I have been sitting on rover for a little while now and have had several customers, but only one has given me a review. Don't reviews effect your profile and the business that you get? Has anyone else had a problem with this?
After each stay I send a quick thank you note to my customers and include this sentence:
"In a few days you will get a request for a review from Rover.com. I would be grateful if you could take a moment to craft a sentence or two describing your experience. Thank you!"
People do seem to need a personal invitation, but they are usually happy to comply.
Best of luck!
I've been very fortunate to have a nearly 100% review rate since I started. I consider the bare minimum for a stay to be sending multiple pictures each day with a detailed update about how the dog's day went and what they did. I usually try to have both pictures outdoors and indoors, and I try to do something fun with the dog each day and get pictures of them having a blast - hiking, visiting various landmarks (the river down the road, the stone wall up the hill, etc), playing with us or with our dogs, etc.
Then...I sneak a doggie gift bag into my customer's things when they pick up their dog. Then they find it when they get home. I include a little report card with a clip art star that says "Don't forget to leave a review!" and I circle the star. I also have a few other things in the bag - always a hand-written thank you note (doggie themed blank thank you cards) and a couple dog-themed gifts like a paw-shaped magnet, a wet dog food can lid, a ball toy, a roll of poo bags, etc. (These are all at the Dollar Tree). I usually print out 4x6" prints of one or two of the best pictures I took during their stay as well. I think when they get home, they are so excited to have a little surprise, and the fact that the stay already went really well, they sit down and write the review right then. Hope this helps!
Similar to Carmen, I usually mention the review when the owners pick up their dog: "Thanks so much for letting Fizzle stay with me. We had a blast, and I'd love to have him back any time. In a couple days, Rover will send you an email asking you to leave me a review, and I'd appreciate if you'd take a couple minutes to fill it out. It really helps me out!"
Still, some clients don't leave a review - if I don't see one after a few days, I'll send a follow up message asking one more time (and again emphasizing how much I enjoyed their dog and hope they'll book with me in the future).
This might make you feel better. I have 377 sits and only 125 reviews. All my customers are happy just some people don't give reviews. I would rather have no review than get one of those people who " Never give 5 stars". I only ask my repeat customer if they have not left me a review, that way I can be sure I wont get 4 stars with kind words... The stars matter and I have been noticing a lot of 4 star Rover sitters with great reviews. Some people don't get how much that impacts our business.
Just my thoughts. Happy sitting Amber G.
It has also come to my attention that many customers are having problems leaving reviews. Rover sends them emails to leave reviews but the link is broken. They try other ways with no success so they give up. This is a BIG ISSUE & Rover needs to fix it.
I agree; that can be frustrating and you don't want to seem pushy.
But it is totally appropriate to remind your client at the end of the stay that your Rover success sort of depends on good reviews. I usually leave a "Thank You" card at the client's home when I leave, welcoming them home and telling them what I adored about their dog. I end by thanking them for choosing me as their Rover sitter, and then telling them how much I would appreciate a review. This has seemed to work pretty well for me so far!