is no way for you to warn other sitters, unless you choose to locally network through social channels outside of Rover. Therefore I wouldn’t worry about them retaliating with a bad review.

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I have had some things break over the years. I feel horrible and do apologize 😞 but I do let them know. Accidents happen, sometimes I will give them a free night refund or pay for the item myself.