How long does everyone wait until they dismiss the stay that a person is requesting if they are "on the fence" about booking? That stay will hold up your calendar until the person decides to book it or not.
Since most owners may submit requests to several different sitters at the same time, I usually give them 2 days to book. If I do not get a response, I will send them a follow-up message asking them if they found a sitter. At that point, they typically respond to let me know they booked with someone else. Then I archive that booking.
Hi my name is Dawn and that was very good advice. When I leave client,s house, I always wonder if I will get the booking. Now I no what to do if I don,t.
I send a follow-up email via Rover: nice meeting them and pets (by name) and whether they'd like me to book the stay. If no response within three days, I send a second note. Then, if no response in two days, I archive / send last note. Clicking "book now" seems pushy to me if someone's not sure.
I prefer to take one household at a time, so when I had multiple requests for Christmas, I had to develop a waiting list. Clients had 24 hours to respond from the time I notified them of an opening. Otherwise, I moved on to the client in the next position. I made sure to clearly state this, and didn't have any problems with it.
That's a great approach! :)
In general, I give someone 2 days to respond to a message. So long as there is continued communication, I'll keep the conversation active until after the meet and greet. If that goes well and we want to watch the dog, I'll immediately book the stay. Then they have until it expires (and if they don't respond in the first day I'll send another message reminding them to accept it). If it's a repeat client I'll be a bit more flexible, but if it's a new client I'd archive it if the booking request expires. You can always un-archive it if you need to, but that will open your calender back up so if you get another request in that time, you'll show up as available.
In my business, I give respect and courtesy but expect the same in return. If it is a potential new customer, I prefer to talk to them before the meet & greet to make sure "we sound" compatible and other concerns. I do ask for the courtesy of a notice if "their plans change" for whatever reason. I don't request specifics. I have been given that courtesy except for a "friend of a friend" who never requested to my request if they were still interested. I had to Archive them. Several weeks later I received a call asking if I was available for another date. I told them that I was booked, which was true, and to contact rover.com. Not a customer I want since they didn't give me the courtesy, after many requests. I am sure this customer would work for someone else. My regular clients and especially repeats, and I stay in constant contact. I am flexible for them due to their business travel plans change quickly.
I'm still relatively new to Rover, but I'm finding that it's good to set solid expectations and have healthy professional boundaries when dealing with clients in friendly, courteous ways. Having a professional workflow of how you handle all your accounts may work for you, or you may wish to respond on a case-by-case basis. I usually just send a follow-up note, say it was great meeting them and their pets (by name) and let them know that if I don't hear back from them within two days that I'm going to archive their request so my calendar shows me as available to other clients wanting that time. I give them two days, send a final note, and that's it... archive. I used to click "book now," giving them 72 hours to respond, but it seems a little pushy if someone is on the fence.
Waiting around for a maybe isn't fair to you, and it's not fair to other clients who might want to hire you... :)
Naiya